Surgery

Well it's been a very trying few days. I was supposed to have my port removed Oct 28th. Peter and I arrived at the hospital on time and reported to registration. Half an hour later we were finally called in to OPPU to be prepped for surgery. Prep involves a gown up top and an IV needle struggle with several nurses trying.to get it in my arm in case it's needed. So by now we are at 3hrs. Porter takes me to the IVR room where the surgery will be performed. I wait and wait, another hour goes by. Doc M comes to me and asks me when my next pammi is? (In my head I'm thinking, oh no, not again) I tell him, "The following day". He says to me well we don't want your port taken out because we can't put a new one in on the same day. So he sends me home Grrrrrr he's really messing with me. Back to OPPU to have my useless needle removed from my arm. The next day I have to come back to him to have my gripper put in then go up to Chemo to have my pamidronate inserted. Sound familiar?  Finally back to the hospital on Oct 29, meet with doc M again, he attaches my gripper, go to Chemo to have my pammi. Now usually I can go home at this point, but because of the surgery I have to wait around for the pammi to infuse which takes 2-2 1/2 hrs, BOOORRRRIIING!!! Then I go back to chemo, have them remove the pammi, then back ti IVR to have the gripper removed and then on to surgery.

Finally I am on the gurney. There are no surgery rooms available so they decide to do it in the "curtained room" right beside another patient and a room full of nurses. Nurse gets everything ready, I see the scalpel and various other surgical apparatus then a "tent" is put over the surgical area and it blocks my face. Darn I wanted to watch lol. So off we go, he needs to keep adding more and more freezing as the pain continues. He tells me everything as he goes along. 'I am cutting, I am having the nurse put pressure on the large vein while I remove the tubing.' Then he is about to remove the port. Hmm interesting, he says it's crooked!!!!! I've been telling him this for 3 months!! He also says to me "I don't know why everything hurts so much most people don't hurt like this" Well geesh doc, maybe because my port has fallen over and dislocated from where it should be!!.....So here is the grossest part if you don't wish to read the details, Doc snips off the stitches inside that was holding the port, he says the port has fallen sideways and down. He tells me I'm going to feel some pressure. He tells me he is sticking his finger along the port and because it's fallen down into a cavity in my chest, he needs to stick his finger down and under the port to pull it out. I had a few choice words going on in my head as he did that part. It took about 20 minutes to clean everything up and start the stitching. 50 minutes for the procedure to be complete. I am taken back to OPPU to recover for 1/2 hr. My surgery area burned all evening and night.


This morning it's not burning but it's very painful. Extra strength tylenol is my friend. I go back to the hospital to have a new port inserted on the opposite side (left) on November 26th. Yeah me.

Thank you for all the love and support.