The Story of Jaxson's Departure

I'm really still too tired to do this entry, but I did some work from home tonight and am just now winding down. (Before you think my employer is an ass, please know that I'm doing it by choice to help make up time I miss for appointments, so it's a favor and it did NOT have to be done tonight...I just decided to get step one done.)  Phew.  What a disclaimer!   I got up at 4:30 this morning and made it to work by 6:30 since they've loosened up my schedule, but I will NOT be doing that tomorrow.  Not seeing what the clock is telling me now!  :)

Nurse Terri gave me the new wrap with tighter compression on Friday, and told me that as soon as I had two days under 30cc, they'd pull the drain.  I let her know on Tuesday that it was 25, and she said, "Call and come in tomorrow if it's still under 30 and we'll pull it."  It was 28.  Rock on.

I called as soon as the office opened on Wednesday, and the lady said, "We can get you in on Friday afternoon."  I nearly cried.  I gathered my composure and said, "But Terri said to come in this afternoon."  She asked if I was seeing only Terri, or also the Dr.  When I told her it was just me and Terri, she said, "Oh!  OK, how about 1:30 today?"  PHEW!

It was pretty quick.  She cut the stitch, told me to take a deep breath, and then said, "That's it!"  He was out.  She held a bit of gauze over the opening like they do after removing a needle after a blood draw.  After a few seconds, she pulled it off to look and said, "Oh boy!  Oops!"  and put the gauze back, asking me to hold it there while she got more.

She got more, I let go, and she said, "Woah!" as she put more on.  I would have worried, but she is amazing and kept telling me that it is nothing to worry about, it's normal after a drain is in that long, and it's better to leak out than to be retained inside.  OK.  She asked me to hold the gauze once again and got a thicker, plastic-backed bandage.  It was taped to me and we crossed fingers that it wouldn't leak, since I was going back to work.

It didn't.  I hit "the wall" around 4 and headed home.  I wasn't even 5 miles from work when it leaked a bit.  Talk about timing!  At least I was gone!  By bedtime last night, it was nothing but a tiny dot on the bandage. Kind of like what you have on the cotton ball they put on you after drawing blood.  After all day today, there wasn't even a dot.  I guess it's done.  Except...

I'm getting a seroma that will likely require a trip to the cutter general surgeon's office tomorrow.  I'm supposed to go to the plastic surgeon for the first fill of my tissue expander, and Terri and I have already discussed the fact that I'll likely be sent there for needle aspiration.  Cutter's office has an ultra sound, so they can do it while making sure they miss the tissue expander.

*sigh*  That means leaving work shortly after noon, going to Leawoodfreaking, KS, and then being sent to St. Luke's on the Plaza.  (That won't mean anything to anyone not from this area, but it's an inconvenient trip, OK?)  After all of that, I have to call the oncologist.  Yup.  Time to get chemo back on the calendar, now that Jaxson is gone.  I avoided that for today, just to have control over one more day.

Childish?  Yes.  Too bad!  Tomorrow, I'll act like an adult again.