Kris, Dave and the Lumps: Surgery follow-up, stitches removed

2009-May-26
Got home from work and Kris had a nasty headache and generally wasn't
feeling well. When we discussed things it struck me that she'd had too
little to eat and that maybe some electronics device in the house had fried
(ever since the first round of cancer she's been susceptible to that kind
of thing), so, I convinced her to head out for lunch. After which she felt
better, though the headache was still lingering.

When she got back from seeing Dr. Kuisle and having the first set of
stiches removed (turns out there's two sets to remove). One thing she had
to say about removing the stitches was that it was VERY uncomfortable!
Apparently the Dr. had said that he'd given her cortisone before the
surgery to help with this sensitivity. Now that it's worn off... well,
things are less comfortable. He instructed her to keep an ice pack on the
nerve plexus just under her armpit, about where the bra strap goes around
back. That seemed to help a lot and she was doing better when she trundled
off to sleep.

Kris, Dave and the Lumps: Tubes out, looking to remove the stitches

2009-May-22
Saw Dr. Kuisle today to have the drain and RR tracks removed. Ok, the RR
tracks are staples they use these days that make a wound look a lot like
Rail Road tracks. Oddly, since this surgery was less invasive than the
others we are used to, removing the drain seemed to be a bit less
comfortable. All in all the procedure was quick and we were on our way
home, and running errands, in nothing flat. Her next appointment is
Tuesday the 26 th (today) to have the stiches removed and the stitches are
causing Kris conniptions of the highest order! Seems they feel like
needles poking her from all angles when they rub against fabric... <sigh>
This too shall pass and the results will be wonderful! :)

WARNING: what follows is NOT for the squeamish! Do NOT read on if you are
one of those types!

You have been warned.

Ok, when we went into surgery the Dr. used one of his disposable pens to
mark up Kris. Presumably as a guide for the cuts he would make for the
surgery. The guide looked an awful lot like an old fashioned keyhole with
a round opening at the top and the sides at the bottom fanning wide like a
dress skirt. This shape went vaguely from above the nipple down to the
bottom of the breast with another line below and following the crease of
the breast. Now, he'd told us before that this surgery was basically a
boob reduction and lift and as such I expected the nipple to fit in the key
hole but wasn't quite sure what was going on with the rest of the lines.
Having the bandages off was an eye opener! The keyhole had indeed closed
around the nipple and the 'skirt' lines had come together to form one
straight line going down to the horizontal 'crease' line.

Ok, why, Dave, are you going in to so much detail? When I saw Kris the
first time it was a bit of a surprise... if I didn't have my background (my
father is a mortician and I've seen more bodies and autopsies than I care
to admit to) I may well have reacted with shock and dismay... I did not and
it dawned on me that if I had it may well have affected Kris peace of mind.
You see, the fact is that it was not only Kris' first time to see herself
without the bandages but a reflection of how she must look through the eyes
of another. I am quite pleased that I was able to look upon the work the
Dr had done and react to the woman... NOT the scars left behind. The scars
will heal... or they won't. Kris will be there either way and frightening
her based on viewing something that is decidedly not yet healed will do no
one any good.

The lesson to anyone who has to go through this is not to be shocked by the
interim process. This is no different than losing your hair to chemo, it's
transitory and the scars will heal (the scars on the left have). So, for
the sake of your loved one, don't run screaming from the room. If you have
to flinch, do so, but, be sure to be supportive and let them know that the
wounds will heal and things will be wonderful when all is healed. :)

On that note, we were watching the Drs and a gal pulled her wig off (she
was losing her hair to chemotherapy) during the show. It seems that the
wig doesn't make her feel like herself but rather like she's hiding
something she feels she shouldn't have to hide. I agree, however, it was
obvious that she'd not shaved her head and had scraggly hair... ladies,
trust me, keeping half a dozen shoulder length hairs is NOT better than
shaving it off so it's evenly trimmed and neat!

Kris, Dave and the Lumps: Post 'adjustment' Surgery

18-May-2009
Went to the surgery center at 9 am, registered and Kris went in... I then proceeded to cool my heals, well, Kris insisted I go to breakfast THEN I cooled my heals. Surgery went without a hitch. Doctor came out about 2 hours later and said she was out of surgery but not quite 'awake' yet. About 15 minutes later he called me down. Kris looked pale but recovered nicely. We were home by 4 pm. She's recovering nicely enough that we had Ginger beef for dinner and she kept down her fair share!

19-May-2009
She's up and about and, in fact, maybe a bit too much up and about but she seems to be fine. I'm chiding her to ice things when she's sitting still and otherwise things seem to be proceeding fine. Next appointment is Friday to have the drain attended to.

Kris, Dave and the Lumps: Final Reconstructive Surgery Update

There is a schedule change: Kris goes in for her final surgery Monday the
18th of May. She will go in early morning and should be home by 2-ish in
the afternoon. Then it's a matter of me pampering her for the following
week for recovery. :)
Kris' final Herceptin treatment was uneventful, even boring. She had a
consult with her Dr. about an issue that we have been suffering from and
found that there is an acceptable treatment for her. I won't go in to
details so as to not embarrass Kris, but, I will say that if someone is

Kris, Dave and the Lumps: Follow up Surgery plans

Straight from Kris herself:
Saw my reconstructive surgeon today. My follow up surgery will be the morning of May 15, which is a Friday. I expect to be off work the following week, and return Monday May 25. He did mention that I might be a bit more fatigued than normal for another week when I get back.
I'll also have an afternoon pre-op appt on Monday May 11.
I'll be blocking my calendar, but wanted you all to have the information.

Kris Dave and the Lumps: Quick update

Just a quick update: Herceptin treatments are almost done and uneventful. Kris' appointments have been... uneventful. Today she will meet with the doctors to find out when she will be doing her final surgery. This is an adjustment so that she is... erm... balanced. I will post more information tomorrow when I have the results of todays meeting.

10-Dec to Present:

Ok, I've been remiss. My only excuse is the Holidays and it's a weak one at that!

Kris saw her Physical therapist, Dale, her final three times and other than the edema where her reconstructive surgery was done, she's fine. In fact, she's exceeded Dales expectations... to the point that Dale tried to discharge her. Kris asked about the edema and Dale relented since dealing with edema from surgery is one of the responsibilities of Physical Therapy.

She went in for her Herceptin last week on December 23rd. While their, she asked the Dr. about a rash that had broken out on her belly... the Dr. said it was shingles! She prescribed a medication for Shingles and we got a lesson in what Shingles is. When I was young, I'd hear folks talk about shingles and the way folks spoke about it, I always assumed that the victims of shingles had been doing something naughty... since it was always in hushed tones or 'behind the hand.' Turns out that if you have Chicken Pox and beat it, the disease can recede into your nervous system as a form of herpes virus. This dormant version creates pockets in the nerves near the spinal column and will be dormant for years. When it does finally awaken, it travels along the nerves until it breaks free through the skin. Looks just like your garden variety rash. The only thing I can say is that the rash Kris has is roughly the size of a half dollar. We initially thought it was a break out of ring worm. The bad news is that what breaks out of the skin is contagious and can spread, of all things, Chicken Pox. Note that the contagion is unlikely to spread save to those folks who have suppressed immune systems... oh, like folks going through Chemo Therapy! However, once the rash scabs over, you are no longer contagious. Fact is, the Dr. washed her hands and had Kris was hers as well before going in for her Herceptin infusion... just in case. Other than that, she wasn't worried. I specifically asked if I needed to worry about this and she said 'no.' So, we filled the prescription and the rash is clearing up quickly and nicely.

Note that if you do not catch this in the first 72 hours, living with shingles can be a living hell! This according to a friend of ours who has had it and did not catch it in time! Apparently it can spread widely and the itch and pain is a nerve itch/pain so it's quite bad. We read up on this and found that in rare cases it can break out on the face (cheeks) and that can cause blindness! Long and short: if you have a rash that you can't explain, don't be embarrassed to ask what seems like a 'dumb' question of your Dr. It may well save you some pain and frustration!

Kris is now back at work! Oddly, it's been quite the fight. I'd love to rant about this but, I won't. I'll just say that, according to Kris' observations, it's costing IBM quite a lot of money to put her on LTD. And that there was some question, in fact, about bringing her back... which makes me question whether or not this really is a benefit. Fact is, it would've been more cost efficient, and less nerve wracking, to just take vacation and a short leave of absence... though, it would've been more costly to us personally.