Home, happy and healthy

Got home Wednesday afternoon about 2:30, and after much to do, no real answers. Which is what I figured.
Lab came by at 0400.
Hospitalist came by at 0730ish. She was very nice and was pretty sure they would discharge me by the afternoon pending a visit with the Cardiologist and some more labs.  My potassium hadn't even come up a point, so they gave me four more of those big yellow pills and she wanted to see if that would help bring it up before she cut me loose.
Dr Brick Rigden, the cardiologist came by around 0900ish, and I loved  him!  He was very curious about me working nights, what my hours are, how many nights a week I work, do I switch back to a normal schedule on my days off, how many patients do I scan a night, and so on and so forth. I think he was trying to find out if I was more stressed out than normal, thus causing the heart rate issues.  Especially when he found out how crazy this year has been for us!  When I explained that I do crazy well, and in fact if things were ever normal around our house, THEN I might have a nervous breakdown.  He laughed.  Oh, if he only knew.
  Anyway- he explained he is sure I had an episode of SVT or supra ventricular tachycardia, and there are 4 main types of SVT and none of which are life threatening, mostly just annoying.  Since we didn't catch the episode on EKG, we don't know what type mine is. Though we do know its not Wolf Parkinson White, even though WPW can run in families and is common in first degree relatives, and my son and sister had it.
 He offered that there are 3 options-
wear a holter monitor and try to catch an event on it-yeah, no thanks, my luck I would wear it and nothing would happen again for a year.
start on a daily beta-blocker-umm, nope again. I hate drugs. Except the good ones. Like Dilaudid.
Go to the cath lab and have it ablated-yeah, definitely not gonna happen.
Dr Rigden agreed with me that just waiting to see if it ever happens again, and it may never, then we would do something.
He did make me promise that if it did happen again while I was at work, I was NOT to go to the ER and get another patient to scan. Guilty. And I was NOT to go to the cafeteria and get a glass of water. Guilty again. ( I thought I could walk and will it away). I was to go to the ER and get an EKG-right then!
He still wanted an echo, just to make sure I didn't have anything structurally wrong with my heart that could have caused it.  Echo was normal except for some mild aortic valve leakage, nothing he would be concerned about unless I was to ever receive more chemo.
Oh, and I was to slow down.
I laughed again.
Not likely, not likely.

On an even better note, I saw Dr Sheehan at the Cancer Center this week, and my lab work has come back great so far. My tumor marker, or CA 27-29 dropped to a 23!!  That's a 17 point drop from my initial one of 40!  It just has to stay below 38 and all is good!  They re-checked my Vitamin D level because I've had some serious tooth achiness recently, and when it was low over the summer, my teeth ached.  However, Dr Sheehan felt like it was still some residual pain from the Taxol I received, even though I haven't had chemo since July!  Ugh!  The Vit D isn't back yet, probably tomorrow, but I've started back up on some anyway, though it doesn't seem to be helping.

Otherwise all is well.  Kids are good, bald kid is fighting a cold now for like 2 weeks, but who isn't?  Hailey has started club volleyball practice and conditioning-gonna be a fun season with these girls!  And Parker has been perfecting his golf swing at the golf academy and in our basement.  The weather has even been decent enough lately that Brian has played a few rounds in the last few weeks.
We got the house all decked out for the holidays, and are getting our pics taken for our Christmas card this weekend.  Can't hardly believe the end of November is tomorrow.  
Stay safe, warm and remember those less fortunate as we begin the busy Christmas countdown.

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers for all of us this year!  One more month and we can close the book on 2012, welcoming a brand new year full of *hopefully* many less surprises!  

Admitted

And this time it's not the bald kid, it's me.  Cause if it's not one thing with us, it's another...

Long story short, went to work Tuesday night, feeling fine and within 2 hours was in the ER.  Out of the blue my heart started racing and by monitor it was 180-200, and my blood pressure was 157/100. The pressure I started feeling on my chest finally sent me to the ER, that and my co-workers coaxing.
 By then my heart rate had come down to the 130's, but I felt like I couldn't catch my breath.  

Most of my lab work was normal-my magnesium and potassium were low which lead them to believe I was dehydrated. But after 2 bags of fluid, mag and potassium(huge pills by the way-can't believe I choked them down) and two trips to the potty, my heart rate would shoot up to 130 once I changed position from sitting in bed to walking.   My d-dimer was slightly elevated, which can indicate a clot or pulmonary embolus, so I got a CT of my chest too. It was negative for a clot, but showed some atelectasis-or poorly inflated areas of my lung. Which sounds way worse than it is, but enough to warrant some breathing treatments and my own personal spirometer.

So, anywho... I'm chilling out in 1099.1 waiting to see what's in store for me when the attendings arrive-probably an echo. We have a history of Wolf Parkinson White, an electrical heart issue, in our family-Ethan and my sister Kate, so I will be looked at closely for the same type of problem.

Thanks to all the wonderful ER staff who took care of me, and one of my fave ER docs, Dr George.  Thanks to my X-ray peeps for my CT scan and covering my shift and making me laugh. And my sleep deprived husband for sitting by my side, and my other husband Aaron for bringing me some stuff from home.   Love you all!

I'm gonna get some sleep now that lab is done before the day shift rolls in.  Will keep you updated!

Thankful

I awoke Thanksgiving morning to the sounds of the bald kid laughing in his bed, my husband snoring beside me, the dogs racing down the stairs and Hailey and Parker conspiring to see if I would let them make a trip to Dunkin' Donuts.  I lay there for a moment and thought to myself just how much I have to be thankful for.  So much, that there is not enough space to list everything.
As everyone I know, and all the 'thankful' FB posts state-the typical thanks for the things we often take for granted every day-the love of our family and friends, our jobs, the ability to provide for our families, the homes we live in, food we eat, beds we sleep in, and our health.  
But more than that, I'm thankful I have been given the chance this year to see just how precious life is.

To be reminded to slow down and roll the window down and breathe in the cool night air. 

To listen to the wind blow.

To stare up at the skies on a clear night.

To smell the fresh cut grass and summer rain.

To not take people or my freedoms for granted.

To hug longer and love harder.

I'm thankful I've been given another year to try to figure out how to make a difference in this world.

I'm thankful for the new people brought into my life this year.  And those that have always been there.

I'm thankful for the smiles, the laughter and the tears this year.  Mostly the laughter.

I'm thankful for all of you.

And Modern Family.

And Raul Esparza the sexy DA from Law and Order.  Hotness.  Seriously.

Breast Reconstruction: Step 1 (of many...)

On Monday Brian and I met with the Plastic Surgeon who will be performing and perfecting my new boob surgery.    Her name is Teresa Buescher, she is at KU, board certified and specializes in breast recontruction surgery.  I had the pleasure of listening to her speak at Gilda's Club in October about the different types of reconstruction surgeries she performs and a panel of women were present each who had chosen a different type of surgery. 

Breast Reconstruction surgery is typically done in stages, as mine will be.  I opted not to have tissue expanders placed at the time of my mastectomy, because, well, honestly it wasn't greatly suggested to me by my surgeon.  He felt the most important thing to do was heal and get through chemo and worry about reconstruction later.  I would have to agree, though I know no different at this point, having been without boobs for almost 9 months.  As it turns out, using such a large chunk of my FMLA for my mastectomy and chemo, I wouldn't have quite had enough time to be off and have my job protected had I done it the other way. 

I love Dr Buescher, and Brian was very pleased with her.  We talked about kids, my job, dogs (she has 8!) and the options available to me.  The route I have chosen to take is not any better/worse than what anyone else you know has/had done.  It's what works for us.  That was the wonderful thing about talking to her.  Whatever works for my life.
 We talked pros and cons. 
I have a job that involves lifting and pulling.
 I have a totally dependent child I need to be able to pick up and carry around.  Forever. 
So, like I said above, it may not be the route your mom, sister, bestie, or cousin's neighbor's aunt's Mom followed, it's MINE.  And no, it's not like getting implants placed for breast enhancement, so many of the typical rules for recovery don't apply here.  I encourage you to share your stories of reconstruction with me, after all, alot of what I know I learned from survivors willing to share with me. And I greatly appreciate their honesty and candor about what they did/would have done different. 
 BUT,  (always a but...) if you think about opening the hole in your face and saying to me something along the lines of how what's-her-stick didn't have to be off that long, or have a drain, or had this/that/the other for restrictions, or anything that remotely feels negative, STOP.  Especially if you've never been through it.

I found during chemo that more than one person said to me "My friend/mom/aunt/neighbor/ what's-her-stick didn't take ANY time off during her chemo....."  Well, I did.  And I felt guilty enough about that as it was, even though you may never have been able to tell, as I just nodded and smiled.   It took, takes work to stop feeling guilty still.   Probably always will.  I don't like to let people down. And I don't like to rely on others.  And though I know the people who said those words to me didn't mean it in a nasty way, the perception on my part of what they said when I already felt crappy, only made it worse.  I won't let someone else make me feel that way. 
So, what I'm getting at is simply this; this is MY choice, MY life, MY story. 
Why share it then you ask?  Because maybe you've been in my shoes and spent too much time nodding and smiling at the things people said to you that only make you feel worse about yourself, and this helps you realize you don't have to anymore. 
 OR maybe you are that person who thought sharing the story you heard would help.  It doesn't, it sounds and feels judgemental, even when it's not meant to be. 
And chances are, if you are following my blog, you love me and care about me, like to read what I write and just want to know what route I've chosen, so you can support me. 
Or your a stalker, and I'm ok with that too. 

Anywho....on to surgery!   I have chosen to have tissue expanders placed in preparation for a DIEP Flap procedure.  DIEP stands for Deep Inferior Epigastric Perforators-or the blood vessels in the lower abdomen.  Flap being skin and fat attached to those vessels. 
The first step being the tissue expanders will be placed on January 25th, 2013. The expanders are a sack with a port on it placed under the Pectoralis muscle.  This surgery takes a few hours, and will keep me in the hospital for a few days and maybe have a drain afterward.  I have a small seroma on my right side from my mastectomy which has never gone away-or a small pocket of serous fluid.  This may be what causes me to need a drain post-op, but Dr Buescher feels is not too significant, and doesn't need to be drained prior to having my expanders placed.
 Below is a good picture of what the process looks like from expander to implant.  She will place the expanders with a small amount of saline initially-only about 50cc's.  Then starting at 2 weeks post-op I will make weekly or bi-weekly visits to the office for them to locate the port and fill the expander with 50cc's of saline at each visit.  The expanders do exactly what the name is-expand the tissue and muscle which I  have lying flat against my chest right now.   Recovery time is 2 weeks of no lifting anything greater than 10-15 lbs, and raising nothing above my head.  Then possibly one more week, depending on how I'm doing at the two week point with arm movement and pain control.  

 

 

 





We will fill the expanders until I am happy with the size, then we hold fills for one month allowing maximum stretching of the muscle and skin.  The fills are quick 20 minute in office procedures with little pain afterward, but no restrictions.  This can take 3-6 months to achieve the size I want, but I can keep the expanders in for as long as 2 years.  Though about 8 months is as long as Dr Buescher likes.  But again, we are on MY schedule.   Below is a more accuarate pic of the what the expander looks like, and the card I get to carry while they are in.  They port has metal in it to help in locating it for fills, but also can set off metal detectors.  So, to hopefully prevent from being felt up by any TSA Agents should my boobs set off the metal dectectors at the airport, I will be sure and keep this card handy....

 



 

 

Remember these are in preparation for the DIEP Flap procedure.  Many women do the expanders, then trade out for implants once desired size is achieved.  I am looking at the DIEP Flap, which will take my abdominal fat and tissue and put it in where my new 'breast pockets'  or 'skin envelopes' have been formed.  The DIEP does NOT cut into the abdominal muscles, so I won't have the concern for lifting or carrying Ethan or doing my job, or hernias.  All in all, it's a tummy tuck/boob job combo.  This procedure is quite more intense than the implant exchange-a 12-15 hour surgery and 6 week recovery.  But it is completely autogolous-or means using all my own body parts. If you google it, the pics are kinda freaky, don't say I didn't tell you.  Dr Buescher specializes in this surgery, which makes me very comfortable with my choice.

 As of right now, I am a candidate for the DIEP, but that could change if I lose weight and in turn tissue off my abdomen.  And since it would be late next spring or summer, I may not be a candidate for this particular type of surgery, and instead do an implant exchange.  That is why we are starting with the expanders for now, and will just take it day by day, or fill by fill, boob by boob til I'm happy and ready. 

I'm excited to start this process, as it kind of feels like a new beginning, and end to my year of cancer.

And I'm ready to have boobs again. 

 

And how appropriate to be starting in January....

 

If the world doesn't end on 12/12/12.



Happy Rad Tech Week!

Happy Radiologic Technologist Week to my fellow co-workers and friends!  The pic above shows basically what I do all night.  Though many times it involves straps, lots of tape and often repeating myself over and over again.  A lot like Motherhood. 
I get to see some pretty cool stuff in my job, and having done it for as long as I have-egads-20 years next July-nothing and I repeat NOTHING surprises me.  Ok, almost nothing.

The x-ray below is of a child who ate magnets. Lots of them.  For the record and HIPPA and everyone I know who reads my blog and is freaking out right now-I found this image on Google.
However, having spent 8 years at Children's Mercy-I took a few of these x-rays.   And if you ever want me to tell you how to remove a coin from a child's throat with a foley cath and fluoro, just ask.  If  I've done one coin removal, I've done a bajillion.

 

 

The above pic is a CT Scan of a brain.  An angry one.  That big white thing-a-ma-jig is a bleed in said person's brain.  Again-Google.  This is what I mostly do. 

 Not find bleeds thank goodness-but produce beautiful CT scans of brains. 

And yes, everyone has one, and no, not everyone uses theirs.

 

I thought I would post an X-Ray Top 10 List in honor of my beloved profession, but am having a really hard time with what to call my list. 

 

Top 10 X-Ray Tech Pet Peeves?

Top 10 Dumbest Things an X-Ray Tech Has Ever Heard?

 

But my list requires many more than 10, so I'm just calling it:

 

A Day in the Life of an X-Ray Tech:

 

1.  No, your other left.

 

2.  No, it doesn't taste bad.

 

3.  Yes, I'm going to put that tube in there.

 

4.  No, I can't do a CT Angio with a 22g. 

In the toe.

 

5.  No, there are no cats in here.

 

6.  No, you will not glow in the dark.  Nor will your pee.

 

7.  Yes, your colon will hold ALL of that Barium.

 

8.  Yes, please leave your shoes on while on the table. 

 

9.  I'm sure glad you decided to come in tonight for that headache of 3 years.

 

10.  The gown opens in the back, yes, but it does tie.

 

11.  No, you did not pee on yourself.

 

12.  Yep, that's gonna leave a scar.

 

13.  Yes, undressing means your jeans too.

 

14.  Kinda looks like chocolate milk.

 

15.  Believe me, we do this all day long.

 

16.  I don't read the pictures, I only take them.

 

and my very favorite...

 

drumroll please....

 

I'm a Radiologic Technologist. 

 

Not a Technician. 

 

I don't do nails. 

 

 

I have had the honor to work with some pretty fabulous folks, and X-Ray people are a species all their own.  They know how to work hard, party hard and get the job done.  So if you are a fellow tech pat yourself on the back today from me, and if you know one-tell them how awesome they are. 

 

 For without us....

 

You couldn't be open to trauma.

 

Enough said.

 

 

Love you Rad Techs! 

*and miss you Kristin Saragusa

 

 

Now for some quick Rawley Family updates:

Halloween was fabulous

The bald  kid was Elliot from ET!

 

Brian and I went to the Radiology Halloween Costume party

 



As the Powder Puff Girls and Mojo Jo Jo

 

And remember how I mentioned X-Ray Techs know how to party?  Well, the Radiologists know how to throw a rager, and didn't let us down this year either!  There was a lot of time traveling going on that night, and at least I'm not the only one who can't remember all of it. 

At least I have an excuse.

 I have cancer.

But at least I didn't throw up in my boot.

 

 

Next year, no shots.