Surgery day came and went, starting on Wednesday, June 12, at 6:30 at Mercy Hospital. To prepare, I was taken to Nuclear Medicine in a wheelchair for Sentinel Node Location. I laid on a narrow platform in front of a what looked like an MRI machine. The area around my right nipple was sprayed to freeze it before 3 injections of dye. A strange sensation, both the freezing and the injections. A bit uncomfortable, but tolerable. I massaged it in with a warm wet cloth for 10 minutes or so. Then I was moved under a plate that rotated to my side for the best angle. A doctor and nurse marked my skin with a black Sharpie where they believe the 1st lymph node was located. Then I was taken back to my room by wheelchair to wait for surgery.

To my surprise, my mom and sister, Barb, came to the room to wait with us! That was nice. I didn't think I would see them until after it was over. Then Sue popped in just in the nick of time! Before long I was being taken to surgery. Don't even remember being anesthetized. They gave me a sedative before that.

When I woke up in recovery I was babbling to the nurse. I believe it was 11:20 AM. I ate ice chips and sat there until around noon. I was finally taken back to my room and got to see Ron, Mom and Barb. They were amazed that I seemed so well. I felt fine and was ready to go home.

I kept ice on (and off) for the day and took hydrocodone only twice. It gave me a headache, so I just took Tylenol after that. Then tried naproxen. Not a bad recovery.