Part ten: A fighter to the end

 The Power of food

Making an incision in the skin, which typically requires cutting through all of the layers of the skin, can result in scarring, regardless of where the surgery is performed.

Of course, surgery performed by a less skilled surgeon may result in a greater degree of scarring, but in most cases the skill of the surgeon is not a factor on the amount of scarring that takes place.

Why is it the skill of the surgeon make a difference in many cases?

 It’s because they can’t control all factors that determine how badly you will scar. Certain factors are beyond control and these risk factors cannot be changed in determining how bad the scar is after surgery..

I was feeling grateful this time round, the scar was less horrendous compared to the first mastectomy I had four years ago. In addition my left shoulder was a bit tense for a few weeks and frequent massages makes it less tensed.

There was more fluid to be drained this time. The drainage tubes were giving me so much pain and being pregnant made it even worst. I couldn't lie on my back, it makes me breathless and I couldn't lay comfortably on my left because of the tubes. So I had to be contented looking at the sink on my right day after day, and lying in the same position, it’s giving me a bedsore worse than the surgery itself.

On the whole, the recovering process was okay. I don't believe in not eating certain food would supposedly delayed the healing progress. On the other hand I don't believe in eating a lot of certain food would speed up the healing progress.

Instead, I ate what I well felt like eating.

I remember when I was recuperating from my DIEP-flap (breast reconstruction) at the plastic surgery ward, the hospital attendant who delivered breakfast whispered to me with all her good good intention in mind...

"I put these eggs here because they tell me to but please don't eat them if you want to heal quickly. These eggs would make your wound worse if you eat them after an operation. They will leave puss mixed blood worse than a diabetic patient". She looked so concerned as her eyes wondered over the two tubes that came out of my right breast and the other two from my tummy. I bet she gave the same advice to other patient as well and I could see two uneaten eggs in each of their trays, except mine.

The DIEP-flap was a twelve hour surgery. I continued to sleep until I was only woken up by the nurse the next day. I had the morphine taken off two days later when I suddenly noticed a man opposite my bed, his left foot wrapped and dangled from rods screwed to the bed. His wife was with him. I noticed she visited him daily to feed and change his clothes. He is a traffic police officer whose foot got run over by a lorry, it wrecked and damaged completely the bones and nerves of his foot. He is waiting for his surgery.

By the worried look all over his face, visitors visiting, would be thinking he is the one with cancer, instead of me. He looked so down and depressed. He didn't talk to anyone, or make eye contact with anyone.

His wife and mom were watching me in horror when I cleaned up all the food in my tray. Curious, they ask, don’t I care of the bad effect of certain food I ate on the healing process of my surgical wounds. So I said I did care...that's why I ate everything. I just had to recover quickly to go back home to my daughter.

Then of course I had to explain about food pyramid, vitamins and minerals, like I was teaching them a Form 1 Physical Ed. I guess she told her hubby what I told them about the food and being positive because the next day he sat up and began smiling at me, and ate everything on his tray. The patient before me who had free DIEP-flap was in the same ward for 52 days. I was discharged after 10 days.

That's the power of food in the healing process......