3 Weeks Post Op and Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber

This is not easy.

I look back on those earlier posts where I naively believed I’d be able to work part time after 2-3 weeks, and back at work around Labor Day.  I couldn’t have been more wrong.  I’ve even wondered if this whole thing was a mistake.

First the tidbits of good news.  The pathology on the breast tissue came back clean.  No signs of cancer anywhere.  What this means is that I will never have to worry about getting breast cancer for the rest of my life.  That was why I did this, so on some level I’m happy about this.

Three of the 4 surgical drains are out, and I expect the last one to be removed tomorrow.

Everything else has been tough, however. I’m exhausted, I’m in discomfort all the time. I won’t call it pain, or at least not severe pain, but I’m not comfortable.  I can manage to dress, shower, and walk around, but not much else.  And all of those things require a nap when I’m done.  I’m pretty much off the heavy duty pain meds (ie, oxy) but still taking lots of ibuprofen and Tylenol every day.  I can do stairs and have been sleeping in my own bed, with some extra pillows for support.

Unfortunately, the skin from the mastectomy has continued to deteriorate, and the abdominal incision is leaking now too.  Every time I shower I need to change the breast dressings myself.  I’m getting better at it but it’s time consuming, awkward, and tiring.  It smells awful, looks awful, and leaks all over the place in spite of the dressings.  I have an appointment tomorrow with the surgical PA and she will (I believe) debride the wounds which should help.  I have an appointment with the surgeon in NY next week.  No one has mentioned skin grafts, but it’s in the back of my mind.

Many people are curious about the hyperbaric oxygen chamber so I’ll describe it here (see photo as well).  The chamber is a tube, similar to an MRI machine, except that you’re enclosed in clear plastic, so there is no feeling of claustrophobia, and you can see what’s going on around you.  I undress completely and put on two 100% cotton hospital gowns.  Nothing even remotely flammable can go in the chamber.  This means no synthetic garments (which could have static electricity), no electronics, not even a book.

Once I’m changed, I lie on a stretcher and the technician takes a quick pulse and blood oxygen level.  Then she slides the stretcher into the chamber and seals it.  At that point the “dive” begins.  My treatment involves bringing me down to pressure the equivalent of 99 ft. below the surface of the water (this makes more sense if you’re a scuba diver).  This is about 2.5 times higher than normal air pressure.  It takes about 10 minutes to bring me to that pressure level.  Meanwhile the chamber is filled with 100% oxygen (compared to about 21% oxygen we typically breathe). It’s not painful, though I do need to swallow a lot to equalize the pressure in my ears, much like you do in an airplane.

The increased pressure in the chamber helps the lungs collect more oxygen and get it out to the tissues to promote healing.  In addition to skin graft flaps, it’s approved for treatment of burns, radiation injury, carbon monoxide poisoning, diabetic foot ulcers, and more.

I remain in the chamber for about 2 hours, which includes descent to 99 ft, and then ascent at the end.  During that time, I take two air breaks, breathing for about 5 minutes each break through a mask that pumps in normal air to prevent oxygen poisoning.

Since I can’t bring in books, electronics, etc, the only thing I can really do is watch TV.  There is a small TV monitor mounted outside the chamber, and the audio can be piped into the chamber.  The facility has lots of cable channels, or I can bring in DVDs.  The technician controls the TV channels and volume.

I’ve had 6 sessions so far; I’m approved for 40.  That’s every weekday for about 8 weeks.  The goal of the treatment is to promote wound healing.  Unfortunately, the technician has been sick this week and several sessions have been cancelled.  Why they only have one person trained in this, I cannot answer.

Thank you so much to everyone who has sent meals, flowers, texts, calls, picked up groceries, etc.  It all means so much to me.  Every day is different; some days I can barely get out of my recliner, and other days I can actually walk around my little cul de sac for a few minutes.  So please understand that if I don’t respond quickly, I may be having a bad day.  I am still very tired, my stamina is down, and everything I do takes longer so I ask your understanding if I don’t respond or ask you to postpone a visit.  I have a long way to go.

The meal train has been so helpful; thank you to everyone who sent something.  I still can’t cook, so if you feel like sending something over I won’t turn it down.  I also still need rides to and from treatments.

Hopefully by the next update I’ll be feeling better.