Life is better without nausea!

I had almost forgotten how much nicer life is without nausea! Ok, I'm exaggerating a bit, my memory is not quite that shortlived (yet?) ,but I am certainly glad that this awful nausea is finally abating. Being so constantly nauseated I couldn't even sleep certainly wasn't fun. But it started getting better last night, which meant I slept some more, and between that and skipping the final prednisone tablet I was supposed to take (hush, don't tell the ER doctors! It's our little secret...), my stomach is getting closer to its normal state. Yay!

As I suspected, however, the site where my IV line was inserted didn't fare so well, though. I have a nice little case of thrombophlebitis again. There is a thick thrombus in the vein in the back of my hand now, and a secondary one has started to develop further down that same vein. They are tender, but hopefully the warm compresses will be able to help them dissolve before they do too much harm. I guess my veins just don't like having chemicals pushed into them (even if it is a "pina colada" pushed by my favorite sleep man). That mediport had better work, because I don't think my peripheral veins could tolerate chemo.

It was a beautiful and sunny day today so that we could have lunch and dinner out on the deck, overlooking the back yard and all its flowers. We also went for a walk with the dog again, and this time all four of us had the energy to walk the much longer route the dog prefers to the short once-around-the-block that was all I could manage yesterday. After these surgeries, I always feel the need to get walking and exercising again, so that I can get my strength back. So hopefully I am officially done with the slicing and dicing for the time being. Yes, my reconstruction is not yet finished, I know, but it will have to wait until I have enjoyed all of my cocktail hours, and then some. Plus, there may be some frying (i.e. radiation) in my post-cocktail hour future, which would further postpone reconstruction by six months or so. So barring any further complications, I should be able to slow down my breakneck speed of surgeries somewhat.

I am glad I let my boob man revise the tissue expander, though. This implant feels much  more comfortable already. Plus, I had had issues under my arm (oddly in an area that they didn't even operate on) where I had some swelling and had lost sensation. Now that I am not as nauseated any more, I have noticed that sensation in that particular area of my body has returned, which I am very happy about!!! Plus, the incision doesn't even hurt that much -- actually the chemo port often bothers me more than the more recent revision incision. So overall I am really happy with the results of this week's surgical adventures. All's well that ends well, right?! And life definitely is better without nausea...

Things that I am particularly grateful for today include: hours spent with my mom, who will soon have to return on home; that the nausea is abating; the sweet yet spicy aroma of my favorite Scentimental rose.