On Tuesday I will find out what time my surgery will be on Thursday. The operation itself is relatively short, an hour or so, and they will take out all the lymph nodes under my left arm. Then they put in a drain (think 18" of rubber tube with a valve on the end) with a big fat bandage. I will spend the night in Lahey for observation (to monitor pain levels and the lovely drain.) The drain has to be emptied twice a day for 10 days (yucky!). Then I get to start mobility exercises and get back in shape. While the drain is in I get limited exercise and no driving. Also, no housework, no laundry, no carrying anything 10+ lbs (cat you have to walk more), swimming, etc.
(Weird fact: every one has a different number of lymph nodes in their body, usually somewhere between 300 and 500. In one area, such as underarm, it is considered normal to have somewhere between 15 and 25.)
No comments:
Post a Comment