Saturday 12.20.2007

I was up at 0410 today, worked 12 1/2 hours, went over and got Mom tucked in, came home and looked at the football game while writing here.

It was a pretty good day. I'll be glad when I won't have to make the comment that my breast is still sore, and the area under my arm annoyingly full. I have it wrapped with the ace wrap, and it feels like it is chafing under the arm. When I look at the area of supposed irritation, nothing looks amiss. Ok--I'll just keep on keeping on.

I'm off--Thanks for reading.

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.

Sunday 12.23.2007

After breakfast this morning, I finished wrapping and tagging a couple of gifts for this afternoon's party--picked up a little, and got ready to go to Jackson to pick up Mom. Daniel helped me adjust the ace wrap--we don't have it quite right this time under the arm, but it will do. The underarm area might be just a smidgen smaller this morning. All of the tender spots are still tender though. I had about 30 minutes to sit with the heating pad and check the computer.

We got to the nursing home, mom had been fed and they were changing her clothes. They had also curled her hair. I thanked them for getting her ready and doing a nice job. Frank came in and helped get her into the car. Mom hardly made a noise, and was quiet all the way there. Frank scooped her up again and carried her into Jim and Polly's home, placing her in the recliner. Mom stayed awake all afternoon, listening and looking. Jeremy called from Afghanistan, and we had a nice conversation. We had a wonderful meal, I fed mom, then we opened gifts. Lots of hugs and conversations. Time for Frank to scoop Elaine again and get into the car. She wasn't so quiet this time, and made noise most of the way back to the nursing home. Frank got her out of the car, into the wheelchair, and we rolled back to the room. She was still fussy, I rolled her around the facility, but that didn't work, but she quieted after I got her into the bathroom to get ready for bed. With her tucked in and comfortable, Dan and I headed home.

Breon and Nick were making buckeyes for gifts, and left after they were done. Dan went to bed at 9 pm, I stayed up and wrote here. I'm just a bit sore, and every once in a while the wound gets a sharp pain. The heating pad feels good. I'm on my way to bed, too, and up at 0410 to work....

Thank you for reading, for the hugs, for the support. You are, each of you, so very important to me and Dan.