Yesterday was drain pull day.  I was so ready to rid myself of those things.  I was so sore and it was painful in the area where they came through the skin.  Certainly this was aggravated by the countless times I hooked them on door handles only to realize too late and accidentally yank them.  

I arrived at my appointment with my faithful sidekick, Tina.  We discussed all of the fun things I would be able to do once these tubes were pulled.   After being escorted to the exam room I thought for the first time this might not be a painless procedure.  There was a tray set up with a chilling selection of needles, syringes, clamps, lots of gauze and those funny scissor like things that don’t cut.  I glanced at the door, contemplating a hasty retreat. Thought better of it, told myself to suck it up.  I undressed and put on my gown, open in the front.  The doctor came in, smiling, and once again I was so grateful to have found him.  Immediately I was at ease.   He checked out my mounds and we discussed the surgery, recovery and the pathology.   Then he told me that most patients don’t feel the drain pulling because they are still fairly numb.  He wiggled a tube, I almost hit him.  Apparently I am not one of those patients.  Out came the needles.  He told me to lay back and I might feel a little prick.  I giggled.  Then I felt what was most certainly not a little prick!  Youch.  Then he called for back up.  The nurse came in and they set up for the tube pull.  I decided to close my eyes.  I felt a little tug, followed by a big tug.  Then had the oddest sensation of a snake slithering inside my chest.  Who knew those pesky tubes were so long?  Shudder.  Now it was time for the other side.  I really wished I had taken some sort of medicine before I left the house.  Or drank a few lemon drops in the waiting room.  That would have helped.  I braced myself through the other pull.  This time I focused on the slurping sound made when the drain was being pulled.  So odd.

After that excitement my doctor asked about my chemo appointments.  He told me he presented my case to the tumor board and it has been decided that I will also need to have radiation after chemo.  He estimated it will be a year before treatment is finished.  OK.  I can handle that.

Now that my course has been set it is time to grab mane and kick like hell.  Watch out cancer, this is going to be a wild ride.