One Week Down

It has been one week since Surgery, five more weeks until I see the doctor and hope to get out of the brace.
Today was a fantastic day.  My friend Kathy came over to sweep and vacuum my floors.  The best part of her visit was when she pulled out her guitar.  My spirit was lifted as she played and sang.  What a beautiful talent!

As Kathy left, Brianna came and we visited for a couple of hours  We walk to the garden and she picked tomatoes and peppers to take home.  The weather is  warm and there are still a lot of tomatoes.

In the evening Elaine brought over dinner and we  got to visit awhile.  I am grateful for the wonderful friends that have fed us this week!  Michelle, Carla, Jill, Natalie you are all wonderful cooks.  Thank you for blessing our lives.

How Do You Keep a Good Woman Down?

For me, I have to be strapped.  Here is a look at my brace/sling.

Twice a day we take it off to do exercises.  The exercise work out my wrist and elbow.  I also feel it in my bicep and triceps.

We changed the dressing and this is what is underneath it.

Another war wound in this battle to join the other scars.  (hysterectomy, left thoracotomy, port a cath, right thorocotomy.  and many RFA sites)

Cute Kids at the Corn Maze

All the kids went to the corn maze on Saturday.  I didn't miss much because they brought me these pictures.

My First Full Day at Home Sunday October 17, 2010

I have had  a wonderful first full day at home.  My pain was very manageable with Ibuprofen.

Shane made dinner for 13 of us.  Chantel and her kids, Britney's family, my nephew, Cameron and his wife, our boys and us.  The company was great, the food was fabulous!  Joe made his traditional Sunday night cookies and we watched "How to Train Your Dragon".

It was a fun day.

Shane and the gradkids looking at a book of pictures from our Disneyland trip.

I am a hard stick.

Which means that my veins will do anything to avoid being stuck by a needle!  They roll, move, disappear and then if they are found the person with the needle ends up blowing the vein.  As a result my left arm looks worse than my right arm.

Luckily I have a port a cath in the left side of my chest that connects to an artery.  This gives direct access to a vein.  Before surgery they started an iv through my port.  After they put me out they accessed an artery in my wrist and put in a catheter for monitoring my blood pressure and oxygen level.  They also put another iv in the top of my left hand. 
The bruise at my wrist is from the access of the artery.

The bruise by my elbow is from a blood draw before surgery. 
The bruise in the middle is from a failed blood draw on Thursday morning.  He was able to get blood from my hand in between my thumb and pointer finger.  (no bruise)

Friday morning when they want more blood, my awesome nurse Janis tried to get some from my port and my iv.  This did not work, I tried to convince them that I did not have blood.  The person taking the blood pulled up a chair and took her time to find a vein.  She got one right above the last successful stick.  This blood sample showed that my red blood counts were low and I received two units of donor blood.

Saturday morning was the last blood draw.  I was not looking forward to it.  The guy came in and started preparing things.  I asked if he was using his smallest needle.  He did.  I told him to pull up a chair.  He did.  He looked and felt all over my arm.  I showed him were the last two successful sticks were.  He did do it right above the last draw. 
No more blood draws for a while.

My Surgery October 13, 2010

We arrived at the Huntsman Hospital at 7 am.  We checked in on the third floor and they took us right back to a room. I changed into a gown and they took care of my belongings.  They got me a pretty pink bracelet with my name on it and  started an iv by accessing my port, so far pain free.

We met the anesthesiologist team.  They explained what hey would do.   They promised to not leave my side and take good care of me. We met the surgery nurse, she would call Shane and give him updates.  Dr Randall's team came in, he greeted me by calling me beautiful.  H e looked at my arm, noticing the protruding tumor and said, " we will not miss this one."  He marked an X on my arm.  H explained what He would do. They gave me a drug through the iv and I don't remember anything else.  Shane says that I got goofy.  I asked if we were on time as they wheeled me out, it was 8:36, just a few minutes behind.

It was just after two o'clock that I woke up in the recovery room.  I was not in a lot of pain.  I was breathing well. My arm was in a sling that holds it close to my body and does not allow the new bone to move away from the shoulder joint.  They came in and took X rays.  That was my first challenge, He removed my arm from the sling and slide the big screen under my back. I had to hold it in position while he took the x-ray.

The anesthesia team came in and gave me a nerve block.  They used ultrasound to find the nerves to my arm.  they inserted a catheter into the area and attached a baby bottle to the end of it. In side what looked like a baby bottle was a balloon filled with medication that would numb my nerves.  This nerve block was a life saver for me.  I felt very little pain and did not have to take narcotics.  By four o'clock I was taken to my room where I was joined by Shane and Britney. 

Later Dr Randall came in, again calling me beautiful.  H explained that the surgery went well.  They were not able to get all of the tumor out because of how involved it was with the muscle, blood vessels and nerve.  I ask how much he thought he got.  He explained about 98 to 99 percent but by not having wide margins it will require follow up treatment of radiation and chemotherapy.   He asked if I had a post op x-ray and if they took me out of the sling.  He was very upset that they had moved my arm.  He has lectured on the reasons they cannot do that.  He ordered another x-ray to be sure that the new bone had not been moved out of position.   I love Dr Randall for his passion and that he calls me beautiful,  He has given me quality of life!

Hospital Update

Theresa is doing well.  They took her nerve block (pain killer that was directly in her shoulder) out and she is feeling good.  She is on ibuprofen alone and feels fine.  She was released from the hospital this afternoon and made it home.  She enjoyed having lots of visitors while she was in the hospital including her grand kids.  More pictures to come: