Day 5 following the surgery.
I figured if I was going to get home – I had to be able to make it to the entry/exit of the hospital on my own. So, very early, off I trotted. Actually, my walk had a kind of ‘roll’ to it. Whilst I was steady on my feet, I liken the action to a toddler taking their first real walk, as opposed to staggered steps. You know when you can just predict that one wrong step – and they’ll be flat on their face? That’s what I felt like.
It took an incredible amount of focus to stay upright and I couldn’t for the life of me work out why? Blame it on the medication. No! I should be able to make it down the corridor.
I did make it to the doors and back unassisted. It wasn’t until returning to my room and sifting through some of the information provided by the National Breast Cancer Foundation that I put two and two together. I wasn’t a ‘drug-affected toddler’, but rather my centre of gravity had changed due to the removal of my breasts. My body was working so hard in order to maintain the upright position because my balance was totally out of whack.
Reasonable – but also kinda funny when you put the reality and then the image together!
Nurse Andrea (who’d also looked after me following Operation #2) helped me get dressed (real clothes, not jarmies!) and finalised the paperwork for my release. (Sounds like I’d been in jail!)
She is one of many who showed not only professionalism, but a truly remarkable level of compassion during my time at Pindara.
Encore Performances 
Leave a comment