Port Removal and other stuff

I believe I might have had a little anxiety Wednesday morning before getting to go have my port removed.  I seemed to be in a 'down in the dumps' mood and you know ... it was OK that I was there because ... there are so many unknowns when it comes to cancer and treatment.  I allow myself now to feel what I feel.  I allow myself to rest when I need to rest ... cry if I need to cry ... laugh as much as possible ... shrug off the things that in a week won't matter.  Praise the Lord ... He has brought me to this area of life ... the way I should have been living all along.  Oooopsss got a little side tracked there.  I left work at 10:30, got home in time to change clothes before my friend, Bunny, got here to take me to The Center.  When she got here, she got to meet Tootie (she loves animals) ... and then it was off for the new adventure of in office surgery (sort of).  I mean it did include deadening ... a lot of deadening ... and a scalpel that cuts through skin and stitches.  I consider that surgery ... don't you?  I, of course, had to put one of those little red riding hood paper cloak things on.  You know the ones that don't cover too much but just enough and if you try and pull too hard to close it ... it tears.  Dr. B came in and we talked and he listened to me babble about this and that (if you know me, I do that - no comments from my friends and family who know me well).  Dr. B shared that his wife was a four year survivor of breast cancer.  Praise the Lord.  And he shared that she never wore a wig either ... maybe one time.  So I'm not the only one who doesn't like those things.  After I babbled and we talked a few minutes, it was time for me to get in the chair that turned in to a table.  His nurse who has been with Dr. B for 12 1/2 years which was when he got out of his residency and started his practice, is so nice.  She was in the room to assist, a medical student named Sammy, and Bunny.  Bunny was so funny because she positioned herself so she could see the entire procedure.  The nurse ask her if she blood bothered her and she said, "nope".

Dr. B ripped that lovely little cloak from my right shoulder, tucked it in and taped it so he had access to the port.  He proceeded to tell me he was going to deaden the area around my port and it would sting ... and it DID.  <smile>  He got finished with that deadening and started sticking me with a needle and I could feel it.... at this point I shared with him my thyroid biopsy experience with Dr. C when she put two deadening shots in my neck that didn't work because I felt the remaining five sticks when she went after the nodule samples.  Dr. B gave me a little more deadening and Praise the Lord I couldn't feel the needle sticks after that.  He then ask the nurse for another drape.  When he was opening it up, I thought he was going to put it over my face so I couldn't see what was going on.  Am I a nut or what?  This drape had a small hole in it and he positioned it over my port to keep it sterile and began cutting in the old scar where he put it in to take it out.  Then the tugging began ... I mean a lot of tugging.  Dr. B explained to me that he made a smaller incision and was trying to get the port out through the smaller hole.  Whhheewwww I thought the port was grown in to my body and wasn't wanting to come out.  <laugh>  Boy, the things I think about.  Ohhh ... before this started and I was in my babbling state I ask about bleeding to death when the tube part of the port came out of my vina cava ... Dr. B explained to me that it was like taking blood from a vein ... the vina cava would close itself back up.  Whhhewww again ... I was glad to hear that.  Once the port was out ... and let me say this ... there was not much blood at all.  Bunny said she kept looking for blood but there wasn't any.  OK, so once the port was out, Dr. B got this long piece of thread or whatever they call it suture stuff and threaded his needle.  You would have thought he had cut me from side to side with as much suture stuff as there was <smile> ... anyway, he got me sutured (I almost said sewed) up and put three pieces of tape over that and then gauze and more tape on top of that.  I am not supposed to shower until Friday morning ... I did a modified shower last night.  I just don't sleep well if I don't shower ... weird I know.  The table lowered and became a chair again  and I got up and got dressed and away we went.  Dr. B and his nurse are such sweet people ... and they listened to me babble.  <smile>  Dr. B's nurse as she was bringing us back to the procedure room ... said I looked beautiful.  She said not everyone could pull off the bald look but I looked beautiful.  That made my day!

I ask Bunny if she was hungry ... after all my appointment was a noon which is lunch time for me.  We decided on Mexican food so we stopped at Mi Pueblo's out here in our area and had a bite to eat and visited.  She brought me home and we sat in the driveway and visited some more and then I came in and had a nice nap.   I am so thankful the port is out and I pray there is never another time that I will need one.

Above:  My souvenir ... my port.  Dr. B said he liked using
this particular port because the company donates part of the
purchase to breast cancer research.  He said they were a
little more expensive but worth the cost.  

Above:  This is where the port was accessed for all my blood
work.  The center black part is a soft pad that the needle goes in.

Radiation treatment #5 this morning went off without a hitch.  I found out a little more about radiation and fatigue.  I was under the impression that the fatigue comes from going every day Monday - Friday.  Not really!  The fatigue comes from the radiation killing the bad cells and the good cells trying to rebuild and they work very hard and that causes the fatigue.  The radiation tech said that radiation is a lot like taking 10 days of antibiotics.  The antibiotics are killing the bad stuff and the good stuff is trying to keep up and rebuild themselves and after you take them for a while, they can cause fatigue.  The way I'm explaining this doesn't make a lot of sense but this is what was explained to me.  I totally understood it this morning when Vanessa was explaining it and thought I would remember it all ... Can I still claim chemo brain?  Yep, I sure can.  So two more treatments this week ... that makes a total of eight down and only leave 25 to go.  Praise the Lord.

Bunny said she could see my hair coming back in and she said it looks blonde.  Now if you look back at my pictures when I had hair ... my hair color was blonde but that was not my real color.  I know I know you are so surprised ... I was more surprised when I cut all the blonde off to find out what color it really was because I had colored my hair for sooooo long, I forgot.  <laughing out loud>  So we will see what color it comes back ... I say it can come back purple as long as it comes back.  (NOTE:  I really don't want purple hair however purple is a good color on me in clothing.  OK, I'm babbling so I better get.

Praises:
*  The port is out and there was no emergencies.
*  Dr. B and his nurse are so sweet.
*  While I'm tired, I feel good.
*  My grandbabies are on the mend.
*  Bonnie doesn't have that much longer until baby #2 arrives.
*  So so so much more

Prayer Requests:
*  Those recently diagnosed with breast cancer or another dreadful disease.
*  My survivor sisters that I miss so much are doing well with their final treatments.

Blessed and praying blessings for you today!


gkmorrison12@gmail.com