Wires and Styrofoam cups

The next step was to have the wire placement done at Solis Diagnostic Center which is located next door to the hospital.  I was quite concerned about how cold it was outside and wearing only a hospital gown.  It turned out that there was a breezeway that connected the buildings.  Thank Goodness!!!!  The hospital attendant came with a wheelchair which was a little shocking but at least at was time to "get this show on the road".  When I got to Solis I was taken back quickly while Clint waited in the lobby area.  The room I went into was just like the one where they performed my diagnostic mammogram just a month and a half earlier.  They made me get "locked in" to the mammogram machine so they could locate the titanium chip previously placed. This would act as a target for the wire placement and later aid the surgeon during the biopsy.  These were not small wires.  They were relatively thin but long.  When they were placed they hurt more than I have the strength now to describe.  The exact area that had been hurting so badly for months now was being stabbed.  The technician seemed somewhat surprised at the level of pain that I was experiencing but everyone is different.  I have very dense and sensitive breast tissue.  Some of that is due to my age, some may be because of my specific breast issues.  They ended up having to place more than one wire which was a huge surprise.  This was not what I had originally been told would happen.  It was hard.  It was incredibly painful.  It required a tremendous amount of mental focus to get through it.  I prayed.  I thought of Wayne, while clutching one of his hanker chiefs.  I imagined all the many surgeries and chemo rounds he endured and told myself, "This is nothing in comparison!  You can do this!"  The wires were cumbersome and if my breast moved or heaven forbid the wires were bumped the pain would explode within my breast.  So, they attempted to tape Styrofoam cups over the wires onto my breast.  It was quite an ordeal.  It is a really good thing that I am not particularly modest!  When it was finally done we eased me very carefully back into my hospital gown and the nice attendant met me with the wheelchair to take me to the pre-op area.  Clint was waiting and I couldn't even speak to him.  I was in so much pain and I had no words to say other than, "That hurt like hell!"