The reconstructive surgery went very well. I had what is called a DIEP Free Flap surgery. This is basically an updated version of the TRAM Flap surgery. In the TRAM Flap, tissue, muscle and skin from the lower abdomen are actually tunneled up under the ribcage and placed on the breast area to be rebuilt. With the DIEP Flap, the tissue, blood vessels, skin, etc. are actually removed for the lower abdomen, the flap is created from this and attached to the breast area. The blood vessels and nerves have to be attached in order to keep the flap alive, and that's probably the most difficult part of the surgery. All total, the surgery lasted eight hours. It began at 10:30 am and I was in recovery by a little past 6:30 pm. The nurses in the recovery room kept telling me how well I was doing. They couldn't believe I was actually awake enough to respond to them. Even if it was just a nod, etc.
I was then sent to the Special Care Unit (ICU) for the next four days. This was because I was attached to about every kind of monitor that you could think of, and the nurses had to check on the Flap every hour for the first two days and every two hours for the next two days. The way they checked to see if the Flap was still viable was with a doppler machine. This is like an Ultra-sound machine, but it's shaped like a pen. There is a point on the Flap that they would place this "pen" and you could hear the blood flow. The nurses couldn't believe how strong the blood flow always was. They kept telling me that they had never heard one that was that strong. Of course this made me feel great. I would hate to have to go through a major surgery like this, and then have it fail (which it does now and then).
I finally was untethered from all my monitor wires and IV's on the Sunday following the surgery and got to spend my last night at the Huntsman in a regular room. It was a beautiful room which had a spectacular view of Salt Lake City. The only problem with it was that we were in the middle of a major cloud of fog for the entire night and I was only able to see as far as the helicopter pad on the roof of the University Hospital that is just next door to the Huntsman. Oh well, by then, all I wanted to do was go home anyway, which I was able to do on Monday.
I want to say something about my surgeon, Dr. Jay Agarwal. He's the very best!!! I would recommend him to anyone. He's such a quiet, humble man, and yet he performs miracles for people like me who have lost a part of their body that makes us feel feminine and whole. I will forever be grateful for him and his expertise. He's only about 38 years old, so he has many years to help women get their lives back to some kind of normalcy. I just hope and pray that this "healthcare plan" that is being forced on us doesn't discourage him and others like him to be the best that they can be. I fear it might.
I also want to say a special thank-you to the wonderful nurses and medical assistants at the Huntsman. They are just the best. They did everything they could to make me feel comfortable and feel like I was their most important patient. I know they had others to take care of that were every bit as important, but that's what was so great about them. They cared about me, when they were with me, and I knew I was more than just "Patient #such and such". I had to do alot of walking while I was in the hospital, and many times one of them would go with me. We had some great talks and we got to know each other pretty well. They truly are angels in white (or whatever color, now days).
The power of prayer once again manifested itself to me during this experience. I was given a special Priesthood Blessing by my son-in-law, Aaron, and a very dear friend, Glen Turner, before I went into surgery. My name was also put on the temple prayer lists by several of my family and friends. These along with all the good thoughts and prayers by family and friends from around the country, gave me the strength I needed to get through this in such a positive way. The doctors kept telling me that I must have a high tolerance for pain, but I know it was the strength behind the prayers that had been sent my way, that helped me and continues to
help me in my recovery.
I have an appointment to see Dr. Agarwal on Tuesday, so I'll know how things are going then. Maybe they'll be able to take out at least one of my drains (I have three). I'll continue this saga after that appointment. I'll sign off for now, and if you read this, thanks for your support.
