Getting Better All the Time

I know it's been awhile since I've written. Every day continues to be my "best day" yet. On Tuesday, I had the last of the drains pulled (yay!). Now that I've got that "off my chest" (ha ha), let me tell you a bit about the drains.

After surgery, there is a buildup of fluid at the site. This is a normal part of the healing process, but if it were left unchecked the swelling would be pretty unmanageable. It is standard practice with mastectomy patients to put at least one drain in the breast area. It's a flexible tube about 3/8" wide (kind of like the airline hose for fish tanks) that goes roughly toward the center of the chest, following the shape of the breast (in my case, outlining the tissue expander), then out a hole in my side. This tube is connected to a clear rubber bulb that kind of resembles a hand grenade. The bulb is compressed to provide suction that helps the fluid drain out of the body and into the bulb.

At least twice a day, or when the bulb is about half full, we had to empty the bulb and record the volume of the fluid, being careful not to keep it exposed to air for too long. When the volume of fluid draining from the site got down to 20-30 ml per day, it was ready to come out. The drains can also be a source of infection, so my plastic surgeon said that after 2 weeks, if they weren't draining less than 20-30 ml per day, they were coming out anyway. Then, if there continued to be excess fluid buildup in the area, he would have to remove it with a needle. I read about this one woman who had a drain in for 12 weeks. By the time it was "ready" she needed general anesthesia to get it out. I also read about a woman whose drains collected 60 ml of fluid per day for 3 weeks, until finally her doctor took them out anyway (to prevent infection). She was fine, and didn't experience any swelling.

So, by Tuesday, my last drain was producing about 28 ml of fluid, and it had been slowly declining (from about 33 ml on Friday). I was convinced that if they just took the darn thing out, everything would be fine. And it has been. I was so happy when that thing was gone. I had to pin them to the top of my pants or my shirt, so it was pretty unsightly. I didn't want to go outside with them because they're gross, so I mainly confined myself to the house except for doctor's appointments. When the drain was gone on Tuesday, I went for a long walk with my coworker who came to visit and then Rusty and I went out to dinner that night. I felt like a new woman!

Since then, I've started to move around a bit more. I drove a little bit on Wednesday with my mom. It wasn't bad. I definitely felt safe, but my muscles hurt when I had to turn the wheel while the car was moving very slowly (like when you do a three point turn, or back out of a car space). I also did a little yoga yesterday! I have a DVD that is designed specifically for mastectomy patients. The poses are nothing like what I used to be able to do, all of them are restorative poses, but they really provided a lot of stretching to the arm area. It felt good and I can already notice the difference in my muscles and range of motion.

Today I go for my first post-surgery expander fill! I'm a little nervous. It is probably going to hurt a bit - they told me to take Tylenol before I get to the office and then I can move to the "hard stuff" if I have to. I'm also curious to see how the doctor knows where the port is to insert the needle, and if they'll numb the area first.

I continue to anxiously await my first beer. I can't have one until my antibiotics are gone, and I take my last dose around 2 PM on Monday and I'll get to have my first beer on Tuesday. So, I guess that makes it 4 more days. I swear I don't have a problem, I just LOVE beer :-)