Food Network celebrity Sandra Lee returned home from the hospital Monday following a double mastectomy. She has been keeping her fans up-to-date via her Facebook page throughout her ordeal. Saturday, she opened up about a very “ painful setback .”
The 48-year-old said she went back to the doctor because she had hurt herself while turning in bed the night before. Sandra described the painful incident in a heartfelt post, saying she heard “tearing” when she turned the wrong way in bed. Lee explained that she couldn’t bear to get up and assess the damage herself, but she didn’t want to disturb her sleeping sister, Kimmy, who is helping take care of her. Sandra tried to tough it out through the night because she wanted Kimmy, who she said has been an amazing caretaker, to get her sleep.
“Painful setbacks are no fun. Two nights ago, I turned the wrong way in the middle of the night, and I could feel tearing. I couldn’t bear the thought of getting up to assess the damage or change the bandages, and I didn’t want to wake my sister Kimmy to help me.”
Sandra went on to say that what she saw when she did finally did examine herself took a tremendous emotional toll.
“But when I got up, I cried for almost two hours after seeing the aftereffects of that one wrong turn in bed. I went to the doctor the next day, and he made adjustments that we needed. Hopefully that will never happen again, but something tells me I’m going to have to get used to sleeping with one eye open.”
A concerned fan, who said she is a caretaker herself, told Lee not to feel like a burden. She encouraged her to allow Kimmy to take care of her, saying, “This is not the time to be a hero. Let her love you!”
Sandra Lee has reached out to her fans on several occasions, telling them how much their support means to her. A few days after arriving home, she thanked those who had opened up to her with their own breast cancer stories, saying without them, she would have been hopeless.
“So many of you have shared with me how weepy and emotional you were post-surgery.I cannot POSSIBLY express how much this means to me. If you did not share your own stories with such honesty, integrity and personal details, I would be hopeless. Thank you for giving me hope. You inspire me! ?#?StandUptoCancer?”
Sandra Lee also recently expressed her gratitude to her medical team. People reported that while she was very open about her progress, Lee kept quiet about where she was hospitalized. One reason being that her longtime partner, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, remained by her side throughout her stay. Once released home, Sandra Lee praised the nurses and doctors at Mount Sinai Dubin Breast Center in New York City for providing “excellent care, with genuine compassion and concern every step of the way.”
[Images via Sandra Lee/ Facebook ]