Deb Crowe Schlosser Beats Cancer

The 2 weeks I spent at home feel like I was only there 2 days. But it did my soul good.

I returned to Houston a week ago Monday and started Dr’s appointments that Tuesday & Wednesday. Evidently the chyle leak & my never-ending drain saga is not common in the breast cancer world. In fact, my surgeon & team had never dealt with it (and she is highly experienced). So I met with an interventional radiology specialist. He said he sees chyle leaks in other types of cancers but almost never in breast cancer. This is not the kind of special I aspire to be.

But after that visit & also visiting with the surgeon, we decided to give it one more week then possibly have a procedure to find & seal the leak(s). However, my body had other plans. It was very much looking like another infection was starting in the affected area so I was able to call my team & get on antibiotics immediately. That was Friday. And the drain output for the past several weeks was crazy high – several ounces per day.

Saturday morning I woke up at 4:30AM drenched with the drain fluid – gross! Seemed like the fluid was refusing the drain & just decided to vacate the hard, gross way. I spent Saturday & Sunday changing my dressings frequently to stay ahead of the grossness & it was working. And then all of a sudden, it stopped. Nothing. No fluid on my dressings & none flowing in the drain. Once again, this is not how it’s supposed to work. So I called the team first thing Monday morning & they were also highly suspicious that there might be a clog or some other kind of problem.

I went in super early yesterday morning for an ultra sound & possibly more in depth assessment. I was ready for anesthesia – even prepped for it. But the Dr performing the ultra sound found that there truly wasn’t any more fluid – only one tiny pocket that is not problematic. So guess who got the best case scenario & just had the drain removed? And I guess that my body just wanted a big dramatic ending to the drain chapter.

Now, it smarts pretty good & I’m still going to have to tend to this carefully, but there are currently no plastic devices attached to my body. I don’t have to be on the dang 0-fat diet either. Upgraded to low-fat, but I’ll take it. And guess who is having a fabulous salmon dinner cooked by their chef sister soon?

This is the happiest I’ve been with my progress. Still a very steep hill to climb but this last stretch should be easier. High-fives all around. And always a round of hugs. So much appreciation for your prayers & good wishes. I seriously love all of you wonderful folks.