Wow! I had no idea surgery could go so well. It was an amazing experience. I went in for surgery bright and early, everything was running exactly on time. They started an IV and let Ron and both of my daughters back into the pre-op area with me. It was so nice. They prayed for me and shortly afterward they took me into the surgical suite. I was fully awake. I scooted over onto the operating table and they gave me 2 cc's of some sort of sedative. Then the surgeon numbed the area with local anesthetic. The initial injections of it hurt but soon I was not feeling anything. The surgeon asked if I'd like any more sedative and I said, "Nope, I'm good!"
So he proceeded to begin the operation. He removed a majority of the granulation tissue down almost to the muscle, then brought the sides of the wound together and sewed the whole thing up. I could feel a lot of pressure and pulling, but no pain. I was completely at peace. It was an amazing experience. I lay there chatting with the nurses and my doctor in my croaky voice. One of my nurses was from West Africa, so that was fun talking with her. I had a pretty bad cold and laryngitis, but the doctor said I was well enough to have surgery, so we went for it!
Amazingly, I coughed once when I first lay down on the table, but did not cough even one time during the whole hour long surgery. That was truly a miracle.
I scooted back over onto the gurney and they wheeled me into recovery. Gave me a little something as a preventative for nausea and I was good to go. They sent me home in less than an hour after surgery. I got home and slept several hours that day and was just fine. I was tired for a few days, but other than that, just great. By the second day, all I needed for pain was Tylenol.
So many specific answers to prayer! Thank you all so much for praying. I am still in awe of God's goodness.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Surgery tomorrow, Thurs, April 8, 7:30 AM
So I am on for surgery tomorrow bright and early. I have had an ear and sinus infection, so I didn't know for sure if I could have surgery until today. I developed the sinus and ear infection last week as a result of being in the pressure of the Hyperbaric chamber day after day. I started antibiotics on Friday, so I have 6 days worth in my system. I still have laryngitis, congestion and a cough, but no fever.
I was not getting any better and then put out a request for prayer on Facebook and woke up the next morning feeling better. Prayer is an amazing gift!! I have not run a fever since folks started praying specifically. Awesome!
So, tomorrow my plastic surgeon will go in and close this open wound I have in the left breast area. The wound is a result of a severe lack of vascular support to the area caused by radiation damage from treatment I had last year. When the doctor tried to repair and reconstruct my left breast area during surgery on February 2, part of the skin graft died. Once they cleaned out the dead tissue, I was left with this wound that still has not been able to heal.
Tomorrow, I am trusting the final step in this healing process will begin!
**Please pray that the surgery goes even better than planned.
**Please pray that enough blood supply gets to the closure so it can heal quickly.
**Please pray I DO NOT cough during surgery!
**Please pray that the surgery sight remains infection free!!
**Please pray that I do not get nauseated from the sedation.
Thank you so very much!! I know that your prayers, love and support are sustaining me on this very long journey! I am so grateful.
I was not getting any better and then put out a request for prayer on Facebook and woke up the next morning feeling better. Prayer is an amazing gift!! I have not run a fever since folks started praying specifically. Awesome!
So, tomorrow my plastic surgeon will go in and close this open wound I have in the left breast area. The wound is a result of a severe lack of vascular support to the area caused by radiation damage from treatment I had last year. When the doctor tried to repair and reconstruct my left breast area during surgery on February 2, part of the skin graft died. Once they cleaned out the dead tissue, I was left with this wound that still has not been able to heal.
Tomorrow, I am trusting the final step in this healing process will begin!
**Please pray that the surgery goes even better than planned.
**Please pray that enough blood supply gets to the closure so it can heal quickly.
**Please pray I DO NOT cough during surgery!
**Please pray that the surgery sight remains infection free!!
**Please pray that I do not get nauseated from the sedation.
Thank you so very much!! I know that your prayers, love and support are sustaining me on this very long journey! I am so grateful.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
On for surgery...Thursday, April 8
I am pleased to report that the tissue in the wound is healthy enough to have surgery next week. I am relieved.
I have had 13 Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatments (HBO) and have been going to wound care and progress is finally being made! Yea! As you may recall, after my surgery on February 2, I immediately began to have trouble with the grafted skin beginning to die. The radiation damage to my vascular system around the breast area was much worse than anyone realized. There was just not a sufficient blood supply to the newly grafted skin. The skin graft was replacing skin very scared by radiation. Thankfully the muscle flap that the surgeon brought around from my back worked well, it was just about 1/2 of the skin that died. At this point, the wound will not close without surgery.
So next week, Thursday, April 8, I will have out patient surgery bright and early in the morning. The plastic surgeon will remove some of the raw granulation tissue so that he can bring the ends of the surviving skin together to close the wound. I am hopeful that things will move along much more quickly once the wound is closed.
It will be outpatient surgery at the Aspen Surgery Center in WC. I will be in twilight sleep with local anaesthetic for about an hour. I will get to go home that day. I will continue HBO treatments starting the next day. They want to do everything they can to make sure I get enough blood circulation this time!
Please pray:
**I have a bit of a cold, enough to keep me out of HBO treatment the last couple of days, that needs to be healed quickly and completely!
**Please pray that the surgery goes well, without any problems or setbacks.
**Please pray that my blood vessels are strong enough to feed the surgery site so that there is no more necrotic/dying skin. If I need more vascular support, please pray for a miraculous healing in that area.
**Please pray that I will not be nauseated from the medication they use to help me sleep through the surgery.
**Again, please pray for NO COMPLICATIONS!!
Thank you so very, very much!!
I have had 13 Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatments (HBO) and have been going to wound care and progress is finally being made! Yea! As you may recall, after my surgery on February 2, I immediately began to have trouble with the grafted skin beginning to die. The radiation damage to my vascular system around the breast area was much worse than anyone realized. There was just not a sufficient blood supply to the newly grafted skin. The skin graft was replacing skin very scared by radiation. Thankfully the muscle flap that the surgeon brought around from my back worked well, it was just about 1/2 of the skin that died. At this point, the wound will not close without surgery.
So next week, Thursday, April 8, I will have out patient surgery bright and early in the morning. The plastic surgeon will remove some of the raw granulation tissue so that he can bring the ends of the surviving skin together to close the wound. I am hopeful that things will move along much more quickly once the wound is closed.
It will be outpatient surgery at the Aspen Surgery Center in WC. I will be in twilight sleep with local anaesthetic for about an hour. I will get to go home that day. I will continue HBO treatments starting the next day. They want to do everything they can to make sure I get enough blood circulation this time!
Please pray:
**I have a bit of a cold, enough to keep me out of HBO treatment the last couple of days, that needs to be healed quickly and completely!
**Please pray that the surgery goes well, without any problems or setbacks.
**Please pray that my blood vessels are strong enough to feed the surgery site so that there is no more necrotic/dying skin. If I need more vascular support, please pray for a miraculous healing in that area.
**Please pray that I will not be nauseated from the medication they use to help me sleep through the surgery.
**Again, please pray for NO COMPLICATIONS!!
Thank you so very, very much!!
Seeing the plastic surgeon today
I have an appointment this afternoon with my plastic surgeon They have determined that the wound left from my surgery on Feb 2 will not heal without an additional surgery. I am hoping I can have it next week. I will find out today.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
For those who don't know why I have this wound...
If you are logging onto the blog and don't know why I have this crazy wound right now, please go back in the archives to January 24 and January 26. Those two posts will explain why I needed to have surgery on February 2. This wound is still open from that surgery.
The bottom line, for those who love brevity (which I am not great at), is that I have been fighting breast cancer. I was diagnosed in June of 2008, had a double mastectomy and all lymph nodes under my left arm removed the end of July 08. This past surgery was to try and repair severe radiation damage and do some reconstruction. The radiation damage has proven to be much worse than anyone realized. Thus the many complications. Thank you for logging on and for praying. It means more to me than I can express. I know it is the prayers of family and friends that is sustaining me through this long and difficult battle.
With deep gratitude,
Leslyn
The bottom line, for those who love brevity (which I am not great at), is that I have been fighting breast cancer. I was diagnosed in June of 2008, had a double mastectomy and all lymph nodes under my left arm removed the end of July 08. This past surgery was to try and repair severe radiation damage and do some reconstruction. The radiation damage has proven to be much worse than anyone realized. Thus the many complications. Thank you for logging on and for praying. It means more to me than I can express. I know it is the prayers of family and friends that is sustaining me through this long and difficult battle.
With deep gratitude,
Leslyn
Bad news is hard to write...
I have delayed in updating my blog because I find that bad news is hard for me to write. A week and a half ago I went in to see my other surgeon and the wound had separated so far that the skin broke free from the stitches. No wonder it had been hurting!
Wound Care Center:
She and my plastic surgeon talked and decided to send me back to the Wound Care Center. That was an experience. They are so good but really aggressive when it comes to debriding a wound. The doctor goes after the wound with little scissors and a scalpel cutting and scraping away ALL tissue that he thinks is not healthy. Whoa baby. The first time I had to change my bandages at home after that, I had to go lay down. I broke out in a sweat and got light headed just from looking at the wound. For those who know me well, it tells you what it must look like to have that effect on me. I am usually unphased by that type of thing.
Hyperbaric Oxygen (HBO) Treatment:
The wound care doctor called the Hyperbaric Oxygen (HBO) doctor and I went directly from the wound care center to the HBO center at John Muir. They evaluated me and began HBO at 8AM the next morning on a Saturday. They wanted me to be treated twice a day for the first few days, but I told them I would go everyday, but not twice a day. There is a risk for oxygen toxicity if you spend too much time in 100% oxygen at 2 atmospheres of pressure. I didn't feel that the benefit outweighed the risk.
I have had 5 treatments. They think I will need 40-60 treatments. That was a bit overwhelming to hear. I got home and had a good long cry. Ron just sat with me while I cried and ran his fingers through my hair and quietly prayed for me. It was just what I needed. The next day I felt much better and stronger.
Surgery:
I saw my plastic surgeon again yesterday. He said the tissue in the wound looks good for the most part. Thank the Lord there is no infection. There is still some necrotic (dead) tissue that has developed since the last time the wound was debrided (cleaned out). He said that he hopes in two weeks with hyperbaric treatment and wound care that the necrotic tissue will be gone. If that is the case, he wants to take me back into surgery to close the wound. It just continues to get wider and wider, so he has to do something. The least invasive would be to cut away some of the tissue in the center and then bring the skin that is left back together so it will heal. If that does not work, then he will do a skin graft. I am praying the first surgery will work. They hope that since I will have a couple of weeks of hyperbaric treatments already done and will continue to go to treatment for a number of weeks afterward that the surgery will work. I will probably have surgery the week before Easter, if all goes well.
Thank you for your prayers. I had great favor to get into both the wound care and the hyperbaric treatment so quickly. We got to know everyone in both places well last time around. They were all very happy to see us, though sad that I had to be back. I trust the Lord has more for Ron and me to do in those places, we desire to be a blessing and used by the Lord there again.
Thank you for your prayers, especially that I can stay focused on the Lord and His goodness. This delay was not in my plans, so I am having to give my agenda and time schedule to the Lord again. He knows and I trust Him. Thank you!!
Wound Care Center:
She and my plastic surgeon talked and decided to send me back to the Wound Care Center. That was an experience. They are so good but really aggressive when it comes to debriding a wound. The doctor goes after the wound with little scissors and a scalpel cutting and scraping away ALL tissue that he thinks is not healthy. Whoa baby. The first time I had to change my bandages at home after that, I had to go lay down. I broke out in a sweat and got light headed just from looking at the wound. For those who know me well, it tells you what it must look like to have that effect on me. I am usually unphased by that type of thing.
Hyperbaric Oxygen (HBO) Treatment:
The wound care doctor called the Hyperbaric Oxygen (HBO) doctor and I went directly from the wound care center to the HBO center at John Muir. They evaluated me and began HBO at 8AM the next morning on a Saturday. They wanted me to be treated twice a day for the first few days, but I told them I would go everyday, but not twice a day. There is a risk for oxygen toxicity if you spend too much time in 100% oxygen at 2 atmospheres of pressure. I didn't feel that the benefit outweighed the risk.
I have had 5 treatments. They think I will need 40-60 treatments. That was a bit overwhelming to hear. I got home and had a good long cry. Ron just sat with me while I cried and ran his fingers through my hair and quietly prayed for me. It was just what I needed. The next day I felt much better and stronger.
Surgery:
I saw my plastic surgeon again yesterday. He said the tissue in the wound looks good for the most part. Thank the Lord there is no infection. There is still some necrotic (dead) tissue that has developed since the last time the wound was debrided (cleaned out). He said that he hopes in two weeks with hyperbaric treatment and wound care that the necrotic tissue will be gone. If that is the case, he wants to take me back into surgery to close the wound. It just continues to get wider and wider, so he has to do something. The least invasive would be to cut away some of the tissue in the center and then bring the skin that is left back together so it will heal. If that does not work, then he will do a skin graft. I am praying the first surgery will work. They hope that since I will have a couple of weeks of hyperbaric treatments already done and will continue to go to treatment for a number of weeks afterward that the surgery will work. I will probably have surgery the week before Easter, if all goes well.
Thank you for your prayers. I had great favor to get into both the wound care and the hyperbaric treatment so quickly. We got to know everyone in both places well last time around. They were all very happy to see us, though sad that I had to be back. I trust the Lord has more for Ron and me to do in those places, we desire to be a blessing and used by the Lord there again.
Thank you for your prayers, especially that I can stay focused on the Lord and His goodness. This delay was not in my plans, so I am having to give my agenda and time schedule to the Lord again. He knows and I trust Him. Thank you!!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
It will be awhile longer...
I went to see my plastic surgeon today. On the one hand, he is happy with the wound, the tissue looks viable and it is not infected. I am very grateful for that! On the other hand, the wound is so bad and so deep that he thinks the best area may heal in 4-6 weeks. The area that is the worst will likely take 6-8 weeks to heal.
Please join me in continuing to pray for complete healing.
Please pray that the wound would remain infection free!
Please also pray that it would heal much more quickly than they expect. I would like this to be finished and I'd love to move forward.
Please pray too that I do not get discouraged. I am fighting that and winning, but it is a battle at times.
Thank you, I am very grateful for you and thankful that you are continuing to walk with me in this long journey and battle.
Please join me in continuing to pray for complete healing.
Please pray that the wound would remain infection free!
Please also pray that it would heal much more quickly than they expect. I would like this to be finished and I'd love to move forward.
Please pray too that I do not get discouraged. I am fighting that and winning, but it is a battle at times.
Thank you, I am very grateful for you and thankful that you are continuing to walk with me in this long journey and battle.
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