My BRCA Journey

So September 17th rolled around and I was beyond anxious. I could not wait to get to the Los Gatos Surgery Center and get this procedure over with. Everyone there was super nice – they totally got my humor. 

My plastic surgeon joked with me that men must have designed bras because no one would willing wear this contraptions as she drew all over my chest in a permanent marker. My anaesthesiologist made small talk with me and I made sure to tell her NO Scopolamine patch this time around. I made sure she knew I wake up super fast and shortly thereafter I was walking into surgery! I was told they would prop me up periodically during surgery to make sure everything was sitting right and even.

I woke up to itchy and sweaty legs and begging for someone to take the compression off my legs. I did it. I finally made progress in reducing my chances of breast cancer. A huge weight had been lifted off of me – and then I felt like vomiting after I looked down. 

I am the type of person who doesn’t do well with blood. Any blood. If I see blood on TV, my stomach gets uneasy and I start sweating. It really sucks and in my line of work – transporting and translating for non-English speakers in various medical environments, I have fainted once. I looked down and saw my drains sticking out of me with blood just pooling. Ohhhh boy was that an eye opener!

The nurse explained to my partner how to clean the drains and empty them. We would have to document their output and bring the log to my first post-opp appointment in hopes that the output would be minimal and the drains could be removed. Somehow I made it through that – even if I dry heaved multiple times.

I came home that afternoon full of energy which was not great. Somehow, I get SO hyped up from surgery I don’t sleep. I average about 4 hours a night the first month or so after surgery. It’s somehow my normal. I tried the best I could to get comfortable – thank goodness for my adjustable base bed – since I had to sleep at and angle and on my back.