So Long Drain Baby - Hello Tattoos! (Click Here)

Goodbye drain baby!

I don't know what you have heard about having a tube stuck in your armpit, but it just isn't as much fun as they make it out to be in the brochures! As I mentioned in my last post, I thought that my drain baby would be out within a week, but that was not to be.  I had it for 3.5 weeks!  So I think that I carried that darn drain baby to full term.  Do I miss it now that it is gone you might ask? Well, I do have fond memories of using a cute little zebra striped hat (that Kerryn and Jason sent me) to hold the drain baby on top of my head (I put it under the hat) while I showered (because you can't let the drain baby dangle on a tube that is attached to your body by only a few stitches).  So if you can imagine a tube coming out of my armpit, and then heading up into a nylon zebra hat (which by the way looks like it has small ears if you don't tuck the edges in), well you can't really help but laugh.  Or at least I couldn't help but laugh!  Drain baby did its job, at this point I haven't had any issues with excessive fluid build-up.

However, I do appear to have acquired a seroma in my armpit - the lymph node surgical site.  I didn't expect this, but cancer treatment likes to keep you on your toes.  A seroma is essentially a lump of built-up fluid and even though it is full of fluid, it feels more like a rock! The effect is that I feel like I have something sort of stuck in my armpit (like clothing - but it is just the seroma). The good news is that it does appear to be getting better!

Thank you Chris, Sally and Charlotte for fitting me into your California vacation!

I am now in physical therapy with the goal of regaining full mobility of my shoulder and this seems to be working a treat.  Tomorrow will be my fourth physical therapy appointment and the difference in my mobility from just 6 days ago is huge!  It is very exciting to get movement back - and to do things like: 1) put my shirt on head first instead of legs first (I stepped into my clothing - even shirts - when I had my tube in and 2) enjoy a full stretch with my hands over my head when I wake up in the morning (oh, the things we take for granted until we lose them!).  My arm mobility is especially important because I need to keep my arm over my head for an extended period of time during my upcoming radiation treatment.

My hair is growing back!

I go in for my radiotherapy prep appointment tomorrow.  They will give me a few small tattoos so that they know where to line up the radiation beams during my treatment and will put me in the machine to determine what settings they will use for me. Who would have thought that this is how I would get my first tattoo!

I have signed up for the Cancer Center of Santa Barbara Walk on October 11th! In addition to Chris joining me - Mindy, Stefani, and Yonie will be doing the walk as well! The Cancer Center provides wonderfully comprehensive treatment and I hope that my friends might make a modest donation - even $5 or $10 will help ensure that the Cancer Center can continue to provide the care that has helped me get to where I am in my treatment, to others who might need it in the future.

Anniversary flowers from Chris!

If all goes according to plan, I will be back in London in just about two months! Just in time for Winter! I think it will be the best Winter I have ever had in London.

Again all my thanks to friends and family and the medical staff who have helped me make it through my treatment thus far.  Now I just have to get through my 6.5 weeks of radiation...Then comes the party!

xo
Jodi