. . . that I wasn't prepared for. Last evening, somewhere in the wee hours of the morning I woke up feeling achy. At first I didn't think much of it, after all I have added squats and lunges to my morning run with Sophie to prepare for our annual ski trip to Colorado. With less than 4 weeks to go - I have been pushing it a bit. But last night I also felt like I had a fever, so I got up and checked and my temperature was 99.9. Slightly elevated, so I took a couple Advil's and went back to sleep. This morning I still felt a little under the weather, but needed to tough through the aches and get to work. For accountants, year end is an extremely busy period and I knew that with days off for Christmas next week, I needed to get some work done. Plus I was planning on taking my staff out for a 'thank you' lunch and I certainly didn't want to cancel that.
When I got to the office I noticed that my right arm was red and quite warm to the touch. As a result of my breast cancer I had a right side mastectomy. In addition to breast removal I also had 15 lymph nodes removed which resulted in my developing lymphedema, a condition of localized fluid retention and tissue swelling caused by a compromised lymphatic system. Because of this added lymph fluids in my arm, I have to be concerned about infections. The lymph fluid is a protein rich fluid, so any infection can quickly grow and easily spread through my body. In other word, it isn't something to take lightly! I immediately called for a Dr appointment and was lucky to get in within 1/2 hour. As soon as my Dr walked in, I could see her concern. "We need to get some antibiotics into you as soon as possible." She left the exam room to make some calls and get the arrangements made. When she came back, she was very apologetic, because the clinics infusion center was swamped, I would have to head to the ER at the hospital. So off I go to the ER. I gave one of my co- workers a call - "the lunch would need to be cancelled! Would you cancel the reservations and send an email to my staff?"
Once at the ER - the nurse drew lots of blood to test for bacteria and then started the antibiotic infusion. By -1pm I was back at work, with appointments for Saturday, Sunday and Monday for additional infusions.
Not exactly what I wanted to do this weekend.
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| Lower portion of right arm |
My Dr drew on my arm to see if the redness continued to climb. Tonight I don't notice any positive change. My arm is still very red and hot to the touch, and every muscle in my body is aching. Time to take a couple Tylenol and head to bed!
Enjoy the moments - my eyes are heavy - it has been a long day!
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Feel better!
ReplyDeleteOuch! I am so happy your doctor got you in then was able to help you! I hope you are feeling better and rescheduled the lunch! :)
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