Connie's Journal

My left breast feels numb all of a sudden. At rehab they told me when the nerve endings heal that there could be pain and numbness. Has anyone experienced anything like that and when did you experience it? Hopefully it won\'t last long.

I start rehab on Wednesday and was concerned about it because I haven\'t been able to get around as much as I would have liked until yesterday. Losing the waterweight seems to have put me in a whole new state of mind. I am anxious to see how it goes. The first appointment is to set everything up so won\'t actually do anything until Friday. I have several appointments scheduled and had checked them yesterday but forgot and scheduled one at the same time as my rehab so I to call and reschedule again tomorrow. I meet with my regular doctor this week for a post op appointment. The other appointments aren\'t until September.

I lost all the water weight (6 pounds of it) yesterday and I woke up feeling great. I was able to get around without feeling exhausted for the first time. Don\'t know what happened but all of a sudden it just seemed to melt away. Too bad that couldn\'t happen last week. I came home on the fifth day and then ended up having so many problems breathing that I had to go to the emergency room. They put me back in and I stayed 5 more days which wasn\'t fun. They tried Lasek and some of it went but then my blood pressure got bad and they couldn\'t keep it up so they had to stop the lasek and just let me try to get rid of the water on my own. I still had a lot of water when I came home. It was all very frustrating.

Please pay attention to your body and if you don\'t feel well let them know. I came home on Sunday and was short of breath - it didn\'t get better and I went back to the hospital on Monday. They tried using Lasex to get rid of the liquid but that made my blood pressure drop. They finally got everything regulated Friday and I got to come back home. I still have fluid but I know what to watch for for trouble. Hopefully it will go soon. Yesterday I was incredibly tired but feel much better this morning. I definitely won\'t say I am fine when I am not!!

I had surgery on Wednesday at 7:30 and came home on Sunday. I will post more details later. I am having a problem being really short of breath. I will check my weight in the morning and see if it\'s fluid. It was great to be able to come him but it was exhausting. I will try to post more tomorrow.

I had my pre op stuff at the hospital today and I was so nervous just thinking about everything - trying not to panic. I was afraid that the urinary tract infection wasn\'t going to be gone but I have been home long enough that it must be ok. I didn\'t want them to postpone the surgery. I just want to get it over with. Trying to get a lot of snuggle time in with my grandson since I won\'t be able to hold him for awhile. He loves to sleep on my chest and we won\'t be able to do that for awhile. I wondered if the heart murmur lulled him to sleep - that will change so we will see how he reacts to the new valve. I am still positve about the outcome and looking forward to feeling much better just having a bit of panic here and there!

I went to my regular doctor for my pre op physical today and found out I had a urinary tract infection - I have never had one before in my life. I just got over a sinus infection and a fever blister - I sure hope I am ok for surgery in less than a week. I should definitely have a bunch of antibiotics in my system. I have gotten calls today from the hospital to set up training and more testing the day before surgery. It feels like I have been on the phone all day with nurses. I checked on the paperwork for my family leave and it is in process so hopefully it will be ready when I am. I was surprised that the doctor had said I would be able to go back to work after a month but the paperwork said I would be off for at least 2 months. I guess it\'s just a matter of filing a release when the time comes and I can go back to work. I just want to be sure everything is ok for me to have the time off when I get to time for the surgery. I went to lunch with a friend today because it may be awhile before I am able to enjoy a lunch out. It was nice to have someone to sit and talk with. I had two lunches this week and a date so I am trying to get as much in as I can. I will be so glad to be on the other side of Wednesday!

My pre op physical is tomorrow but I have had most of the test recently so don\'t think there is much involved in this one. Nothing has been said about the anesthesiologist - I would have thought that I would have needed to meet with them but maybe that is done at the hospital. The time is coming quickly. A week from today I will have the surgery over with - that is hard to imagine after thinking about this for 6 years. I am just anxious to be on the other side and to be feeling great again like a lot of you are. It seems like a long time now but I know in a few months it will seem like a blink of an eye!

I am awake in the wee hours of the morning and my mind seems to be overactive. I am a facebooker and there was no one on line this morning - too bad we don\'t have the same options to see who else is awake and chat on this. I am sure there are others out there that can\'t sleep at times. At least it is nice to be able to look at journals and respond to the people who have signed my guestbook. Thanks to those of you who have taken the time to read my journal and respond to me.

I got a call today and scheduled my surgery for August 10. My pre op is scheduled for August 4. I have known this was coming for 6 years but it is different to know it is that close. Thanks to all who have posted their stories - reading them has helped me prepare.