Holly's Notes and Condition

Physical Therapy Evaluation and Lymphedema Specialist

June 6th - my morning was taken up with my appt to be evaluated by a physical therapist and lymphedema specialist. Lymphedema is a condition where you swell up on a cellular level. The normal flow of lymphatic fluids congest in the affected limb, as the fluids' normal route back into the blood stream, the lymph nodes, aren't there anymore to control the movement of the fluids.

The physical therapist's office is down by Leisure World, a huge retirement community in Laguna Hills - it's only 8 miles from my house. The evaluation went well and I actually had more range of motion than I thought. My wounds are healing well and the steri-strips came off finally - my scar is a thin sideways 'S' just under my right armpit - 2" long and I have a small 'O' scar on the side of my chest, at the base of my of right breast, where the surgical drain tube came out. 'Maihre', the physical therapist, a very pleasant woman with a Scottish accent, did the measurements on both of my arms and my right arm is 2 cm larger than my left , all the way down - swollen. She gave me the exercises she wants me to start doing to get the range of motion back in my right arm and shoulder and to start retraining my body to reroute the lymphatic fluids from my right arm, armpit and the area around my right collar bone, at the base of my neck - we went through each of the exercises one by one and she noted where I was able to reach.

I came home to have lunch, then I returned to the physical therapist's office for my consultation with Gina Ross, physical therapist and lymphedema specialist, a young and kind woman, who is pregnant with her third child. She has been in private practice for a year, before that she was a physical therapist specializing in oncology and lymphedema at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach for 8 years. She and I are going to work well together - our personalities match up. She told me that she will see me for our first full hour of physical therapy on Friday morning and again on Monday,Wednesday and Friday of next week. She went over all the information she gave me on lymphedema and she gave me 3 more exercises, specific to what I'm experiencing right now. She will fit me for a compression, lymphedema sleeve - but not yet, as she is certain that the swelling will go down, especially after she uses the manual lymph drainage massage therapy on me. She told me to make sure that I wear the compression sleeve whenever I fly and for the 2 hours following a flight - I told her she had me pegged, as I fully intend to travel by jet, when I finish treatment. She figures that I'll be ready to start radiation therapy in another 2 weeks - so that will be 8 weeks after my surgery. I called Dr Chou's office, the radiation oncologist and updated him on my progress - so they can hold a place for me in 2 weeks - Friday, June 22nd.

posted by Holly @ 12:51 PM