What Ever Happened to Those Lymph Nodes??

I realized this morning that I had written about needing more lymph nodes removed, but had never told you the end of the story.

Returning home from my second surgery

On January 16, right after receiving injection #3 from the plastic surgeon (UGH!!!), I went to the surgeon's office for a check up.  She thought the incision looked really good and apologized for nicking my lung while implanting the port-a-cath.  I asked her about numbness in my armpit and upper arm -- I literally had NO feeling right to my elbow, which frightened the pants off me!  She let me know that many women who have this surgery NEVER get normal feeling back, but, with any luck -- luck????-- I would have most of my feeling return, but it could take up to a few years.  Oh, the delights they don't tell you about BEFORE the surgery -- probably a very good thing!

I then asked her how many lymph nodes she took out.  She responded with, "I don't know."  "What????" I'm thinking.  "You WERE there, right??"  It was then she explained that she had removed a "scoop" of nodes and tissue and we wouldn't know how many until the pathology report was back.  "Could you please check if it's back", was my next response.  She said she'd check, but it was unlikely.

As I redressed, she stuck her head back in the door and literally shouted, "TEN NODES -- ALL CLEAR!!!"  That was extremely happy news!!!

Since I was feeling pretty darn good, I had booked a flight to go visit my Mom, Dad, and sister in Trail.  I had a very early morning flight, so I stayed overnight at my daughter, Esther's in Kamloops to be closer to the airport.  That evening, and more pronounced in the morning, I noticed or felt a slight swelling in my armpit.  Some feeling was returning to my upper arm by this point, and I wondered if it was just that I was able to feel in that spot for the first time.

No -- that wasn't the case-- as my visit went on in Trail, my armpit got more and more swollen.  Once again, THANK HEAVEN my big sister is a nurse!!!  She checked it for more swelling, redness, and heat 25 times a day.  I was becoming more and more miserable as this giant, hairy orange grew in my armpit to the point where I had to hold my arm out from my body to be comfortable. Maureen, on a visit to the Foundation Office at the Trail Hospital, told them her sister was visiting and about my latest "development".  They insisted she choose a pillow to bring home to me.  What a Godsend!!  I walked, drove, and slept with that pillow in my armpit for weeks.

My "heart" pillow.
Thank you to the ladies in Creston who sewed it!!!

When I returned home, I visited the surgeon's office once again and had 60 cc of fluid aspirated from my armpit to relieve some of the swelling.  She termed it a "seroma", which I quickly googled to see how else I could help.  I found depressing stories stating that, often, a seroma (really just a build-up of fluid) can take up to two years to reabsorb into the body.  Thankfully, the aspiration worked and hardly any fluid returned to my armpit.  I could feel it sloshing about over top of my tissue expander for many, many weeks, though.