So, I had my first procedure done yesterday and I am now resting at home with Morphine, Oxycodone and whatever else will take the pain away!
As you all know, the weather has been absolutely terrible for the past couple of days and I was so worried that I wouldn't get to my appointment yesterday. Between worrying about the weather and trying to avoid getting sick with the flu or cold...it made for a really stressful couple of days. I think the fact that I didn't really know what to expect with this surgery, was stressful all in its own.
Tuesday morning was a very chilly morning, minus 25 with the windchill of minus 41! I knew Monday night that Tuesday was going to be unpredictable weather wise so I made sure that Jason had the truck plugged in and all our stuff was by the door. We took Keil and Cole with us because we knew that we wouldn't be back in time to get them from school. We started out around 7:45am and the roads were terrible. There were accidents every where, which made for a lot of detours trying to avoid them. We finally arrived for my 10:30am check in at 10:05am....cutting it a bit close!! As soon as I arrived to the 8th floor, the nurse took me in to get me changed and take my vitals. Once finished meeting with him, I went back out to the waiting room, prepared to sit and wait until my scheduled surgery time of 12:00pm. Much to my surprise, they were moving along faster then expected. I was called in to the surgery waiting area to meet with Dr. Semple, the Anesthesiologist and the head nurse that would be in my OR. She looked like she was 12!!! My goodness I am starting to feel old when meeting these doctors and nurses. Anyway, once I met with them and I was all marked up by Dr. Semple, I sat for about 10 minutes and then it was time!!! The Anesthesiologist came to get me and walked me to the surgery room. I met the team that would be working on me and the sleepy drugs started to flow!
I woke up in the "first room" of recovery around 1:00pm. I could feel the sting in my stomach (my donor site) and the slight discomfort in my chest. There was a nurse sitting with me constantly for an hour, taking my vitals and administering pain medication. I didn't think the pain was all that bad until the meds started wearing off. After spending an hour in the "first room", I was moved to the final recovery area where Jason and the boys came to see me. Once in that area, I was able to look at my incisions and see the work that Dr. Semple did. Oh my goodness....I was already starting to bruise!!! My stomach was swollen and bruised and my chest was swollen and raised in the area where the fat transfers took place.
Dr. Semple came in to see me and told me that everything went very well! I asked if he was able to take a little extra fat and he told me that I didn't have as much as I might have thought! :) He is so nice! LOL So, he also told me that he did a little digging in my mastectomy scar to release some of the skin that was too tight. Because he did this, I was to expect a lot more pain and discomfort. He felt it was necessary to do this so that I would accept the fat transfer better and have more room for the next transfer in April. So, after being in recovery for about an hour, I was released to go home.
Once home, the pain really started to settle in and the bruising was getting worse. It made for a very uncomfortable night! Today, I am in even more pain and my chest is very tight and sore. Mobility in my right arm is minimal (so I have to start doing my arm exercises again) and my stomach is quite swollen and sore.
I will update again this week regarding pain and progress!
I didn't get any before pictures but I took pictures last night to show what things look like hours after surgery. Very swollen and bruising starting to show more. Also, looks very red but that is just the antiseptic cleaner they put on prior to surgery.
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