OK.....here are the photos of my left arm, swollen with infection. I cannot even begin to tell you how painful and scary this was...... When I woke up on December 21st, 2010 it felt like I had just slept on my arm wrong. You know, like it was abit sore but would work itself out. Well...through out the day it did not get better and I was taking tylenol every 4 hours. I went to work and spent the evening picking up packages with my right arm only because my left arm was so sore I could barely move it.....from my shoulder to my wrist. By the time I got home from work, and removed my shirt, my arm had almost doubled in size, was hot to the touch and very, very red. I said to my son, "If it doesn't get better over night, I will go to the Doctors in the morning." I should have been aware, because of the hot and cold chills I was getting all night at work that it wasn't good to wait.
On Dec. 22nd I woke up and my arm was worse with pain, and even hotter when touched. I called my Dr and she got me in right away. When she saw it, she knew that something needed to be done because it was a serious infection and was even more serious because of the fact that it was my "cancer arm" that had the 7 lymph nodes removed and there was no where for the infection to go. She had the NP give me a major shot of antibiotics, sent me home with a prescription of Keflex for the next 7 days, and said if it gets worse (moves past the pen marks on my arm) to go to the Emergency Room immediately! OK....hearing THAT made me more nervous than the infection was. She called it Cellulitis and the reason for panic is because a Strep/Staph Infection travels quickly to other organs in the body through blood flow and it needed to be contained before it spread further.
The next morning, Dec. 23rd, at 7am, my Dr called me. She said that she couldn't stop thinking about me and wanted me to come back into the office for an ultrasound to rule out a blood clot. I went right in...had the ultrasound, and then back to her office for a check up. She said that it looked alot better, wasn't as hot, and the antibiotics seemed to be working. Within 2 days of antibiotics the infection seemes to move to my hand, which doubled in size. 7 days later...all was back to normal......infection gone, pain gone, redness and hottness... ALL GONE.
Ahhhhhh the wonders of antibiotics.
Well.....on the 18th I had my annual Mammogram appointment. Again...negative for reoccuring cancer...whoooohoooooo.
I cannot express how much it relieves the worry that I carry within my head 25 hours a day, 8 days a week....366 days a year!! It is just something that seems to be a constant in my life...worry. Every bump, bruise, pain, strain, ache....is it cancer?? I don't let it run my life, but I do think it.
When I told my NP Julie Ross about my arm, she responded with, "Its pretty common and you are not the only person that this has happened to, and I can't say that it won't happen again."
She also told me that if it should happen again to notify the Roswell Park Breast Center and they will get me in right away.
I will say it again, don't you think it would have been nice if they told me BEFORE HAND that this might happen and what to do if it does!! Ugggghhhhhh...how frustrating.
I am just worried about lymphedema setting in. I have a very physical job and without the use of both of my arms I wont be working at it very long...thats for sure.
Well.....I will keep you updated if anything else happens, but let's keep our fingers crossed that nothing will!
1 comment:
Whenever the surgery is done they are necessary minor operations are done. As you would be now right very soon. And hence there is no need of worry.
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