It seems my body was trying to reject the expander. The area around the expander was red and raw and the "stuff" that was on the expander was clumps of white blood cells. Dr. Hicks says he is not saying he won't put another expander in but I get the strong impression he doesn't think it is a good idea. We're not going to do anything for several months. At this point I think I should just have him take out the extra tissue and neaten up the scar. Once the area settles down a little I'll see about getting an interim prosthesis so I am not so lopsided. The infection definitely looks better. I am hoping to get my picc line out tomorrow.
On the lymphadema front I did get my pressure garments and my Jovi Pak to wear at night. The Jovi Pak looks like an oven mitt on steroids. The tips of the fingers are free and it goes all the way up to the axilla. I still don't have my routine down to put the compression garments on during the day. I have a hard time wearing the Jovi Pak all night. It makes the muscles in my upper arm tired and I start feeling claustrophobic. I am trying to increase my tolerance for it. It definitely makes a difference in the amount of swelling.
We are at the end of fall quarter. One result of feeling so lousy is that I have the greater part of my grading done - the big assignments anyway. When I didn't feel like I could handle anything else I could grade papers. Thanksgiving weekend won't be so frantic trying to get grades in.
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