Surprises

There were many things that I thought I knew going into this having already had a mastectomy and reconstruction once and having read like everything out there on DIEP. But here are something that surprised me.

1. The bruising. My breasts are bruised all over. My arms and legs am have bruises from the shots from the blood thinners. My abdominal scar has bruising at the ends of it. They are all at varying points of healing so I am a beautiful mash up of purple, pink, and yellow.

2. Diet restrictions. I was given a strict no caffeine and no chocolate diet in the hospital. I’m not a coffee or caffeine drinker so it wasn’t a big deal, but chocolate! My heavenly hunks had to wait until I got home.

3. Rib pain. A small portion of a rib connected to the sternum was removed to have a blood vessel to connect the flap to. This area was more sore than expected.

4. Drains. I was completely mentally prepared to have 6 drains. I came home with only 2. It was quite a bonus. However, my predictions of what I would wear to manage these was so off. Last time, I loved my drain camisole. This time I struggle with it because I don’t like to have anything on my breasts initially and that zip, even though it’s not tight, still feels like too much. Also the spot where the drains are held is too high and feels like it actually hits where the drains are stuck in me. I also did not have drains in my abdomen, which was a total bonus for me!

5. Penrose drains. I was surprised to have penrose drains while in the hospital. I hadn’t heard of this before. The best way to describe them is a silicone straw stuck halfway in your body and half out. I also pictured these (because I couldn't actually turn my body or lift my arms enough to see them) similar to the spigot that Katniss was gifted in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire to get water from a tree, except drilled into my body. THEY HURT! These drains resulted in a lot of goo just coming right out and soiling the hospital gown, sheets, pillows, that I had anywhere near my sides. Thus, the clothes that I thought I might wear in the hospital were useless.

6. Occupational Therapist visit while in the hospital. Maybe this was because of my length of hospital stay, but it was awesome. She came in each day and helped me learn exercises to do for PT but also how to get out of bed, tips for how to shower safely, how to get clothes that aren't button up on safely while having T-Rex arms. This was another great surprise.