Monday Morning:

Last week I noticed that I had some swelling under the scar in my right armpit. Over the weekend it became painful, particularly as my bra lays across it. So this morning I phoned the Breast Care Nurse for advice, she has asked me to go in to Clinic this afternoon as I may have to have the fluid aspirated, sounds like a thoroughly enjoyable experience! I will report back later….

The pain in my armpit made me reluctant to do my exercises, the booklet says that when you have swelling that it is best not to do them until consulting the Breast Care Team, so I decided this was a good enough excuse to give them a miss today.

I did some more work on the Dreamcatcher I started last week, the weaving is now finished, I am now wrapping the ring, once this is all done I can add the fringing and some twinkly bits 🙂

Late Afternoon:

It was a very pleasant walk down to Chesham in the sunshine to meet Ray and then go on with him to Wycombe Hospital. I am so grateful that Ray is willing and able to drop everything to get me to and from hospital, and being there for me every step of the way.

I was seen by the Senior Nurse Practitioner, the aspiration involves using a big syringe to draw out the Lymphatic Fluid and relieve the pressure. The needle is inserted through the scar tissue, by this time the discomfort from the swelling was so persistent that I didn’t notice the needle at all, and I had Ray to hold my hand. The nurse drew off 60ml of fluid, it is a yellow/brown colour (like the fluid in a blister), after the pressure was released the pain was less intense. This collection of fluid is called a Seroma, sometimes it will refill, so may need to be aspirated several times over a few weeks before it goes away completely.

Apparently my body will learn to divert the fluid back in to the lymphatic system rather than just dumping it in my armpit which is what it is happening at the moment.

Fortunately my left armpit is unaffected (for now), however, I feel rather battered about after the travelling and stress of an unexpected visit to hospital. Although the pressure has gone, I still feel sore, weary and a little down. I just want to curl up with a snugly blanket.