Mastectomy completed...check...

Step two of this journey has been completed. I was at the hospital for eight in the morning. The whole process before the actual operation dragged on. I finally went into the operating room at just past ten in the morning - and they told me I was the priority that day. Yikes - when you are nervous, waiting around is not the best thing for you. Regardless, I had kept myself so busy right up until the night before surgery and then the morning of, that I really hadn't had too much time to even think about the mastectomy.  When the nurse came to get me and I said good-bye to my husband, I finally got a little nervous. The nurse was great. Actually, all the nurses in the O.R. were awesome.  They all told me that if they were getting a mastectomy, this was the surgeon they would want. Now normally I would think that they were just saying that to make me feel good but when you have heard that as often as I had to this point, I really believed that I was in great hands. The nurse that was mainly talking with me was so kind and compassionate. She kept rubbing my forehead or cheek - but not in an annoying way. It was very motherly - just who everyone wants at a time like that.  When I was laying on the table and just before they put the mask on me, I finally let a couple tears trickle down my cheeks. The nurse was so sweet. She would wipe the tears away for me with the corner of a very soft and warm blanket. Then I went to sleep. I woke up in some discomfort in a strange room where I continued to nod in and out. I was there for about two hours. They finally wheeled me to the recovery room where I continued to nod off. My husband and mother were able to come in and see me there though. All was right in the world. I was there for another couple hours and then I finally got to go home. Home sweet home. As I write this blog entry, I realize that it has been just over 24 hours since my surgery. I was very groggy when I got home yesterday and went to bed just after seven in the evening. My sweet husband emptied my drains for me. For those that don't know what that is,  I have two tubes running out of my body where I had my mastectomy. Attached to the end of these tubes are plastic/rubber bulbs that look like hand grenades. They are a good size in that they fill your whole hand. As they begin to fill up, they need to be emptied and the fluid needs to be measured.  My husband was doing this almost every three hours until about five in the morning. We were finally able to go about five hours before we needed to empty them and I am now at seven hours later and just about set to empty the drains again. I am feeling quite well today (my Mom and Dad even said that I was chipper). I have some pain and discomfort but I it isn't as bad as I thought it would be. I am able to move my arm quite freely except for lifting it up. Don't get me wrong, I am moving it slowly but I already have good range. My rib cage is very tender but I am up and trying to move around. The more movement I can get, the better off I will be in recovering.  I should be in quite a bit of discomfort for three days and not bad by a week. By the end of two weeks I should feel pretty good and by the end of three weeks, I should be healed. In the end, I think chemo is worse than the mastectomy...