Yet another pre-op appointment in the books. This one was pretty interesting, partly because the physical therapist who works with the breast cancer recovery team is cool and fun to talk to, and partly because of the information she gave me. Last time I worked with her, I felt like the focus was on regaining my full range of motion after surgery. This time it seemed like it was a hundred percent zoomed in on lymph node recovery. I will have one or two removed on the right side, to match the one taken out on the left in 2019. Surprisingly, the PT said to expect to still get most of my blood draws and BP checks on the right, because my left arm is dominant. (Might need to switch to vaccines going in my hip from here on out. That might make flu shot season awkward.)
The coolest thing I learned about the lymphatic system is that removing a node isn't necessarily the end of that drainage channel. If left to heal properly, the vessel(s) may grow to join up with a different node. How neat! I will do as I am told, and keep my arms down, especially during the first two weeks. (PT says the plastic surgeon likes to instruct us to use "t-rex arms.") I will not be allowed to do the sergeant at arms duties at Rotary for weeks, as that is entirely lifting stuff and hanging banners above my head.
The worst part of recovery will be not getting to do much with my baby girls. It will be bad enough keeping Saoirse from jumping all over me in the bed. How will I convince Val that I can't pick her up and cuddle her, not even once, before we'll into September? She really likes climbing up on grandma's lap to rehydrate with her sippy cups of milk. We watch videos on the iPad and she drinks and kicks me with her right heel. It's our thing. Her language skills are improving (she learned to say "yes" this afternoon), but this is going to be hard to explain. She will need supervised visits for the first two weeks. Or more accurately, I will need the supervision.
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