Eek...a mouse!

I lost something yesterday that had been with me for the past 14 months, helping me to get well again...my port! At 5:00 p.m., I was ushered in to a surgical room at my surgeon's office, told to remove my clothes from the waist up, and to put on one of those lovely cotton surgical tops that tie in two places, but don't really keep you covered or warm. My attending nurse, Amy, was already a friend...another "sister" and breast cancer survivor who had been part of the six of us chosen and photographed for Dr.Liberty's Relay for Life team.

Rich came with me, despite my telling him it was not a big deal, but he wanted to be there to see the "finish line" with me. He made himself comfortable in a corner chair in the room and soon Dr. Liberty came in. It was like old home week, with the three of us girls hugging and congratulating each other for reaching this milestone. My examination table soon became my surgical table, as Dr. Liberty lowered me down so that I was lying flat on my back, ready for surgery. I was to be fully awake, which had surprised me when I first made the appointment. I was certain that it would be a bloody affair and I might bleed to death, but Dr. Liberty assured me that it would be all right, and that she hadn't lost anyone yet!

She proceeded to give me several shots around the port to numb the skin on the surface and below, draping the area with several cloths, all the while chatting with me and Amy. We chatted back and forth about hair, lack of hair, eyebrows and eyelashes, dogs and puppies...at one point Rich piped in that he was glad he wasn't a girl! As we talked, Dr. Liberty cut open my old incision, snipped away at the scar tissue that had grabbed hold of my port and, before I knew it, my port was out...I didn't feel a thing! And I was kind of disappointed because I didn't see a thing, either. I had been kind of hoping for one of those mirrors that dentists have where you can see the site they're working on, but this room didn't have anything like that. I also had been forwarned that I might feel the port's line come out of my vein, as it was about 8 inches long, but I didn't feel any of that, either. It was like magic, how easily and painlessly it all came out. A few stitches later and it was all done.

I asked to see the port, as I had never seen anything other than a picture of it after it was put in me. It looked like a miniature computer mouse, tail and all! It was about the size of a hershey kiss, but heart shaped, and with a thin tail. Rich asked me if I wanted to take it home with me but I said no, thinking it might seem weird to do so. But I'm wishing now that I had taken it home...it would be a great show and tell!