Time to wake up! - Toni Tapp Coutts

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Back from Theatre[/caption]

As I try to swim to the surface from the black groggy haze I ask ‘What is the time?’

A voice from afar answers ‘It is 5.00 pm.’

I can’t remember being in recovery, just vaguely some voices telling me to wake up and asking me how I am feeling.

Eventually faces come into focus and I see my daughter’s Megan and Shannon and husband Shaun all sitting around the bed.

I look lovingly at the tray of white bread, ham and cheese sandwhiches and a cup of tea in a plastic mug! I gulped the cold weak tea down and ate half of one dry sandwich.

There are tubes and drains coming out of everywhere but I feel pretty good. Just disorientated. Shannon went and bought me a chocoloate from the shop and I fell asleep mid conversation.

The beautiful deep sleep is interrupted on an hourly basis for observations. Blood pressure (high), temperature and pain control.

I love the self serve opiates. A pump plugged straight into my vein! wooo hooooo – The nurse assures me that one cannot overdose on it.
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At 2 am I have to brave the upright postion and go to the toilet, dragging drips and tubes with me. Bright blue pee! The product of expelling the radioactive dyes injected into my system 12 hours prior.

There is very little sleep as the nurses bustle in and out and the night bell rings. The person in the room next door has bouts of vigorous vomiting.

The Doctor arrives at 8.30 am and tells me that he is happy with the procedure and thinks that we should not get any extra surprises…HOWEVER…there are no guarantees and we have to wait for the biospy on the Sentinel Node next week. Then we can plan future treatment.

The Surgeon says he has removed a tumour the size of a golf ball but took an area as big as a scone….SCONE? I thought most people talked in, size of a tennis ball, cricket ball, an apple, walnut or a pea?

I have a good look at my breast when the nurse changes the dressing – there is an incision scar about 7-8 cm long, fromthe centre of my chest towars the nipple, all disolving stitches under the skin. A very neat scar. It looks pretty good – and though the breast is quite swollen I think there are at least 3 or 4 scones left! So, I wont be toooo lopsided. 🙂

The scar to remove the lymph nodes under the left arm is about the same length, neat, attached to drains and very very sore!

From my facebook page the next day

Lumpectomy, size of peach – sounds better than scone, and two glands removed from left armpit. Plenty of good morphine, one hourly observations, peeing bright blue. One hourly observations, blood pressure up to 170. By the time sun came up I was feeling pretty good. Saw Surgeon and he is happy so far. Will see him in Katherine next week and have final results on lymph biopsy etc and future treatment. Saw the physio who gave me some excercises to keep the arm moving, dressed, put the lippy on, and just 18 hours later …… hit the road. 320 km drive home.

As we drove back into Kathrine a friend rang for Darwin.

‘Quick turn on the radio – Chief Minister Terry Mills has been dumped while he is in Japan and we have a new Chief Minister, Adam Giles and Deputy Chief Minister Dave Tollner!’ But that is another story!

Pasted from Shannon’s facebook page Tuesday 12 March 2013

Just as I took these pictures mum says “oh…you should have put some lippy on me.” hee hee, in high spirits. Mum is on plenty of pain killers and slowly drifting off to sleep while talking a hundred miles an hour. She couldn’t say enough thankyou’s to all of you for such amazing messages of love and hope, so for now everything is well and peaceful. Dad has gone to finally get some well deserved rest and a feed. Thank you all and sweet dreams xxxxxxxxxxx – with Terry Grieve and Chanyn-Caroline Coutts at Royal Darwin Private Hospital

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