New Developments

A day after last Thursday’s infusion, my right arm began swelling. By Sunday, the skin was tight, and the swelling extended all the way down my arm and into my hand. That was alarming enough, but there was more: my left breast was hot and swollen to at least twice its normal size.

Finally, on Sunday evening, I called OCSRI’s triage nurse. She advised a trip to the emergency room, so we (my son and I) went just after 9pm. Here’s what happened, ever so slowly, over the next four and a half hours.

The shortness of breath I’ve had over the last few weeks caused concern over the possibility of pulmonary embolism. The nurse hooked me up for an EKG, nothing remarkable there. I received a large bruise on my left arm from a blood draw and IV hook up. Just before midnight, I had a chest CT scan with contrast. No blood clots. The ER doctor determined I had lymphedema complicated by cellulitis in the right arm. The breast swelling was a bit of a mystery, but she said it was likely infected, too. I was sent home after being given a 500mg Keflex capsule, the prescription called in to my pharmacy, plus instructions to report to the imaging department the next day for an ultrasound of my right arm, which also revealed no blood clots.

I’ve been extremely tired, napping several times a day. Plus (let me backtrack a little) I realized last Saturday that I was too weak to take a shower standing up. My neighbor across the street went shower attachment shopping for me day before yesterday and worked hard to install it yesterday but couldn’t get it twisted tight enough, so I asked my next-door neighbor for help. He came over and had it working in about a minute. My son brought in and cleaned off a shower bench from the garage which I had bought years ago at a yard sale, figuring it was a good thing to have on hand. I’m happy to report that a sit-down shower this morning went without a hitch.

I thought I was getting a little bit better, but last night I noted additional right arm swelling. Let me tell you that lymphedema plus cellulitis is no fun. My arm does not want to bend much, so brushing my teeth is challenging and using my arm is problematic. I still do not have any compression garments, and my mastectomy bras are too tight on the left. I suspect that the Keflex is not working as it should, so after my thyroid ultrasound at noon, I’ll call the nurse again. And my port procedures (removal of old, insertion of new) are early tomorrow morning.

Last night, I finally got around to watching this week’s Renovare book club podcast. (Renovare is an organization devoted to spiritual formation.) A simple comment made in the discussion between the facilitator and the author was exactly what I needed to be reminded of. Though I have been scared by the sudden deterioration of my health this week, God is faithfully here to bring comfort and encouragement.