The process at Jefferson is that the hospital will call you with the time of your outpatient surgery. This call is the day before surgery. So, for me, that would be Sunday. I also left my cell phone as the number to contact if I was not at home. These facts are important because….. they meant the last business day before surgery (I had mentioned Sunday to my surgeon and he nodded that it would be the day, as did Tracey who did some admin after my pre-op consult). I came home on Friday, to a long, detailed message about my surgery. We had not mentioned any of this to our son because we did not want to worry him for nothing (cancer was gone, right?) So, he comes home from school, presses play, and hears all about his mother’s surgery. This was so wrong! You don’t leave stuff like that on an answering machine! Why are they calling home anyhow? I have a work number and a cell number. They called mid-afternoon on Friday. Well, we sat down and spoke to our son about what was going on. I felt better with him knowing. He said he knew anyhow (I am not a good secret keeper. I had let it slip “after surgery……” a few times.)
Before surgery, they needed to map out my lymphatic system. I needed to go to Nuclear Medicine, where they would determine if my Sentinel node was behind the knee (2% of patients) or in the groin area (98%). I would do that at 8:00 and walk over to the surgical center when this was completed. Wallace and I arrived for the nuclear medicine appointment about 20 minutes early. The whole experience was eerie. This department was down a long hallway at a far wing of the hospital. The hallway was from a psycho movie. Yellow walls, linoleum floor, rubber molding at the base of the wall, fluorescent lights buzzing above, and the hallway was a city block long. As we walked it, I reminisced of the carpeted doctor’s offices with plants and pictures and cheerful music. I had not been in a hospital since my son was born 15 years ago.
The receptionist desk was empty, so we sat in the waiting room. There was a television announcing the tactics of the Bin Ladin mission which successfully removed this horrible person from our world. I decided to get up an use the restroom which was across the hall. As I left the waiting room, a small energetic woman scared the crap out of me. She popped up from nowhere with “Hi! How’s it going? Beautiful day!”. She acted like she knew me and I was a bit startled because I felt I should have known her. I wondered if she escaped her room in the ward….. No, she was the receptionist and was absolutely wonderful. I had let the hospital ambiance totally freak me out.
I was taken into the room where the radioactive fluids were to be injected around the original site of my melanoma. Needle injections at the ticklish spot of your foot. Can you imagine? There were 4 vials that looked like they were from some old horror flick, Long royal blue tubes with ends like a tin can. There was radioactive label on each. Lined up in a tray. They looked like they came from a deep freeze and had been in the freezer for 40 years. I took the first three okay. The fourth one was sheer pain. There was some issue because I involuntarily yanked away from the needle and some of the substance must have dribbled out. After I calmed down, she chose another spot and finished injections. Then, we had to wait until the radioactive saline settled in my lymph nodes. It traveled and the technician announced, after 70 minutes, that I was done and could get up and leave. I questioned where she found a lymph node and she mentioned that she thought she saw one at the side of my ankle on the leg area. She had left the room to review data with someone, so I figured she was having an issue knowing when she was done. I mentioned that it was a peculiar area to find the sentinel lymph node there and mentioned the groin area. She told me to lay back down and she shifted the equipment to focus on my groin. She exclaimed “There they are!” I was aglow at the left groin area. After she mentioned her boss would have been upset if she didn’t have that picture, I was released.
We walked over to surgery. I felt like we were late. It was almost 10 and I felt the procedure in Nuclear Medicine took much longer than it should have. The surgeon was pacing the hall while the anesthesiologist reviewed my history. I couldn’t believe they did not do any prep work to understand my hereditary disease. I sat there talking to him wishing I had sent the e-mail I drafted up explaining what general anesthesia was okay and which were harmful. I did not send it because I did not want to insult their intelligence and knew they were a great hospital – so let them do their jobs. He asked about one drug, and I said it sounded familiar and I think it was on the okay list, but all of the drugs sound the same to me. I asked him to bring a laptop over and I would get on the site an review options with him. He said “no, I have a book in the back”. Well, his book was okay because I came out okay.
After getting an IV, I went to the operating room and lied down on a heated bed. They put leg massagers on each leg, and covered me with a warm blanket. I was so comfortable I asked for a massage. Instead, they brought a mask over and that was all I know! I woke up in recovery and was asked to move to a lounge chair when ready. I did. Then I was released.
NEXT STEP: Get home and recover.
MY PSYCHE: When can I start exercising – I am feeling like a blob.
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