And the saga continues...
I wish I could say I have gotten better. I really do. In some ways things are progressing and others... ugh.
The staph infection took a turn for the worse and my doctor determined I had MRSA, which is a medication resistant staph infection. Very scary stuff. She changed my medication to vancomycin, which is the only medication they are currently aware of that fights MRSA. It, in a word, sucked. I had to dose every 8 hours and the treatment itself takes an hour and a half. They had to place a midline, or a fake vein, in my arm because the vanco eats vein tissue. Yes, it eats the tissue. I have to say, the midline was much better than the IV placement and a lot less painful. The dosing screwed up my sleep schedule badly though since I couldn't get more than 4 hours of sleep at a time.
I continued the treatment until last week, when I visited the radiologist and they drained two large pockets of infection, one from each breast. Now, I have had migraines, spinal taps, broken fingers, dislocated knees and shoulders and by far, the needle aspiration last week was the most painful thing I have experienced. Thank goodness for Lindi who helped me focus my thoughts on her and not on the 18 gauge needles sticking out of my breasts! They removed about 15 CCs out of one and 10 out of the other, and, gratefully, it showed the vanco did it's job and killed all present infection in my body.
So, now, surgery. I met with a general surgeon for a second opinion and he agreed I would need surgery, and I definitely need a breast specialist. They will probably take the remainder of my breasts, which I am trying to get "okay" with. The surgeon was very sweet and encouraging when he told me of the options of removing fat from my belly and remaking my breasts or implants. I was very strong in my words about how I feel about implants after the hell my mother went through. I think I would rather be without breasts than risk all of the complications of rebuilding. I meet with my breast surgeon on Wednesday to go over all the details and set a surgery date.
My job has been amazing. I was approved for short term disability within 24 hours of submitting all the paperwork via fax AND they also approved FMLA (even though I didn't file for it) in ADVANCE of me needing to return to work, in case I need to take additional time off when I finally return to work. When i have a surgery date, I only have to make one phone call and my STD extends another 30 days. Wow. I have two co-workers who are working my client and have just jumped in to do whatever they can to hold down the fort. I don't have to worry about a thing.
Needless to say, I wasn't able to plan and execute our annual BBQ event for Lindi's b-day and I feel really bad about that. We still had a nice day together, albeit indoors and sitting a lot, but she seemed to enjoy having me with her all day long.
My family and a handful of amazing friends have really stepped up to make this latest bout of the breasts tolerable. I am so blessed. I'll keep everyone posted on the latest.
The staph infection took a turn for the worse and my doctor determined I had MRSA, which is a medication resistant staph infection. Very scary stuff. She changed my medication to vancomycin, which is the only medication they are currently aware of that fights MRSA. It, in a word, sucked. I had to dose every 8 hours and the treatment itself takes an hour and a half. They had to place a midline, or a fake vein, in my arm because the vanco eats vein tissue. Yes, it eats the tissue. I have to say, the midline was much better than the IV placement and a lot less painful. The dosing screwed up my sleep schedule badly though since I couldn't get more than 4 hours of sleep at a time.
I continued the treatment until last week, when I visited the radiologist and they drained two large pockets of infection, one from each breast. Now, I have had migraines, spinal taps, broken fingers, dislocated knees and shoulders and by far, the needle aspiration last week was the most painful thing I have experienced. Thank goodness for Lindi who helped me focus my thoughts on her and not on the 18 gauge needles sticking out of my breasts! They removed about 15 CCs out of one and 10 out of the other, and, gratefully, it showed the vanco did it's job and killed all present infection in my body.
So, now, surgery. I met with a general surgeon for a second opinion and he agreed I would need surgery, and I definitely need a breast specialist. They will probably take the remainder of my breasts, which I am trying to get "okay" with. The surgeon was very sweet and encouraging when he told me of the options of removing fat from my belly and remaking my breasts or implants. I was very strong in my words about how I feel about implants after the hell my mother went through. I think I would rather be without breasts than risk all of the complications of rebuilding. I meet with my breast surgeon on Wednesday to go over all the details and set a surgery date.
My job has been amazing. I was approved for short term disability within 24 hours of submitting all the paperwork via fax AND they also approved FMLA (even though I didn't file for it) in ADVANCE of me needing to return to work, in case I need to take additional time off when I finally return to work. When i have a surgery date, I only have to make one phone call and my STD extends another 30 days. Wow. I have two co-workers who are working my client and have just jumped in to do whatever they can to hold down the fort. I don't have to worry about a thing.
Needless to say, I wasn't able to plan and execute our annual BBQ event for Lindi's b-day and I feel really bad about that. We still had a nice day together, albeit indoors and sitting a lot, but she seemed to enjoy having me with her all day long.
My family and a handful of amazing friends have really stepped up to make this latest bout of the breasts tolerable. I am so blessed. I'll keep everyone posted on the latest.
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