Saturday Update

Well we're one week post surgery. Patty is doing better today. Thursday night was pretty rough and not much sleep. She woke up at 1 and 4 in significant pain. Yesterday got better as the day went on and today has been even better. Hopefully the trend will continue. She still has the drain until at least next Thursday :(. They will also start filling the expander which stretches her skin for the implants. That will probably be a little painful as well. She will have to have them filled every week or two I believe. Thanks for the many prayers.

Update

Sorry for the lack of recent updates. I haven't had time to post an update. I've been wore out trying to help Patty, work from home, and play Mr. Mom.

Patty had a setback day on Tuesday. I was starting to get worried about her. She couldn't sleep or rest all day and was absolutely miserable. Wednesday she slept all day almost. Today she has finally looked and acted better. I took her to the doctor today and he said the reconstruction looked good and removed one of the drains. The other will most likely remain for another week. She wasn't too excited about that. Hopefully tomorrow she will continue to improve.

Monday Morning

Patty is doing ok. She is still having trouble finding a comfortable position to rest in so she is constantly up and down. Her stomach feels a little better this morning but the drains are still giving her a hard time. She basically has a scar that goes from mid-back under arm to mid front, i.e. halfway around her body. She had to sleep on the couch again as she couldn't handle the bed. Maybe tonight will be better.

Sunday Morning Update

Last night was pretty uneventful. Patty slept better even if on the couch, her choice by the way, and was just up a once that I remember. She is still is really sore all over and in a lot of pain. It seems to come in phases. We got up around 7 and she took some meds and did a few laps around the inside of the house to help prevent any potential blood clots. She's been doing this ever time she gets up for something.

The kids will probably be coming home today so it will be "game on" at that point. Trying to keep them off of her is going to be the challenge!

Home Now

We're home now and Patty is resting. She has had a few episodes of pain of which she's taken some pain medicine to try to help. She has two drains that she'll have for about a week that are a real pain for her. I'm trying to keep her active as she runs an increased risk of developing a blood clot from having two surgeries one of them being in the pelivs.

Going Home Today

Well, surprisingly it looks like we'll be going home today. The plastic surgeon came in and said everything looks as planned. He wants Patty to take a shower here so the nurses can show her how to replace the bandages. It appears she is going to have to take it easy for at least 10-14 days.

Morning Update

Patty was up several times throughout the night because she is so uncomfortable in the bed. She would rest for about an hour and a half and then have to sit up in a chair which would then last for the same duration and then she would get back in the bed. She is doing a little better this morning.

The GYN doc came in and thought she was doing well and so they were going to pull her catheter and disconnect her from the IV fluids. We're still waiting on the plastic surgeon to come in and see her. She is still having considerable pain from this part requiring some heavy pain meds.

Thanks for all the prayers.

Latest Update

Patty woke up and her back was hurting her pretty bad so we worked her into a position where she could sit up. I then got her to stand up and walk to the end of the bed but then she started getting nauseous so sat back down and then got back up into the bed. She is really having an issue with the bed and her back because she can't really use her right arm to push down to move and get settled. She's resting now and hopefully she will drift off.

In Room

We made it up to the room at about 1:30. She is still pretty much out of it. She looks a little pale but everything seems well at this point. Evidently she had some nausea in the recovery room but seems to be abated right now. The only thing she has said is "Sore". Yea, I bet! She's been cut and stitched from on the front, back, and inside from neck to pelvis. Pray that she doesn't develop any blood clots and the muscle spasms are not bad nor the pain. I'll keep you updated as we go.

Surgery Complete

Patty is out of surgery and in recovery. I'm still in the lobby and haven't seen her yet. Hopefully, I will get to go back soon. The docs said that everything appeared to go well. Now the "real" fun begins!

First Part Done

The first part of Patty's surgery is done and they are moving on to the reconstruction. They finished the first part a little after 10. The physician said that it went well and was pretty routine. Evidently she had a large cyst on one of her ovaries but that it looked normal. Hopefully, they will finish around 12.

The Journey Continues...

Well here we are again sitting in the surgery lounge. Patty is having a hysterectomy today and the first part of her reconstruction. The hysterectomy is to help improve her chances at staying disease free. Her original cancer was estrogen positive which means estrogen fuels its growth. Thus by removing estrogen from her body by the hysterectomy there will not be any fuel for this type of tumor. The reconstruction speaks for itself.

We got here at St. Mary's North at 5:35 a.m. They started surgery at 8:00. From what the docs say it will take anywhere from 4-6 hours. I'm sitting in the surgery lounge on the 2nd floor waiting it out. You can email me at swarwick@mercy.com if you have any questions. Please be lifting Patty up in prayer!