Sleeves and Pumps

Nan reminded me that I had not posted to the blog in a while so I thought I would catch it up.  Thank goodness there is not a lot to report.  The cellulitis is all cleared up.  The picc line is out.   I am definitely feeling better. It is such a relief not to feel sick all of the time.

There seems to be no doubt that the expander was the culprit but there is no definite answer on whether there really was an infection or if  I was having an allergic reaction or if my body was rejecting the expander.  That question probably won't be answered.  In discussing if I should try having an expander put in again Dr. Hicks says there is a 50/50 chance that it will get infected (or whatever) again unless we do a much bigger operation using muscles from the back.  That is too high of a chance of problems for me and I definitely am not going to have a more invasive surgery.   It looks like it is a revision of the tissue and a prosthesis.  So there is still one more surgery ahead but not until summer.
 
My two biggest problems at this point are joint pain and lymphedema. The compression garments don't help my hand much.  The arm garment seems much tighter than the hand one so it keeps the hand from draining.  The Jovi Pak that I wear at night does a much better job.  My claustrophobia is an issue because I have really had to work at getting used to having limited movement of my whole arm without panicking.  I can tolerate it for a few hours then I wake up and HAVE to take it off.  The next time I wake up I put it back on again.  That is nothing compared to the compression pump.

Compression Pump

 I really can't tolerate the entire pump set up.  I can handle the arm and chest part for about 40 minutes but that is it.  My OT loaned me hers for a couple of weeks and we had it set so I could tolerate it.  I have my own now and a "trainer" is supposed to come out tomorrow to help me set it up.  We definitely weren't on the same page when we talked on the phone.  It will be interesting to see how insistent she is and what her training is.  If I can't get her to set it up so I can tolerate it and work toward the whole thing I will take it in to Cindy and get her to help me set it.  It is important that I be as compliant as I can because the complications can be pretty nasty,