Day 303: Post-op 1 and a little reality…

Sally​Post-op 1 and a little reality…

Well, good news is that my incisions are healing quickly and the bruising is rapidly dispersing. Most of the sutures came out and now I’m just taping myself back together in a few spots.

Although we aren’t at the end of the road, we are on the downhill side and what I am looking at is my new reality. I’ll be honest, a large part of me wishes I’d have left well enough alone and just adjusted to the mastectomy scars.

For all those (mostly guy friends – but a few ladies too) who have images of surgically enhanced breasts from the magazines and movies, Continue reading →

Day 296: Good news, bad news, the night nurse…

Day 296: Good news, bad news, the night nurse…

Ferry BoatWell, I guess I will start with the night nurse.  Let’s just say I couldn’t wait for shift change in the morning.  So, something new this time was incredible itching from the narcotics… or the generic hibiclense that was made by Clorox (seemed like a bad idea when I picked it up from the pharmacy)… no matter what the cause, I was itching like crazy and this started about the time of shift change.  The IV Benadryl seemed to take care of it pretty quickly but I knew Continue reading →

Day 295: What a difference a day makes….

Day 295: What a difference a day makes….

Difference a Day MakesWell, part two of reconstruction took place.  Mom, sis, brother-in-law and I took off for the hospital around 4:15 am, traffic in the Puget Sound should not have been bad that time of day, but it was raining… I know, that should not matter here, but if you live here, you know it does.

We got there in plenty of time (10 minutes) and whose idea was it to have the hangry patient drive anyway?  Checked in, went through the Continue reading →

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Day 235: Facing the Inevitable’ish

tinkerbell-secret-wingsDay 236: Facing the Inevitable’ish

I lost my brother-in-law to lung cancer Sunday.  I cried for him, for family and selfishly for me.  At least it felt selfish.  My brother in law put up a good fight, a great fight, a valiant fight against his cancer.  I followed his journey, he was a great pen-pal and I appreciated his insight, feedback, advice and experience as I started this path of unknowns of my own.  He let me know, quite frankly, what was coming and helped me prepare for the next challenge in this process.  He didn’t sugar coat things.  I can’t tell you how important that is when everyone around you wants to tell you that things are OK, and you will be fine, and not to worry.  You don’t stop them, because you know they are using words to soothe themselves as much as you.  Truth is, once you get this diagnosis all you do is worry.  You are thankful for the brief reprieve you get on occasion when you have a task that requires so much focus that you find freedom from the thoughts about the diagnosis.

We both knew Continue reading →

Day 219: or 146 days left in this year since diagnosis

Day 219: or 146 days left in this year since diagnosis

hour-glassRealized tonight that I am more than half way through the year since my initial diagnosis.  Realized tonight that I am counting down years.  Realized that there is a greater than 50% chance that I have 14 years and 146 days to do what I want to do.  Realized that I will be 58 when I know which side of 50% I land on.

This may seem like a morose thought. It isn’t really.  It is reality.  It is processing the new truth of knowns in life and though anyone at anytime could pass from any number of things, you realize that you, as a person, have data and statistics and a reality that is brought home with ticking of the clock.

This brought many things to mind.  For the first time, it really made me consider a bucket list.  I mean, it seems that the best answer is to live the next 14 years and 146 days to the max and if I am still going strong after year 15… just make a new list and find new adventures, or experience some of the old favorites with new friends… or find new favorites with old friends…

I struggle to put into text the Continue reading →

Day 210: Break a Legwarmer… a commitment to tomorrow

Day 210: Break a Legwarmer… a commitment to tomorrow…

leg-warmers-on-9th-and-ElmSo… tonight I broke out the nail polish… a gunmetal grey color called “Break a Legwarmer.”  If you are a guy, you probably won’t have a clue and if you are a gal, you may not either unless you have gone under general anesthesia.  Seems that those serious anesthetist that are charged with breathing for you while they take your body to brink of death ceasing your ability to do so for yourself positively demand to Continue reading →

Day 174: Finish line just ahead…

2015 August 4 Post Op ExpansionDay 174: Finish line just ahead…

I get the question of size a lot.  I don’t mind it really.  I mean, I have been very open about this process the whole way through and well, I was… shall we say… “voluptuous” at the start at a double D.  Surprisingly though, there is actually a limit to the size I can go, unlike augmentation, and that size is 800 cc.  I was told today that this means, I will never be the size I was.  I am not sure how I feel about that.  Partly because at this point it is hard to picture what 800 cc will look like.

So after the additional 60 cc today, I am at about Continue reading →

Day 149: What is that strange sensation?

Neck-Spasm-4Day 149: What is that strange sensation?

So my plastic surgeon is 2 hours away from home.  So I have not been taking the prescription meds prior to or immediately after my appointments, for obvious reasons, being that I am driving myself and all.  In fact, I have learned that when I take a Flexeril and an Oxycodone my vision is blurry for about an hour and a half… if I am awake that long.  Being that I have months of this, and work and all, I really need to figure out how to make this work.

I am finding muscles that I did not know I had… since the Continue reading →

Day 139: Sutures out… saline in… Happy Birthday?

Day 139: Sutures out… saline in… Happy Birthday?2015 June 30 Post Op Expansion

Wow… I am amazed at how quickly I heal.  Or how quickly the human body heals.  Life continues to go on around the craziness of treatments and reality of the diagnosis.  I turned 45 between these two post-op appointments.

Today was my second post-op and not only did I have my sutures removed, but I also received my first expansion.  Odd sensation without a doubt.  I swear I heard the saline entering the expander.  The doctor laughed and assured me that I would be having Continue reading →