It’s day five of recovery and Rachel’s progressing well.  Yesterday, after her hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatment, Rachel felt strong enough to trek upstairs to take a shower.  It was definitely a milestone, since more than five minutes of activity has been wiping her out.  Some of Rachel’s friends from nursing school have been helping take care of her during the day.  One of these buds helped getting Rachel in and out of the shower and with the surgical dressings  The whole process would have been really tough for just one caretaker – and Rachel’s tiny & I’m a big dude.  I couldn’t be more thankful for these amazing friends in Rachel’s life.  Afterwards Rachel felt great – and later that night I did my very first ponytail (not such a bad job, eh?).
One of the trickiest parts of the recovery so far has been Rachel’s drains.  These are the devices that help manage swelling post-surgery.  They look like little plastic scrunched up grenades w/valves similar to any bike bottle at their ends.  They’re attached to little tubes and need to be emptied & measured regularly.  There’s more to them, but I’ll spare you the details.  But basically the goal is to have less drainage over time and Rachel’s way beyond her goals.

So at first these bad boys were daunting to even look at. While Rachel was in the hospital, I observed the nurses effortlessly emptying them and making sure they didn’t get in Rachel’s way.  After some education, I found out that these are pretty common after major medical procedures, which really helped put them into perspective. Soon, as my hesitations/fears began to wade I started to creep closer and closer to the nurses caring for the drains.  After realizing that the process of taking care of them was fairly easy (and summoning past lifeguard/first aid training), the whole cleaning/upkeep process has become routine.

Not surprisingly these little f*ckers have really started to hurt.  Rachel’s left one has become a particular thorn in her side (couldn’t help myself) and is consistently the reason her pain score above a 2 or 3.  Today Rachel talked to one of her doctors and she advised that we tweak the dressings around the pesky drain.  With the help of two nursing friends (and Mom who got us our supplies) we managed to do some redressing, which seems to have alleviated the worst of the pain for now.  We’re crossing our fingers that this will continue to provide Rachel relief.

Overall, I’m just so thankful that Rachel was so proactive going into this journey.  From the physical preparation to the way she’s rallied her community to help – she’s really given herself the best chance possible at bouncing back quickly.  I couldn’t prouder to call Rachel my wife.

Hi everyone – husband Adam here.  Just want to give a quick update about Rachel’s recovery.  In short, everything’s going great.  She’s definitely in pain, but as one of her surgeons explained, things for the next two-three weeks are going to be ‘one step forward, two steps back.’  Basically, any new stuff she does hurts.  But then it gets easier.  Like getting up to go to the bathroom, walking back & forth from the bathroom and then getting back into the recliner.  It’s really tough and tiring at first, but gets easier every time.

It’s really cool to see all of Rachel’s preparation (workouts, special diet, listening to so many brave women who have been through this before) helping her bounce back from every bout of pain.  Staying on top of her meds has also been key.  As well Rachel having an incredible medical team, mom and community of friends and family that have rallied around her.  Tomorrow Rachel’s looking forward to another round of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, upgraded meals beyond bland soup & pudding (especially from our friends at Chandni in Santa Monica) and maybe a trip upstairs to sleep in bed.  We’re going to continue taking things slowly and focusing on recovery – and staying as pain free as possible.

We’ll keep you updated over the next few days and please continue to send Rachel good vibes, love and prayers!

This is Rachel’s mom, Anna, guest blogging. I’m a writer, but blogging is not my thing, so you probably won’t have as much fun reading me as Rachel!

To bring you up to date, the mastectomy and reconstructive surgeries took place yesterday – Tuesday. We checked into St. John’s Hospital at 5 a.m., barely awake and totally hyped up at the same time. After filling in some paperwork, Rachel was taken back to be prepped. The anesthesiologist, Dr. Miller, immediately inspired confidence. He seemed like the kind of physician who is not only expert in his field, but truly cares. We knew that even though Rachel has some medication allergy issues, she was in excellent hands. We kissed Rachel and told her we’d see her when it was all done.

The surgery began around 8. We waited, trying to make small talk, but filled with tension. At around 11 a.m., Dr. Funk, Rachel’s breast surgeon, came out to tell us that the first part, the actual mastectomy, went, in her words, perfectly. No need to say that Adam and I were thrilled. We then settled in for the next part – the reconstructive surgery. This took another 4 hours. At around 3, Dr. Grunwald came out to tell us the surgery had gone well and Rachel was in recovery. Adam went to see her first and came back to let me know that she was in surprisingly good shape. I then went in to see for myself – and he was absolutely right, and then some! She was chatty and joking (okay, the drugs might have had something to do with that).

Once she was ready, we moved up to Rachel’s room – this is a beautiful hospital and the room is great. Adam stayed with Rachel all night. And now it’s The Next Day.

Rachel actually transferred to sit in a chair for a half hour (pictured here). Might not sound like much in the normal world, but after major surgery, it’s HUGE. We’re all pleased with her progress.

And may I add a personal big thank you to Dr. Kristi Funk and Dr. Tiffany Grunwald – incredible doctors and also incredible human beings. When Rachel is ready, she’ll dictate her next blog and it will be back to Regular Programming.