Circling the Drains

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!

This post contains pictures of my scars! 

Not appropriate for everyone! 

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Drains you SUCK! I hate you! I have 4 of them that must be emptied and documented every 10-12 hours. There's nothing funny about these drains. And believe me, I've tried hard to find humor or at the very least, sarcasm, in them. Not happening!

I can't take a really good shower with these crappy drains!

I can't sleep with these crappy drains.

Going to the restroom is a challenge to keep them out of the way.

Dumping the fluid is gross. Pumping or 'milking' the bulbs is weird.

I'm told I have to rest because if I do too much, I'll have more drainage and have to wear them longer. NO WAY do I want to have them in any longer than necessary. If I remove too soon, it can lead to infection. So, I'm trying to be a good girl and rest. . . . . .I'll take the pain and be glad to be alive! As much as I'm tempted to wallow in self pity, I'm not allowing it out of respect for the women who lost their battle with crappy cancer.

I finally got to shower, but that's a relative term. I just shower from the belly button down. It hurts to move my arms so I'm getting really good help from my hubster!

I hooked the drain bulbs to a lanyard around my neck to prevent them hanging freely from my body. They go in pockets otherwise. Crappy drain tubes!

WARNING

PICTURE OF 'FOOBS' BELOW

I'm keeping it real. Before my surgery, it was difficult to find pictures, so I'm posting mine, not for the curious, or sick minded, but for other women. It helps to have an idea of what your 'foobs' (flat boobs) will look like after surgery. I'm not ashamed. I'm not embarrassed. I'm a brave warrior and not the first to have a body part amputated! 

I'm not here to make the reader feel comfortable. I'm blogging for ME and for other women who need to see or hear what I've been through. I'm not alone or unique.

 I believe sharing this is a way to celebrate a life saved from early detection! MINE! And prayerfully hope it helps other women. 

If you are squeamish or easily offended don't scroll down!!!

WARNING!

If you are squeamish or easily offended don't scroll down!!!

Lanyard to hold drain tubes while showering. You can see there's a lot of bruising. 

This is day 5 after surgery. I think my 'foobs' looks good.  . . . . and FLAT like I wanted! Of course, there's still some swelling, but I'm pleased. No crying from this old gal!

I removed all the gauze dressing to shower. I'm completely numb over the incision. The majority of my pain is coming from under my arm pits where lymph nodes were removed and the four places where the drain tubes are going in my sides. I've got some pretty awesome bruises going on too!

I have to wear a binder around my chest. It reminds me that I had crappy cancer and that my TaTa's are no more. I'm looking forward to getting all this paraphernalia gone so I can begin to try to become a normal person again. What happened to the old me? She's not gone, just different. I see things differently thanks to crappy cancer. I'm seeing God in the little things. Like. . . . . my arm pit pillows are covered in birds to remind me of my BFF!

And my fur baby, Bitzy doing her best to make me feel better.  I'm concentrating on physical healing at this point. I want to get these crappy drains out.