Medical Update, part...?

Okay, quick, before my lunch hour is over and Blogger times out again:

• Friday was the MRI. As promised by my friend Margaret, and my engineer, I almost fell asleep during my 40 minutes in the tube. Only the somewhat painful IV needle in my forearm kept me from dozing off completely. I was lying face down on the conveyer belt-type tray which moved me back and forth, in and out of the tube (mercifully, feet first, so I didn't have to find out if I really was claustrophobic or not).
  
  Amusing sidenote: the trolley/conveyer belt had a headrest area, like a massage table, and [ta da!] cutouts for my boobs, so it was actually much more comfortable than a massage table!
  








• Monday was pre-surgical testing: blood work, x-ray, mandatory EKG (ah, the joys of being over 40), and basically stuff to ensure I was healthy enough for surgery. A mere 2-1/2 hour visit, followed by a half hour meeting with the nurse to review the surgery & wound care procedures, etc.
  
  When I asked he if she thought I could go back to work on the following Monday, she looked at me like I was deranged and reminded me to bring the disability paperwork to my post-op visit on the 10th.
  

  
  Or as she put it in typically succinct NYer fashion, "I would plan on at least a week off. Some people need 4-6 weeks to recover, averaging around 4 weeks. And if you aren't going to take time off for CANCER, when ARE you going to take time off?!"
  

  
  Er, well, when you put it THAT way...
  
  

  
  
  

• Thursday afternoon will be radiological lymphatic mapping - I will either be injected or dosed with (I forget -- this is why they advise bring a companion to these meetings) a blue radioisotope, told to wander off for 2 hours while my body absorbs the dye, and return at 4:30 for the lymphatic mapping scan thingie, which will take about 30 minutes (note: this does NOT include wait time, only 30 minutes from when they actually start the process)
  
  During the 2 hour wait, I am to call Admitting to find out my surgery schedule for ...



• Friday, the main events, yielding 2 separate incisions: breast needle localization (I think that's the correct term, anyway) where they will insert a guidewire (ouch!) prior to surgery, a sort of "X marks the spot" approach.
  
  Then I wait for the surgeon for an indeterminate amount of time.
  
  [Note: from this point forward = minimum of 4 hours.] Then he (eventually) starts the procedure by injecting me with blue dye to locate the 3 sentinel lymph nodes he will be removing. [Note: I have been warned that my skin, and um, all bodily wastes, will be blue for weeks and days respectively. Funky!] The 3 lymph nodes go off to the pathologist while the surgeon removes my little 7mm malignant pea + safety margin.
  
  Before he closes me up, the pathology lab will call the surgeon to let him know if the cancer has spread. If yes, more surgery & an overnight stay in the hospital. If no, he closes me up and I stay in the recovery area for 2-3 hours while the IV anesthesia works its way out of my system.
  

  
  My sister (who, along with my poor engineer, will be stuck in the waiting area all day) will drop me off at mom's for some TLC and chicken soup, where I will stay for at least the weekend, possibly 'puterless. (The horror!)
  

So the upshot is that I will explore and experience the wonderful world of short-term disability & FMLA benefits from January 29th - February 10th, at a minimum, and will be away from my ceramics strewn desk (see misleading photo above) for almost 2 weeks. The post-op follow-up visit on the 10th will determine the length of my furlough. Which reminds me...

Today we were told that our entire division -- not just my department -- has now been reassigned to someone waaaay down the food chain in the US unit. Someone who probably has no idea what the heck it is we do. Someone who has probably been told to cut expenses.

This begs the questions:

1. will I even have a job to return to?


2. should I pack up my stuff before I go??

Now I know some friends are saying that I can't get laid off while being treated for cancer, because that might be considered discriminatory. Unfortunately my reply is that if they just axe my whole division, well, then clearly it is very egalitarian. Feh.

Sorry - no time for fun food sagas involving Chinese New Year duckfest, or goose-fest at my engineer's parents' house. Next post.

Not surprisingly, I have been stress-eating lately, and have gained a few pounds. Sigh. My grace peiod of stressed out metabolism = eat whatever is now OVAH. Like my lunch hour.