Surgery Updates February 24, 2021

February 24, 2021

 7:15 am
They did keep her overnight again. Dinner and her midnight snack stayed down. She should be coming home this morning. She sure sounds ready!

 2:01 pm

Amanda just called me with some updates. She's finally spoken with her surgeon. I hadn't posted this yet because we were waiting for confirmation from the surgeon, and the plastic surgeon and nurses we'd talked to hadn't so far been entirely sure, but they did have to remove all of the lymph nodes on her right side. This was something she was emphatically hoping to avoid. Losing the lymph nodes will lead to additional maintenance in the future and possible mobility issues in her dominant arm. It's unfortunate, but there was cancer still found in them so they had to go. She's focusing on recovering from surgery now and we'll deal with the long-term implications later. We'll never know now how effective the chemo actually was, or if it would have been possible to save the lymph nodes if she'd had surgery in late November/early December like she was supposed to and would have if not for Covid.

She has also noticed that the back of her arm is numb, and hasn't regained feeling this whole time since surgery. The surgeon says that's normal, and it will return over time but it may be days or weeks.

 

She's successfully eaten her last several meals, including some solid food, without vomiting. No one has talked to her about discharge yet, though, which is weird; we thought they were trying to get her out of there as soon as possible due to Covid reasons (reducing vectors both for her and for the hospital, freeing up beds, etc). The nurses also have already asked her about her preferences for dinner and breakfast tomorrow. Still hoping to get her home today but now it's looking like tomorrow is also a possibility.

 

On the plus side, she sounds much better now than the last time i talked to her on the phone. She sounds much more awake & alert and like she's getting her strength back. The nausea was mostly attributed to the anesthesia so now that that's out of her system it shouldn't be an issue going forward. She's being fed and kept comfortable and pain is under control. That's about all we can ask for right now.

 

 4:41 pm

Alyssa and i should be picking her up about 6:30.

 

 7:59 pm
She is home.

 

 8:11 pm

  

Surgery Updates February 23, 2021

February 23, 2021

 10:18 am pdt
I've talked to Amanda a few times today. She's still exhausted. Last night she had a little Jello and threw it up, and continued vomiting through the night. This morning she had some soup and so far has kept that down. They're going to try moving her along to solid food for lunch. As long as she's able to keep that down, she should be coming home this afternoon. Neither of us have spoken to the surgeon yet, hopefully he visits her soon.

 1:01 pm pdt
She ended up vomiting again about an hour before lunch. So far lunch itself is staying down.

 1:07 pm pdt
This morning she was definitely in pain. They had already given her 2 oxycodone and she said they told her she could go up to four, so she was going to talk to the nurse about getting some more. However, we already know from previous medical experiences that narcotics make her nauseous (not uncommon) and she hasn't eaten much soooo

 1:09 pm pdt
Molly: I just texted her. She says the pain is manageable right now.

 3:50 pm pdt
They are giving her Zofran and Metoclopramide (Reglan).

 3:52 pm pdt
Amanda's case manager called me a little bit ago to make sure i was available to pick her up when she was ready. She suggested it was possible they may keep her overnight again. So far Amanda has managed to keep lunch down without issue, but she says she thinks they will keep her through dinner at least. No one has talked to her about another night yet.

 4:05 pm pdt
Jolene: She hasn't been having any trouble going to the bathroom, so at least we've got that box checked. Hopefully the food situation improves.

In addition to whatever painkillers they're sending home, i picked up some weed on the way back from Costco. Weird, that. Can't imagine what i would have thought about "weed" being on my grocery list ten, five, even two years ago.

 

 4:11 pm pdt
Molly, Jolene: Yep. She started experimenting with edibles about halfway through chemo when the pain and nausea got too much. It's been extremely helpful, definitely better than any of the pain meds they've prescribed her. The ones i picked up today are a little more powerful than what she's been getting. We've been going up slowly in increments since she has no previous history of marijuana use.

 

 4:19 pm pdt

Update: Amanda says it sounds like they are in fact planning to keep her overnight again. Also, the surgeon still has not come by to talk to her.

 

 5:15 pm pdt
Jeri: There's a dispensary two blocks from the house. I just walk in, they ask what kind of THC to CBD ratio i want, and whether i want that in cherry or pineapple. I don't think they covered this in DARE.

 

 5:21 pm pdt

Zuul is convinced she is never coming back.

 

Surgery Updates February 22, 2021

February 22, 2021

 8:22 am pdt
Alright friends. Today's the day. I'm taking Amanda in for surgery now. Will post updates as available.

 9:53 am pdt
Dropped her off a bit ago. She was expected to stay overnight, but now they're saying she may be able to come home tonight.

 12:48 pm pdt
Just heard about 15 min ago she's through nuclear medicine and waiting on anesthesia. Procedure is expected to take 4 hours and end around 6:30, so i assume they're starting at 2:30. She is very thirsty and hungry, since she hasn't been allowed anything, not even water, since midnight, but otherwise is doing well so far. I doubt if I'll hear any more updates from this point until surgery finishes.

 2:12 pm pdt
They're about to take her into surgery. She says her hospital gown is warm and toasty. They've certainly improved hospital gown technology since i last had surgery in 1999.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 2:13 pm pdt
Meanwhile Zuul is velcro dogging me

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 2:30 pm pdt
They've taken her in to surgery.

 3:46 pm pdt
The hospital just called to inform me that surgery began 10 minutes ago. They are now estimating about two hours for the entire procedure and will call me when it's finished.

 6:21 pm pdt
I just talked to one of the surgeons. Amanda is out of surgery and headed for the recovery room. Everything went well and there were no big surprises. They will be keeping her overnight, as originally intended; the admitting nurse was mistaken when she said Amanda could go home today. I'll post more after i get a chance to talk to her directly.

 7:34 pm pdt
Just talked to Amanda on the phone. She's very tired and wasn't able to say much, but she was awake. It was good to hear from her. I'm a little more relaxed now than i've been all day. The nurse said they're still waiting for a room to put her in, once they have that she will call me back and give me the room number and direct phone line to Amanda.

 9:02 pm pdt
The nurse just called, they're moving her up to the room now and getting her settled in for the night. I have the direct phone numbers for both the room and the nurse who will be taking care of her tonight. She'll be getting her cell phone and other possessions brought to her shortly, but she will likely be zonked out on painkillers and resting for the remainder of the evening, so i don't expect to hear from her until tomorrow. The nurse i talked to the last couple times says she's "a tough cookie."