Christmas Day 2007

Merry Christmas

I slept well, woke up with sinus pressure and swelling on the right side of my face around my eye. Eww. I wandered around the house, made a fresh pot of coffee and sipped the warm fluid. That felt good. I eventually started feeling better, and removed the ace wrap to have a look...

Whoa!! The swelling has gone down quite a lot in the breast, and it looks, um, different. Like I've had a breast reduction, on the top half. The bottom half is still full and a little firm, but I think there's fluid caught in there. The incision on the breast is still tender and sore, but firm immediately around it, and kind of puckering. I hope that smoothes out. The underarm is full, but maybe not as much. That incision is like indented, maybe like an "innie" belly button. I hope that one smoothes out, too. The swelling above the wound creates a fold at the incision line, and the sensation is bothersome, even though it's still mostly numb.

And then, comparing it to the other breast. Definitely not symmetrical. Hm. Left nipple looking out, right one like a lazy eyelid. And the left one is about an inch higher than the other. This could be an interesting bra-fitting issue. Ah, well, it's not done healing, I'll try to be patient and watch the process, and not worry (too much) about the long term outcome. I go shower, and massage the fluid around, which helps some. The reality is that I can't massage it all day. I do try to move the fluid frequently, though, and keep it compressed with the ace wrap. The ace wrap is a comfort measure, too. I try to leave the wrap off for a couple of hours after bathing to let things rest and see what happens, and I find myself supporting the breast with my hand, and it does seem to be uncomfortable just hanging there. It's ok if I'm able to rest my elbow on the arm of the sofa, with the heating pad over my shoulder and tucked into the armpit. I noticed, too, in the shower, that the numbness down the underside of the upper arm is still there, but maybe not as intense. That will be wonderful to have resolved.

Our afternoon passed by--I putzed around, prepared and ate food, I went to the nursing home and back, all without incident. It's now time for bed again.

I hope you are having a great Christmas season. Thank you for reading, for sharing yourselves with me and Dan. Your support is nurturing us, giving us courage and strength.