Week post surgery

It's been a week after surgery. I have been staying with my parents in north Jersey to recover. Lumpy II, the cyst, is unhappy. I think I had some nerve damage during surgery because my lower leg and foot generally feel as though they are cut and burned. I ask Athena, my youngest sister, to check it all of the time for injuries.

The other day, my mother and Athena pulled off the bandages on my breast. I was so anxious. We pulled my skin away from the tape and paused every time it began to hurt. My mother saturated my skin with A&D Ointment; the smell of it reminded me of my grandmother who used it on everything. It took about an hour to get everything off. I still have the steristrips over the stitches.

It looks like the scar is bigger than I thought it would be. I still haven't examined it too closely. My friends who have had similar surgeries reminded me that my breast will continue to look differently as it heals.

I have so much trouble sleeping. I wake up frequently with pain in my leg and occasionally pain in my breast area. I seem to try to curl up in a ball on that side of my body which doesn't work.

Recovery

I have spent most of the last 70 hours lounging in a love seat in the corner of my parents' house. My family has wheeled me to the bathroom and to the kitchen for meals.

Today I took a shower and changed my clothes. The nurse said to remove the bandages today, but I have been too nervous to start peeling off the wrap holding the gauze in place. It seems shallow, but I feel worried about what the scars look like.

My left leg is still tough to walk on. I am having some nerve stuff happening in my foot and toes. They feel like they are on fire. When I walk, the sole of my foot feels like it is walking on sharp rocks that are hot from the sun.