It’s been four and a half weeks since my surgery. I am finally starting to feel better.

The cellulitis infection that I have been battling these past 10 days, along with surgery recovery, seasonal spring allergies, swelling of my arm from the intravenous antibiotics, and drug side effects have taxed my body.

I have been feeling miserable and lethargic. Light physical activity was an exertion. The post-surgery exercises to regain my arm and shoulder strength and mobility were difficult to do, as the infection constrained my ability to move and added more irritation and pain to the surgery’s severed muscles and nerves.

It has been a slow and stubborn recovery in combating cellulitis. It is not a very common complication of mastectomy surgery and can be fatal if not treated aggressively. Ongoing monitoring of the infection was critically important in treating it. It took the partnership of my surgeon, various nurses, and me watching the symptoms to see if the infection was diminishing or increasing.

The hospitalization to receive heavy dosage intravenous antibiotics and then a strong oral antibiotic when I got home was slow to make this infection leave my body. In the last week I had the wound drained twice by my surgeon, and three times by nurses to try and get the infection under better control.

The infection was still not clearing properly one week later, and I started to develop chills. With this new symptom, my surgeon directed me to get to the emergency ward of the hospital to have him check the infection. He came in on a day off, on a long weekend, so that he could cut open the wound site to drain the infection to facilitate clearing it.

I now require daily drainage of the site and replacement of surgical dressings by nurses for the next few days until the infection is completely cleared. The re-opening of the surgery incision is working well. The infection fluid that has been pooling and preventing recovery is now clearing my body.

I am feeling stronger and healthier for the first time since my mastectomy.

It has been a frustrating and difficult recovery. I am on the mend and the “old me” pre-surgery is showing some signs of returning! I am able to do my strengthening and conditioning arm and shoulder exercises more easily now. I even had enough strength this morning to resume short walks in my neighborhood to get my body healthier to continue to aid in my surgery recovery.

I am getting better each day. I continue to tackle living with cancer with Strength, Courage, and Determination.