Surgery Day

Today is October 14, 2011.  I wake up at 5:00 am with butterflies in my stomach knowing that within an hour I will be admitted into the hospital.  My wonderful husband wakes up and wraps his arm around me and kisses me good morning, we lay there for five minutes and take in the moment between us. 

6:00 am I am admitted to Day Surgery Unit 22 at the Peter Laugheed Hospital.  I change into my gown and relax in Dave's arms waiting to go to the OR.  I am the first one in for surgery that day.  Hours go by and slowly things are happening, I get my IV inserted, paper work filled out, all the good stuff.  at 8:50 I kiss my husband goodbye and sob on my way to the OR feeling sorry for the lady driving my bed, however, she is so sweet and understanding, everyone around me at this time feels like my family. 

The OR is just as scary as it looks on TV, there are bright lights and its a large room with a small little bed in the middle.  I hop on over to the OR bed and try lighten the mood by laughing with the nurses and doctors.  Dr. Kanashiro comes in and does her speech...it goes a little something like this...

I am Dr. Kanashiro

You are Beige Plotts

You are having a full Left Mastectomy, correct?

Yes

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

That is all that I remember until I woke up in recovery and was wheeled back to see my beautiful husbands face greet me at my bedside.  A short visit from Dave, my mom and dad and I was ready for another nap!  Later that day another visit from all of them including Burgandy and my best friend Ash.  I am in good spirits, laughing and joking and generally feel great!

Dr. Kanashiro came to visit me in the Day Surgery Unit with the best news we could have ever heard.  "The surgery went well, the lymph nodes were not affected".  The only thing she said was that it was black however, but there was no cancer in it.  THANK YOU GOD!

About 3:30 that day I was sitting up in bed and see a lady being wheeled in from recovery, it is none other than the friend I met the day before during my Scintography- Her name was Brenda. 

Brenda and I talked alot that day and the next morning.  She has two children - 14 years old and 7 years old and I hope that her daughter and Burgandy will be able to help each other through this journey. 

At 6:00 am the day after surgery us three women in Unit 22 were wide awake and feeling rather chatty, we had the nurses open our curtains and began chatting each others ears off.  There was myself, Brenda and our other neighbor Kris who was a 67 year old vibrant woman who had already undergone her chemotherapy and just underwent her double mastectomy.  Kris was an inspiration like non other with her English accent and upbeat attitude, she constantly told the nurses there was no need for pain killers that she felt no need to poison herself.  When I was getting ready to leave Kris made sure to tell me and Brenda that if we had not yet seen the Grand Canyon to make sure that we do so shortly that there is nothing like seeing a bird rise from hundreds of feet below you and see it rise above your head.  She made sure that we pay attention to the engineering when we go and wonder to ourselves how they get hot water and plumping in the bathrooms there, that nothing should go unnoticed and everything should be explored.   

I exchanged my contact information with Brenda and promised to keep in contact with her, that we could do some education classes together, and I was on my way.