Breast Cancer, Surgery Recovery

Breast Cancer, Surgery Recovery

Tuesday Evening May 10 2011 (tenth post in this series)

The past few days, since her surgery, has been rough on Kelly.

She did very well the day after her surgery. She was able to eat dinner Friday night as well as breakfast and lunch on Saturday. The doctors took precautions to make sure she did not get sick from the various anesthetics and/or medications. She was released Saturday afternoon.

Just before they released her, they gave her two Vicodin. She really did not tolerate the medication well. The doctor then prescribed a non-narcotic medication (Tramadol). She is not having reactions to that drug, but it is also not as effective in pain mitigation.

As I looked at our last post, I realized that I did not report the initial pathologist report. It was an excellent report that suggested that the surgery got all of the cancer. As I was writing this blog, Kelly called and she got the detailed/final report. They got all the cancer. She will NOT have to have any secondary treatment – radiation, chemo, or other medication. What good news!!!!

She has a pain pump and two drains. Those are cumbersome, but a part of the process. She has extremely limited movement of her arms (normal) and has quite a bit of pain at times. She has been doing quite a bit of walking and has been going to school with the girls in the morning (Damon driving).

A double mastectomy is a terrible procedure, but it was the correct decision and resulted in a very positive health report. We are all grateful for that outcome.

As we have said many times, we are amazed at the tremendous response from her family and friends. One friend set up a meal calendar online, and a large number of people have signed up to furnish meals for the family over the next six weeks! That is a huge help and so appreciated!!

That is all for now.