If only steri strips weren't so itchy

Day 3 post surgery and feeling pretty darn good. Soreness is greatly, greatly decreased. Mom and I went out to lunch the past two days. She has helped me figure out a gauze pad-paper tape system to help with the lymph node incision lying directly in the path of the edge of the sports bra. Feeling much more comfortable.

Let's just say comfortable was not how I was feeling yesterday. Yesterday, I was nervous to take my shower. For those of you who are well aware of my type A personality, I was determined that this process would follow the take home instructions to the letter. However, when the bandages were removed the steri strips that covered the lymph node incision site came off.  Insert panic attack number 1. Me (and my half orange, from betadine,  self) wrapped in a towel run out to my mother in the kitchen to report that the world has ended and the steri strips fell off. She calmly told me to take my shower and we would deal with it after. Ok, feeling only slightly better scrubbed myself clean in the shower. This was made slightly difficult by the fact that I was afraid to use my right arm. But, shower accomplished (slightly impressed with the bruising and size of the lumpectomy incision) and it only took 1.5 hours.

Now clean, I was ready for panic attack number 2. I called the surgeons office and they said, yes I should get steri strips to cover the incision {note they did not say I needed to come in or anything else, which should have made me feel better}. My wonderful mother went to the store to get steri strip replacements, but you can't get steri strips at CVS, so she got the closet thing. Lets just say I was despondent that they were not the same. She talked me into trying what she had, placed some gauze and we were ready to leave the house for the first time since Tuesday (nearly 40 hours later). We walked around briefly and then had a delicious lunch (and I was able to talk her into bread pudding for dessert, working hard on my high calorie high protein diet). However, me and my neurotic self couldn't figure out how to put my right arm to make myself comfortable. Should I rest it on the table? Was it better to tuck it under my rib cage? Should I hold it straight down on my side? Despite the crazy arm movements, we still had a nice lunch.

You would think 2 panic attacks and weird arm movements might be enough for one day, however I wasn't done yet. I had become obsessed with my incision sites. I didn't have my bandages on so obviously I must be bleeding. Not the case, which is exactly how the post surgical path goes. However, because there was less than a spot of blood on the gauze on the lymph node incision site I got a little pissed off. How come I am not healing? What's going on? This is going to end up infected! Luckily, both parents were home at this point to talk me down (and maybe shake their heads a little at me) and assure me that everything was fine. They did have a fair point, that perhaps I was not as ready as I thought to go back to living in my apartment by myself. Perhaps it would be better to wait an additional day so they could continue to talk me off the ledge as needed? Well played Mom and Dad, well played.

Happy to report no panic attacks today. Just naps, more eating and walking around. Probably my finest moment today is after breakfast confidently saying to my mother "You know I really could have gone to work today" and then instantly falling so sound asleep I was snoring on the couch for nearly an hour.