A surprise for me

Yesterday I went in for my Lymphedema treatment. I had no idea what the therapist was going to do but assumed it would be some sort of drainage or something. When she called me back into the therapy room, she had me put on a gown and lie down on the exam table. What came next was a complete surprise to me...she dimmed the lights and put on some soft music. This is weird, I thought to myself. She came over and sat down on a rolling stool beside me and donned purple latex gloves. Next, she proceeded to use her hands to make small circles on either side of my neck explaining that she was performing manual lymph node massage to encourage my lymph nodes to release some of the fluid they had stockpiled since my surgery. As I lay there looking up at her I felt very uncomfortable. I'm the one in my family who gives massages, I have never received one.

The therapist moved her hands to the tops of my shoulders, explaining that there were lymph nodes there and all over our bodies. Since my swelling is in the upper arms and armpit area, she said we would only focus on my torso. She moved down both arms continuing to press and make circular movements that went in the same direction. I asked her about her medical degree and she said she was a certified Lymphedema specialist. I asked if there were many of those in Georgia and she said there were not because it is a fairly new field of expertise. Manual lymphatic drainage is a technique developed in Germany for treatment of Lymphedema, an accumulation of fluid that can occur after lymph nodes are removed during surgery, most often a mastectomy for breast cancer. Well, I felt a little better knowing that she was trained to do this technique.

The room was very cool and there was a soft glow from the uplight in the corner of the room. Claude DeBussy's Clair de Lune was playing in the background. I commented, as she continued, that Clair De Lune was my very favorite music for relaxation. I said, "I think I could get used to this!" She smiled, looking down at me and asked me to turn onto my side so she could reach my ribcage better. By this time, I was feeling more at ease and actually began to enjoy getting this unexpected treat and I found myself smiling a little. Just knowing that Blue Cross/Blue Shield was paying for 30 of these treatments made me smile even bigger.

When Alison was finished (yes, we are now on a first name basis!), I felt so relaxed. I told her I'd never had a massage of any kind in my entire life. She told me that was a shame because I didn't know what I had been missing. I asked her how many patients she worked on a day and she said only 4 because she leaves early to pick up her children from school. I asked about her family and found out that she had 2 sons. One of them, her 11 year old suffered a pediatric stroke at birth and causing him to be unable to use one side of his body. I could tell this was a very painful topic for her so I did not ask any questions.

Before I put my shirt back on, Alison wrapped my left arm in a compression bandage. She said it was best to do it right after the manual lymph drainage to keep it from swelling up later in the day. Since I'd been having more trouble with the left side than the right, she said she'd only wrap this one side today and we'd recheck both on Wednesday. She gave me a copy of my prescriptions for the compression camisole and the Lymphedema sleeves and gauntlets. I have to go get fitted for those next week.

Driving home, I felt like a wet noodle! I was so relaxed, I thought I would slide right out of the driver's seat onto the floorboard. The swelling is definitely much better and I'm hoping it stays that way until Wednesday when I'll go and do this all over again. What an unexpected treat today was and if all doctor's visits were like this, I'd go to the doctor every day!

Listen to Clair de Lune by Claude DeBussey

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