Breast Cancer Blog

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Sue is happy to be home with her cats to keep her company.

Cheryl and I got our first taste last night of being nurses. It gives me a new appreciation for the nursing profession and the patience needed to care for someone who is very sick and helpless.

The hardest part of the job is maintaining her surgical drains, which have to be checked and emptied several times a day, and then recorded on a sheet. On Wednesday I have to call the surgeon with the amount. The drains do not get removed until the amount of drainage decreases to a certain level. The drains keep the swelling down as a result of all the fluids that build up after surgery.

Keeping track of her medication intake is also a challenge, as she is in no condition to do that herself. She was already on a number of medications for her Fibromyalgia before the surgery. Now things are even more complicated. Cheryl has been a tremendous help. I was so exhausted last night I don't think I could have made it without her help. We were all tired from not being able to sleep very long in the hospital.

Sue slept most of the morning. Then we had visitors for a few hours in the afternoon, which was a nice break. Even though she needs her rest, Sue also needs to get up out of bed periodically to get her strength back.

After another nap, we all watched a little bit of TV in the evening. Each time she gets up to do something, she appears to be getting better. We are even starting to cut back a little bit on her pain medication, which is a very good sign. She is looking forward to a visit from her parents tomorrow.

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