I am super excited to be coming to you from my desktop computer, and not the laptop - which means I have peeled myself off from the couch! woohooo!!! It's the little victories, people. ;) Friday was a bit of a doozy for me but thankfully, all in all, surgery went well and was a success. I had to be at the hospital at 6:30 am for all my pre-op stuff, went into surgery a little after 8am, and was out of surgery a couple hours later. Dr. M came out to talk to the fam and let them know everything went well. The surgery itself was fairly uneventful except for one complication on my left side. There was an area where my pec muscle had sort of collapsed and wasn't covering the tissue expander properly. It's so interesting to find this out because I knew there was something wrong with this particular spot ever since my mastectomy. I could not only see, but feel that something was different there but no one knew what it was. Just one more example of how we should always trust our intuitions about these things - we know our bodies better than anyone! Anyways, Dr. M had to implant some sort of synthetic mesh tissue to build that area back up and apparently over time my body will begin to recognize this as normal tissue and start to heal itself. Modern medicine is amazing, huh?! Although surgery went well, my experience in post-op while coming out of anesthesia was just about the polar opposite. I truly felt like I was hit by a Mack truck! Every inch of my body ached and hurt, and it honestly felt like I didn't have an ounce of pain medication in my body. On top of that, I was extremely nauseous and thought I was going to vomit. This was nothing like my experience with the double mastectomy. I was a little nauseous after that but my pain was so well controlled - this was a level of pain like I had never felt before! To make matters worse, my post-op nurse was let's just say, less than friendly or compassionate. I was extremely groggy but I remember telling this nurse that I was in a great deal of pain. Well, she proceeded to say that because I was also nauseous she would not give me any Vicodin until I ate. Next thing I know, she shoves a bowl of saltines in my hand and tells me to eat. Now let's think about this...I have not been allowed to eat or drink anything for 14 hours at this point which means my throat is as dry as the Sahara, I was just intubated with a tube down my throat for 2 hours which means I am very sore on top of the dryness, and to top it off, I am nauseous and don't have the desire to eat one morsel of anything! I remember trying to chew and swallow one of the crackers, and the nurse comes back and says, "Well, did you eat?" I then nod my head yes and she looks in the bowl and with disgust she says, "Ugh, you only ate one - I am not giving you the meds until you eat more." This lovely lady then decides to sort of lecture me and make me somehow feel bad that I can't take the medicine she wants to give me for anti-nausea because I have a major sensitivity to it and it bottoms out my blood pressure...."Well, you would feel better if you could take the Zofran.....Well, I can't give you the Zofran so that's why you are nauseous...." It was as if she thought I was just choosing not to take it to be a pain in the butt or something. So what does she decide to give me? Benadryl! So now she expects me to finish eating those crackers while I struggling with every fiber of my being to keep my eyes open. Ugh - it was not fun. Thankfully, what seemed like an eternity later, they let Mike, Mom and Doug come back and see me. They had been in the waiting room worried since Dr. M told them they would probably be able to see me 45 minutes after surgery, but in actuality it ended up being 2 hours because of all this nausea/pain craziness. I knew as soon as Momma/Nurse Jan was back there with me, I would get the meds I needed and hopefully start to feel better. Well, the next thing I remember is literally feeling like they were pushing me out of the door. The nurse told Mike to go get the car, my mom helped me get dressed and I just remember begging her to let me get back in the bed. The thought of being transported in a wheelchair and riding in the car sounded awful! I actually don't really remember riding in the car or how I got in the house. I woke up a few hours later in my bed and was so grateful to be feeling a little better and not so, "I was just run down by a stampede of wild buffalo" feeling. My "Hope" bracelet is so special to me. I have worn it each and every day since last April when my sweet friend Katie gave it to me. She also gave a similar one to each of our Beauts, and one to Momma Jan. I am always bummed out whenever I have to take it off for surgery or an MRI. Saturday I felt pretty darn good. Of course, I felt a little sore but I wouldn't really even call it pain. Mike had a baseball tournament which I didn't want him to miss, so Momma Jan stayed with me and I also had a few sweet visitors come by to keep me company and bring me treats--thanks friends! And there was one sweet puppy who wanted to be lazy and spend lots of time next to his Momma, on his new doggy bed.... Sunday brought some tummy issues that I always seem to have after surgery. The anesthesia and pain meds just mess up my stomach and make me feel nauseous sometimes so that was the problem on Sunday. I stopped taking the Vicodin on Saturday to try to avoid it's effects on my stomach but I think it takes awhile to have your system bounce back from all of that. I pretty much didn't move from the couch and just spent the day watching trashy tv. :) Yesterday, I started feeling better but was still dealing with a little bit of an upset stomach, but today I am feeling much better! I haven't even sat on the couch once yet today and it's already noon - victory! :) I am honestly bored to tears and am not used to laying around like this. It's a catch 22 because I am bored but don't feel 100% well enough to go do much. Sadly, Dr. M told me absolutely no exercise for 2 weeks. I seriously just wanted to walk on the treadmill or slowly ride a stationary bike but he said, "NO!" Then when I said, "well, I will be able to just walk around the block, right?" He said, "what don't you understand about this - no!" It was kind of hilarious with the two of us going at it right before surgery. So, I will feel much better when I can get back to the gym and start moving again. I see Dr. M on Monday and hopefully he will cut me a little slack then. :) In other news, I got my port out! Woohoo! That was a bit of an unexpected surprise. Dr. F told me last September when chemo was over that I could get it out but I was honestly worried that I would need it again for more chemo or something. After my good scans in February, I felt a little better about not needing it but I was still apprehensive. So, after my appointment with Dr. F a few weeks ago, I decided to just go for it and get it out. I figured that it would be nice for summer time to not have this big thing popping out of my chest, and Dr. F reminded me that it's a source of infection so it's smart to have it out. I scheduled outpatient surgery at the end of May to have it removed. Well, during pre-op while I was talking to Dr. M, he said, "Well, we aren't using it today so why don't I just take it out. I do it all the time!" Bonus! One less surgery to worry about. So, although my port never really bothered me and I didn't even mind it too much, I got rid of it and it's nice to have one extra foreign thing removed from my body. Now my little scar just needs to heal up and I'll be good to go. Thank you for all your kind thoughts and prayers while I went into surgery and have since been recovering. It always boosts my spirits to hear from people and I appreciate it so much! In other exciting news...this downtime has allowed me to concentrate more on my new little baby, "Meg Malley Photography". A few weeks ago, I officially registered my business with the county and I have decided to take the plunge into being a small business owner. I started a Meg Malley Photography Facebook page over the weekend to post my latest work...feel free to check it out here -http://www.facebook.com/MegMalleyPhotography And of course, you can see my full website at www.megmalleyphotography.com. I am looking forward to devoting more time and attention to this part of my life because I truly enjoy it so much! Hope everyone has a great week! xoxo, Meg
11 Comments
nanc
5/8/2012 05:59:04 am
Meg, So glad you're starting to feel better, but so sad to hear of your bad nursing experience. I hate it when I hear stories like that. You might want to give the feedback to her during nurses week. Happy nurses week to your wonderful mom and to all the nurses who have helped you along your journey. xoxo
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Kiki
5/8/2012 02:07:30 pm
Who is this nurse, she has my irish blood boiling...glad youre feeling better Meggie-Poo, see you soon! xo
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Linda A. Condilli
5/9/2012 05:05:07 am
Wow I wish I had half your desire to work out! lol.
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Marie
5/10/2012 01:00:10 am
Meghan,
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Aunt Carol
5/11/2012 02:35:51 am
Just in case I haven't told you lately... I LOVE YOU! ! !
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Patty L
5/12/2012 02:00:43 am
Happy to hear the worst of surgery is behind you and you are on the road to recovery! Listen to your doctor and take it easy. Thank you for your blog of 5/3. You remind us all to look at things differently and question our path and purpose-always inspiring!!! We are all better for having you in our lives. You are one special woman!!! Congrats on going full force into the photography business. You are a gifted photographer. It's really your spirit and love of people and relationships that make your photographs shine-you got the rest of it down. Much love to you and MIke. Our prayers will never stop! Enjoy your peonies as they bloom. xoxoxo Patty and family!
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Aunt Erin
5/12/2012 04:07:14 am
I'm with Aunt Carol...she said it best!
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Carolyn Mar
5/13/2012 12:08:48 am
I am so happy to hear that your surgery when well and you are feeling much better!! We are so excited that you will be taking Jessica's Senior pictures for us!! We look forward to getting together in a couple of months, You are always in our thoughts and prayers.
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Jen Meus
5/13/2012 06:51:33 pm
Meg, wishing you a speedy recovery (that the time feels like it's going quickly) til you can get back to exercising and all that you want to do. We met breifly @ the C4WY in New Orleans. I too was one of the VERY few YOUNG women wearing purple. I enjoy reading your blog and wish you well in you new endeavor w/your photography business. Wishing you well. Jen
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5/20/2012 06:53:12 pm
Excellent! I admire all the helpful data you've shared in your articles. I'm looking forward for more helpful articles from you. :)
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Great Aunt Betty McKee
5/26/2012 02:00:59 pm
Meghan you are my inspiration, me and hundreds of other women. You know I am always so proud of your Momma and between you and Mike and all your family and friends you have made it happen. . By this I mean you have brought life into a situation that could have left us all reeling in despair but instead between your blog and your photos you created a life for all of us that we could manage when things get tough. Thank you young lady from the bottom of my heart and tell that nurse that treated you like (crap) that you need another person to do the relay,would she be available and then you could ty her laces together and offer a soda cracker to her as she sits on HER Butt. back off Betty you are showing your colors. Keep YOUR attitude and my goodness I love you and all your family. Xxxooo
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