After arriving home, I was able to move around the house, but I slept alot. My right upper chest and upper arm were very sore and painful, but tolerable. The hardest part was trying to get comfortable during the night and during my naps. The snug ace wrap felt good as it gave my upper chest support. Up until this point, I had not seen the surgery sight and would not be able to until I went to the MD office on Tuesday. During this time, I just had to take it easy. My husband helped me with everything including bathing and dressing. He also cooked or picked up take-out. I felt good as a whole, but I did notice that my right axilla was numb as well as the interior of my upper arm and the right side of my right breast. This was a little concerning, but I knew that I would be seeing my physician soon and would bring it to her attention.
At the MD's office on Tuesday, she removed the ace wrap, but left the steri-strips in place. She performed a gentle breast exam and noted a slight hematoma at the area where the tumor was removed. She stated that over time the body was reabsorb the material and that it would decrease in size, just to be patient. She instructed me to continue with the pain meds, hydrocodone, as needed for pain. She also requested no showers, only sponge baths to prevent the incision from getting wet until our next MD visit. She left the ace wrap off, but I was instructed to wear supportive sports bras every day until she instructed me otherwise. This would help to control swelling and pain. She gave us an appointment for the following week, on September 6, 2007 at 12:15 pm. Oh, about the numbness, she stated that when she makes the incision through the tissue, a lot of small sensory nerves are severed. This results in the numbness. She stated that the nerves would reconnect, but that the process may take up to 6 months. This news was reassuring.
The healing process was slow, but steady. The numbness continued for the next 4-5 days but I did notice that the area was slowly becoming smaller. The most numb was my axilla. I tried to shave my underarm on the right side and was a little freaked out when I could not feel the razor, like at all. But the goal was accomplished, just with caution. HOWEVER, after about 4-5 days, my arm suddenly began to WAKE UP!!! The numbness was replaced with burning. It felt like my skin had been rubbed RAW. I kept asking my husband to look at it to see it he saw any redness, he repeatedly told me know, but would rub it gently to see if it helped. Every time he touched it, it seemed to make it worse. I then noticed that even my clothes touching my arm was causing me great discomfort!!! I knew about this process, post surgical neuropathy, due to being a physical therapist and working in the hospital, but I had NEVER felt it for myself. I wanted to walk around with my arm held slightly to the side, not touching any other parts of my body, and I wanted to not be wearing any clothes. The burning sensation was terrible. The pain meds helped a little, but this pain was very different from my surgery pain and very difficult to control. As each day went by, it seemed that a little bit more of the area was "waking up", resulting in more burning and irritation, but with no visual problem. I continued to remind myself that this was normal, I knew it was, but I could not believe how irritating!!! I went to the follow up visit with the MD as scheduled. There was a little confusion in the visit place and time obviously because when we arrived at her office, it was closed for remodeling. There was a handwritten note posted on the door with a phone number to call in the case of an emergency. Well, in the life of Jennifer Bailey, this was an emergency. I called and the problem with the office was explained to me. Apparently they had a leak in the office and it had to be closed for remodeling. And, the reason I was not notified about the closure of the office was because my apointment was actually scehduled at her Glendale office, but on the following day. I guess a slight miscommunication was to blame, oh well. The MD was finally tracked down at the hospital and luckily she was able to see me in her office there at the hospital. She explained that the sensory problems were known as neuropathy. She states that all of her patients do not experience this, but a few have. The ones that did have the burning pain, as she stated, were very upset at her because she had not told them this may happen after surgery. I too wanted to be upset, but knew from my own experiences with my patients at the hospital that it would get better. She stated that everything regarding my surgery appeared good. The hematoma was resolving and my range of motion was good. She reported on the preliminary lab results and told me that they were good as well. My breast cancer was graded at ER+/PR+. This meant that the cancer contained both estrogen and progesterone receptors which meant that it would react well to treatment, i.e. the chemotherapy. She gave me referrals for the oncologists, Dr. Ma for chemotherapy and Dr. Grace for radiation. She instructed me to wait on her to obtain the referrals for them from my insurance company and that she would be in touch. We asked her about my paperwork for my leave of absence (we had sent all the forms to be signed by her to her office a week earlier). She stated that she did not receive them. I got nervous and explained the importance of my employer receiving these papers #1 for my leave of absence to hold my job and #2 for my short term disability so that I can get paid. I was not scheduled to return to work until September 18, 2007. She told us to get her another set of forms and she would take care of it. So my husband and I went, again, to human resources at my job, obtained an additional set, went to the cafeteria and filled them out, and then submitted them to her personally. After that craziness, we took a deep breath and went home. We had to pack for a trip to Williamsburg, Virginia. I guess we felt like we needed another weekend getaway while the healing process continues and while we wait on the next phase of the recovery process. Any excuse for a vacation!!
During our time out-of-town, my neuropathy got worse, but then better near the end of our trip. Our condo had a hot tub which was great for my right arm for the pain and for the neuropathy. By this point, I had no restrictions regarding bathing and could get my incision wet at this time. I forgot to mention that she had removed the steri-strips at the last visit. Our vacation was interesting in the fact that it was on the opposite side of the country and my pain was almost unbearable with no pain pills left. So with tears, phone calls to my MD, support from my husband, and patience, we made it through. By the last 2 days of the trip I was on the road to recovery. I could not believe that so much pain would happen 2 weeks into the recovery process, but it did.
On our way home, we got a call from Dr. Shirazi's office. Her secretary needed to know where to send the paperwork we had submitted. She stated the MD had completed them, but she did not know where to send them. This was very stressful. I could not believe this had not been taken care of already. I guess this was so stressful because #1 I am a very organized person and took care of everything I could before we went out-of-town and #2 during this time in my life I am more emotional and sensitive about things relating to my life. So, up until this point, my employer had no record of me being out-of-work except what they were told verbally, and the State of California had not received the request for short term disability. I was aware that this did not start until day 7 of missed work days, but I had submitted all the paperwork on time to my MD. After deep breathing and multiple phone calls, I think everything was resolved. I did talk with my manager, Leonor Diaz at While Memorial Medical Center. Together, she and Marci in human resources, They submitted something on my behaf so that at least I could get paid. Thank goodness for my little angels.
At the MD's office on Tuesday, she removed the ace wrap, but left the steri-strips in place. She performed a gentle breast exam and noted a slight hematoma at the area where the tumor was removed. She stated that over time the body was reabsorb the material and that it would decrease in size, just to be patient. She instructed me to continue with the pain meds, hydrocodone, as needed for pain. She also requested no showers, only sponge baths to prevent the incision from getting wet until our next MD visit. She left the ace wrap off, but I was instructed to wear supportive sports bras every day until she instructed me otherwise. This would help to control swelling and pain. She gave us an appointment for the following week, on September 6, 2007 at 12:15 pm. Oh, about the numbness, she stated that when she makes the incision through the tissue, a lot of small sensory nerves are severed. This results in the numbness. She stated that the nerves would reconnect, but that the process may take up to 6 months. This news was reassuring.
The healing process was slow, but steady. The numbness continued for the next 4-5 days but I did notice that the area was slowly becoming smaller. The most numb was my axilla. I tried to shave my underarm on the right side and was a little freaked out when I could not feel the razor, like at all. But the goal was accomplished, just with caution. HOWEVER, after about 4-5 days, my arm suddenly began to WAKE UP!!! The numbness was replaced with burning. It felt like my skin had been rubbed RAW. I kept asking my husband to look at it to see it he saw any redness, he repeatedly told me know, but would rub it gently to see if it helped. Every time he touched it, it seemed to make it worse. I then noticed that even my clothes touching my arm was causing me great discomfort!!! I knew about this process, post surgical neuropathy, due to being a physical therapist and working in the hospital, but I had NEVER felt it for myself. I wanted to walk around with my arm held slightly to the side, not touching any other parts of my body, and I wanted to not be wearing any clothes. The burning sensation was terrible. The pain meds helped a little, but this pain was very different from my surgery pain and very difficult to control. As each day went by, it seemed that a little bit more of the area was "waking up", resulting in more burning and irritation, but with no visual problem. I continued to remind myself that this was normal, I knew it was, but I could not believe how irritating!!! I went to the follow up visit with the MD as scheduled. There was a little confusion in the visit place and time obviously because when we arrived at her office, it was closed for remodeling. There was a handwritten note posted on the door with a phone number to call in the case of an emergency. Well, in the life of Jennifer Bailey, this was an emergency. I called and the problem with the office was explained to me. Apparently they had a leak in the office and it had to be closed for remodeling. And, the reason I was not notified about the closure of the office was because my apointment was actually scehduled at her Glendale office, but on the following day. I guess a slight miscommunication was to blame, oh well. The MD was finally tracked down at the hospital and luckily she was able to see me in her office there at the hospital. She explained that the sensory problems were known as neuropathy. She states that all of her patients do not experience this, but a few have. The ones that did have the burning pain, as she stated, were very upset at her because she had not told them this may happen after surgery. I too wanted to be upset, but knew from my own experiences with my patients at the hospital that it would get better. She stated that everything regarding my surgery appeared good. The hematoma was resolving and my range of motion was good. She reported on the preliminary lab results and told me that they were good as well. My breast cancer was graded at ER+/PR+. This meant that the cancer contained both estrogen and progesterone receptors which meant that it would react well to treatment, i.e. the chemotherapy. She gave me referrals for the oncologists, Dr. Ma for chemotherapy and Dr. Grace for radiation. She instructed me to wait on her to obtain the referrals for them from my insurance company and that she would be in touch. We asked her about my paperwork for my leave of absence (we had sent all the forms to be signed by her to her office a week earlier). She stated that she did not receive them. I got nervous and explained the importance of my employer receiving these papers #1 for my leave of absence to hold my job and #2 for my short term disability so that I can get paid. I was not scheduled to return to work until September 18, 2007. She told us to get her another set of forms and she would take care of it. So my husband and I went, again, to human resources at my job, obtained an additional set, went to the cafeteria and filled them out, and then submitted them to her personally. After that craziness, we took a deep breath and went home. We had to pack for a trip to Williamsburg, Virginia. I guess we felt like we needed another weekend getaway while the healing process continues and while we wait on the next phase of the recovery process. Any excuse for a vacation!!
During our time out-of-town, my neuropathy got worse, but then better near the end of our trip. Our condo had a hot tub which was great for my right arm for the pain and for the neuropathy. By this point, I had no restrictions regarding bathing and could get my incision wet at this time. I forgot to mention that she had removed the steri-strips at the last visit. Our vacation was interesting in the fact that it was on the opposite side of the country and my pain was almost unbearable with no pain pills left. So with tears, phone calls to my MD, support from my husband, and patience, we made it through. By the last 2 days of the trip I was on the road to recovery. I could not believe that so much pain would happen 2 weeks into the recovery process, but it did.
On our way home, we got a call from Dr. Shirazi's office. Her secretary needed to know where to send the paperwork we had submitted. She stated the MD had completed them, but she did not know where to send them. This was very stressful. I could not believe this had not been taken care of already. I guess this was so stressful because #1 I am a very organized person and took care of everything I could before we went out-of-town and #2 during this time in my life I am more emotional and sensitive about things relating to my life. So, up until this point, my employer had no record of me being out-of-work except what they were told verbally, and the State of California had not received the request for short term disability. I was aware that this did not start until day 7 of missed work days, but I had submitted all the paperwork on time to my MD. After deep breathing and multiple phone calls, I think everything was resolved. I did talk with my manager, Leonor Diaz at While Memorial Medical Center. Together, she and Marci in human resources, They submitted something on my behaf so that at least I could get paid. Thank goodness for my little angels.
1 comment:
Hi Jennifer. I just read your blog and I think you are so brave! You have the most amazing attitude... that is wonderful. the blog is a great idea... so insightful! I just wanted to let you know that I am thinking about you and praying for you and Clayton. Love, Candace Jackson
Post a Comment