Update to surgery...

Well, my Mom had her double mastectomy in February. We breathed a collective sigh of relief when she came out of surgery and was doing as well as could be expected. My brother, his wife and Dad were there for the big day. I am 10 hrs away and was unable to be there in person, but I can tell you, I worried, fretted, cried and prayed right along with them.
Praise God, she came through ok. She has had a few blips during her recovery, and it will still be some time before she really feels normal again. She feels a bit better almost every day. For awhile, it seemed one step forward, 2 steps back.

The visiting nurses came daily for 2 weeks. Bless their hearts, they were the most caring and thoughtful ones you could ever hope for. Their kindness and tenderness exceeded all expectations, and I commend them. This really helped my Mom's recovery, as she felt she could ask questions and mention concerns without feeling intimidated. They went above and beyond the call of duty, calling her during the more difficult times, and coming by an extra time or two just to make sure she was ok. THANK YOU, Visiting Nurses of Frederiction NB Canada!!!

Mom had alot of swelling and tenderness, and it was weeks before she could even lay on her side to sleep. I don't know how long it will be before she can sleep on her tummy. Removing her staples turned out to be mostly painless. She had 24 in one side and 25 in the other. I told her it shouldn't be too bad if they were gentle.
I remember when my hubby had his hip graft and hip replacement (now that's a story and a half for another
time - bone graft one summer, didn't take, so hip replacement next summer. What fun that was...sigh.) Anyway, I got to remove his staples with this nifty little staple remover. Pretty neat, and I went slow and easy, so it didn't hurt.

The drain tubes gave her alot of problems though. They removed one, but left the other for nearly another week. I think 3 weeks total, or maybe a bit more.
This one kept stopping up, and then would bleed quite a bit. First outing she went to town with Dad, and before the day was over, she had bled through her blouse and into her jacket. Not cool.
She is currently going to physical therapy once a week to improve her arm movements and gentle massage to deal with all the fluid buildup.
Her spirits are good though.

She gets a bit impatient that she isn't 'over it' yet, but then reminds herself that it hasn't been all that long ago, and that it was a major surgery. I remind her too, to count her blessings. THANK YOU GOD that she didn't have to have chemo or radiation!!! What a blessing that was. They found precancerous cells in the other side, but everything was non-invasive and contained. They caught it early enough. I don't think she would have survived chemo, and at this point, she might have just opted out. Thank the Lord we didn't have to make that decision.
She is feeling well enough now that she and Dad are coming in a couple of weeks to spend a week here during Mother's Day. It will be a great time to visit here, lot of flowers and trees will be blooming. Beautiful time to be in CT after a long winter. Especially for them, as they are about a month behind us in the season.


Today, I am counting my blessings once more. Often things don't turn out like we want or hope, I've lived long enough to know this.
So I'm extra thankful for God's mercy and goodness towards my family during this time. I am so very thankful.