DAY 5: Breast Cancer Journal

Our Health

Discussion

October 3, 2009

Anonymous The Meadville Tribune Sat Oct 03, 2009, 12:52 AM EDT

Spent the day in the doctor’s office and all looked well, woke up this morning with a baseball under my arm.

What the heck is this, did they forget something, is there a bleeder, what did I do to cause this and how do I stop it?

It is not becoming to say the least, I don’t have a midriff bulge, and I have an armpit bulge.

Not easy to hide that one!

Off to work I go, but what a nuisance. What am I supposed to do now?

I call long distance and get the secretary who will leave a message for the nurse, and the nurse will then call me and I can relay my story and she will tell the doctor and then they will call me back.

Will that be today ... or next month?

I continue on my daily schedule with my beeper on, waiting for the call.

I do get it mid-morning and I explain I had seen the doctor yesterday but today I have a baseball under my arm. She will get back to me.

Being the nurse I am (but not at this point, I am all patient), I seek out others for answers and, after several different people and different doctors, I am told that it is a seroma (which is clear serous fluid that sometimes develops after surgery).

Bingo, the answer!

Now what can I do about it?

In the meantime, the nurse has called and told me I must make the long-distance trip back and go to the Emergency Department and someone will see me there.

Another day off work and another day of travel?

Can’t something be done?

The tall and short of this is that it was taken care of and rather succinctly without a lot of muss and fuss locally, but I was scared and lost and the phone call was less than comforting.

Unfortunately it had to be drained more than once but I was better prepared when it happened again and better able to deal with the situation and outcome.

I like the personal touch, knowing the person on the other side knows who I am, what I am about and what I am dealing with.

That familiarity is a comfort to me and nothing to be taken for granted.

Oh, yes, I did have a fudgesicle afterwards.