"The Sun Will Rise" Part Deux

I am not sure a song fits my journey more than Kelly Clarkson's, The Sun Will Rise. I originally posted the video in my very first blog post. But I figured, why not again? The song means alot to me and it really just summarizes everything up for me.

So I have been a little preoccupied since my last post as most of you know. I had surgery on Wednesday, July 18th. My parents and I arrived downtown at UH about 6:30 AM. I went to registration and from there I went to the Breen Breast Pavillion to get my sentinel nodes injected. Essentially this is done so they can find your lymph nodes. After that, we headed to Mather Pavilion to check in for surgery. I was not scheduled until around 10:30 so we had about 2 hours to kill.

UGH. This is not what I wanted to hear. If you know anything about me, nerves and I do not mesh. I usually end up with my head in the toliet vomiting because I am so nervous. But this time it was weird. I sat in a sitting area with my parents and we chatted. I wasnt overly nervous at all. Finally, around 10:30 I got buzzed that they were ready for me. I was taken by the nurse to the pre-op holding area where you get changed and given a bed so they can get you ready for surgery. Again, no nerves at all. Odd I thought.

My parents were brought back to me and doctors came in and out asking questions and getting my IV ready. My brother, Brett showed up and then FINALLY about 11:30 they were ready to wheel me in. I said goodbye to my parents and taken into the operating room. There is seriously like 10 people coming at you and then next thing you know, you are in the recovery room.

I woke up and saw a clock and I think it was like 6:30 PM. As I came out of anesthesia, they gave me some ice chips, and then took me to my room at Seidman Cancer Center. I had a nice room overlooking a new hotel they are putting up at UH. The nurses and I joked that there would be some hot construction guys to wake up to in the morning :)

My parents came in and stayed with me until about 8:30. Then as they left I thought, "Shit I am allll alone in here". That was weird. No husband or boyfriend to sleep in the room with me. Nobody. ALthough I knew I wasnt alone, in that moment, I was very alone. I grabbed the remote and found me some Bravo. This made the pain more tolerable although when I was watching Andy Cohen and laughing, it hurt! I finally shut the tv off about 11:30 and tried to get some sleep.

I was in and out of consciousness all night. Between doctors visiting and nurses checking in on you, I probably slept for a total of 2 hours. I woke up around 7 AM and looked over to see construction workers. One with a Browns hard top construction helmet on. My dream man! :) My doctors came in around 9:00 and informed me everything looked great and I would be discharged. Finally, around 11:30 AM my nurse said all of the paperwork was done and I could call my parents to come and get me. So around 12:30, Fred and Sandy showed up and picked me up. We headed home and I was starving. So my dad dopped us off then went to get my meds and Subway for us. It was delicious.

By Friday I was showering on my own and noticing my left arm had a ton more mobility than when I had surgery 4 years ago on right side. Maybe it was because I had been through it before and knew what to expect? And/or maybe survior instincts kicked in. I dont know. But I do know I feel a shitload better than last time.

Dr Shenk removed 2 lymph nodes and didnt "see anything that looked suspicious" but they would have path results back by mid this coming week. Fingers crossed. If I can get ove that hurdle, the rest is smooth sailing.

Anyways, that is where I stand now. I am very tired so I am going to head to bed for a nap.....will type more later!

XOXO
B-