Post Op. MUCH BETTER!!! 11.30.2007

I wake up, I don't know to what stimulus. It's shortly after 12 noon. Hi, I'm Steve, You're in recovery. (Cool. Awake. And mostly alert. System check -- nausea, nope, pain, yeah, some, maybe a 4 or 5. Definitely not as intense as last Friday. The iv site is still annoying. Hm. Warm. So far, so good. Let's check the dressing--yup, bulky dressing like before, and the 4 x 4 gauzes are placed over the entire breast, off to the outer side of the breast, and another few overlap into the axilla. I see the drain has been removed, yay, and wonder if the steri strip was removed from the axillary incision. Can't tell. There is white perforated tape over the whole shabang. Wait--tape over everything? I look for the nipple area to see if it got taped. Nope, whew, my poor nipple, it got spared this time. The corner of the gauze is protecting it, and the tape is on the skin.) Steve watches me, I tell him I had to check this dressing. I don't know if he looked before, but he looks now and sees that all is well. I must say the dressing feels good, supportive? maybe. He pushes Toredol 30 mg. The sequential compression stockings are doing their thing. They squeeze kinda tight, I was surprised. Last week, the stockings had been removed by the time I regained memory. Steve offers me ice chips, water, or pop. I ask about fresh coffee :) But he wisely offers me cola. 1215, BP cuff inflates. 123/76 or something good like that, pulse high 60's. Good. Steve documents the vitals, asks about pain. We have the discussion about pain control options, and he ends up calling one of the Docs for something other than Dilaudid to push. I think he takes the legs things off, too.

While he's gone, I see that Jan (my recovery nurse from last week, is across the room with a patient. She's finishing up his recovery and discharges him, taking his cart, I assume, to one of the cubicles labeled Patient and a number. Then I see her approaching my cart. Hi, she says, smiling, and takes my hand. She says that they don't often see patients again, and saw that I was back. She asks how I'm doing, and why I had a re-excision. I tell her that it's good news, about the margins being clear, and the only positive lymph node of the 19 total removed was the sentinal node. That Dr. Sanchez wanted a larger area of clear margin. Wow, she says. That is good news. She's smiling and stroking my hand. She tells me that she has been praying for me all week. WOW I feel my eyes well, and don't know how to tell her how powerful that was for me. I tell her thank you with all the sincerety and love I can muster. Thank you, God, for Jan in this world.

Steve comes back with Morphine 2 mg, and shoves it in, kinda fast, I thought, over a few seconds, as I could feel a slight sensation as it went in the vein. Ok. He has also brought me a diet cola over ice. I sip on it and find I'm able to tolerate it. Mmm. Jan moves on. 1230, BP. I twist my head around and see that I'm stable, (Thank you God) and that I'm not nauseated. (thank you again) In fact, I think I'm feeling pretty good. Steve comes at my iv port with another syringe. What's that?? Another 2 of Morphine, he says. Oh, you think I need it? I ask. (I don't know, I've never done this before. And I'm not sure if I need it or not.) I ask, If I have that, do you need to keep me another time interval?? He says no, as far as he's concerned, I'm ready to leave now. Ok. He pushes that Morphine, I sip my soda (through a straw) and he goes to call report. I check in with myself: no nausea, and yes, most of the rest of that discomfort has gone. I'm glad he gave me that other 2 mg.

I see Steve calling report, and hear a few words drift over: he's speaking to Alicia, who took care of me last week, I hear my name, the procedure, there's a dressing, and ice over the incision. There is?? I don't remember seeing an ice pack. I look, I don't find one. He hangs up, comes over, and tells me he's called report to Alicia, who remembers taking care of me last week. I tell him that Alicia was very patient with me when I wasn't doing very well. He smiles and says she's one of the good ones. I also tell him I don't have ice on the incision--he looks down at my chest, recovers quickly, and says,"sure you do" as he lifts the glass with cola out of my armpit. Good save, Steve. He scurries off, fills an icepack and brings it right back. "There" he says, and helps place it under the blankets. I will say I'm glad to have that ice again. He unwraps the blood pressure cuff, removes the sat monitor, and we're on our way back to Same Day Surgery, cubicle Patient 19. Steve tells Alicia that he's sent me over with my chart and an application for employment. Thank you, Steve, for taking such good care of me. Will you hire an LPN with 26 years experience, and give me 4 weeks paid vacation, at or above the wages to which I've become accustomed?? He laughs. Me, too.