Knives Out - Part 1- Written by me

 5/15/24

The day I've been waiting for since I learned I had breast cancer.  Surgery day! 

I slept amazingly well, and my alarm went off at 5:30.  I did wake up at 5 and had 7 oz of water.  My mom came at 6:15 to hang with Nolan.  I loved him up yesterday, and he slept in this morning.  Jason and I drove downtown.  The "blue level" that we were supposed to go to in the parking ramp was totally out of commission, so we started a little lost....but only a little.

I checked in about 7, signed my life away and shortly after, they brought me back to prep.  My prep nurse was Julie.  Urine sample (gross), change clothes, started IV.  Also, in case you were wondering...no tampons allowed.  Then Jason came back and we chatted but I was SO tired, it was bizarre, but there wasn't anything weird in the IV.  An anesthesiologist came in to visit with me, I shared my concerns, but I didn't feel overly nervous or scared today.  No tears.

I asked Jason the time, I tried to read, ultimately I just shut my eyes.  Finally I got to hug Jason and Julie took me to mammography.  Tanya and Patty were the mammography people today.  Patty's former neighbor ended up being Jason's uncle's sister.  Did you get all that!?  It's a small world!  Then the radiologist Ryan placed the seeds.  The mammogram part of that hurt more than the seed placement, and maybe that was the part that hurt the most all day.

After mammography Tanya took me to nuclear medicine when I visited with Sean.  Sean shared a core memory of his was when his music teacher played the Superbowl Shuffle when the Bears made the Super Bowl in 1985.  Go Bears!  Go music teachers!  Dr. T arrived and gave me Versed and gave me the shot to light up the lymph nodes.  Everything gets fuzzy after that.  I'm not sure how I got back to pre-op.  Sean I think?  

Jason came back and Angela came in to visit.  Afterwords I asked Jason if she was really there or if it was a dream.  Then surgery.  I think there was a step stool, I think I commented on how squishy the arm thing was.  That's it.  I remember nothing until recovery when they kept trying to rouse me but I was so tired.  And things kept beeping because I was SO tired.  I had some ice chips, water and apple sauce.  I went to the bathroom and then I got to go to post-op and see Jason!  I was so tired.  I apparently passed all of the milestones because I got to go home shortly after.  About 3PM.  

Mom, Dad and Nolan were home.  I gave them side hugs and went to bed.  Jason checked on me every hour but I was just so tired.  Finally at 6, I got up, even though I think I could have slept until morning, ate some food and tried to be upright for a while.  I called HyVee to make sure my prescription of "good drugs" was ready and Jason picked that up, which brings us to now.  

I'm going to take said drug, set and alarm for 4 hours and take another.  I've been told to stay up on it!  I felt all of the love today, I was in amazingly good care.  The universe gave me several nods of love today, too.

Julie- Prep nurse- The name of an amazing family friend that I've known since 1st grade.

Patty- Mammogram person- The name of my babysitter birth-age 6, the only person who can call me Annie.  

Tanya- Mammogram person- Tanya was at my stereotactic mammogram on April 8, before diagnosis.  Her kid was getting ready to sing the National Anthem at a hockey game that day.  She was a familiar face.

Ryan- Radiologist- Ryan is also the name of my brother-in-law.

Sean- Nuclear Imaging- Shawn is the name of my cousin's child.

Angela- Anesthesiologist team- Angela is a Boy Scout mom. She has now seen more of me that I would normally feel comfortable with, BUT knowing she KNOWs my family and who I NEEDED to make it home to really really really put my mind at ease.  Maybe sometime she can tell me if I said or did anything stupid.

Ok.  I'm going to let Jason take the reins and write his perspective of the day.


LOVE YOU ALL!


 

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