by Jennifer | May 25, 2016 | Blog |
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I had my post-op appointment with the plastic surgeon yesterday and the first thing they did was remove my drain! Thank goodness!! It’s so nice to be able to shower and not have to worry about wearing shirts that hide the lumpy drain.
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting to come out of surgery looking worse that I did when I went in. I am more misshapen now than I was with the expander fully filled. There is too much skin now and a pucker in the top. So there’s more work to be done, but I guess it will have to wait ’til after radiation. I go back in in 3 weeks to talk about future plans.
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by Jennifer | May 21, 2016 | Blog |
My recovery has not been quite as smooth as I had hoped. Apparently, the cavity for my implant was a little too large, so during surgery the surgeon had to stitch up my muscle to make the cavity tighter so the implant would stay in place. I guess he told me this while I was in recovery, but I have no recollection of the conversation. Good thing Tom was there. I’m glad he did it as I’d hate to wake up one morning with my implant under my arm. That would awkward…
The pain hasn’t been horrendous and I only took Tylenol to help, but the first two days were a bit more uncomfortable that I had anticipated. Friday morning the pain was significantly better and I was able to do a few things around the house and even make dinner. I’m still taking Tylenol because, well, why not? Why feel pain if I don’t have to.
I’ll be honest, I’m more irritated by the ridiculous amount of tape that goes down almost to my waist holding the drain in than I am by the pain. The surgeon must have been thinking, “Let’s make this drain as uncomfortable as possible by adding a whole roll of tape to her side and under her arm.” Gah!! Having the tape removed will be far more uncomfortable than pulling the drain out at my appointment on Tuesday.
This coming week I have my follow up appointment with the surgeon on Tuesday and then a pre-op appointment on Thursday with my OB for my next surgery. On to the next!!
by Jennifer | May 18, 2016 | Blog |
{This post contains affiliate links. In non-blogger language, that means I might get a small commission (at no extra cost to you) when you click on some of the links below.}
My day in 20 sentences…
- Another surgery is done.
- It went well.
- I had no anxiety before (or after).
- Praising God for another uneventful procedure on this journey.
- I have a new and improved body part.
- It looks worse now than when I left the house this morning.
- I have another drain.
- I’m wearing my surgical camisole to hide it AGAIN!!!
- My breast has an indent from the suction of the drain (temporarily).
- My chest, left shoulder and abdomen are colored from iodine.
- I can’t shower ’til the drain is out. (Can you hear me crying????????????????)
- While I hate my short hair, I am yet again thankful for it. (See #11.)
- I am not feeling itchy after surgery!!!!!!
- Dinner smells really, really good simmering in the kitchen. 🙂
- Tom and I talked about work.
- I played many games of 2048 on my phone.
- I took a nap.
- Tom and the girls are playing Wii while I rest in bed.
- I’ve taken 4 Tylenol since I’ve been home.
- I’m tired and having hot flashes.
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by Jennifer | May 17, 2016 | Blog |
Tomorrow morning I check in for reconstructive surgery at 6:30 am. That’s early. It’s even earlier to ask Christy to come be at our house at 5:45 to get the girls off to school. 🙂
Tomorrow will come and go. I will have a new and improved body part and a little pain that hopefully can be managed with just Tylenol. I have Vicodin on hand, but can’t remember how my body responded last time I took it and want nothing to do with Percocet since my crazy itching reaction from it after the mastectomy. I’m am hoping the recovery is as easy as the surgeon says it will be. I’d like to go to Bible Study on Thursday morning. All I have to do it sit there…but we’ll see how I feel. 🙂
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by Jennifer | May 11, 2016 | Blog |
The next month is going to be crazy, but might as well get it all over with before radiation starts. Along with the reconstruction surgery that is scheduled on May 18th, I will also be having my ovaries out on June 3rd. That’s a crazy weekend, but a better option than the next weekend which would leave me still recovering from surgery when I have to get my first bone strengthening infusion.
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by Jennifer | May 10, 2016 | Blog |
Tom and I met with the radiation oncologist this morning. He feels strongly that we should start radiation as soon as possible. He said it was fine to wait until reconstruction is over, since it is so soon, but did not recommend waiting until September when the girls are back in school.
It looks like radiation will start mid to late June and I will be going M-F for 6 – 7 weeks. I have an appointment on June 1st for some measurements and either at that appointment or the next, will be scheduling the appointments. The Dr. said it’s not a problem to get appointments early in the day (they open at 8 am), so I can have the rest of the day to be with the girls. We’re not sure how it’s all going to work since the girls will be out of school, but we’ll figure it out in the next few weeks.
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by Jennifer | May 6, 2016 | Blog |
Haha! Who ever thought I would say that! But it appears that chemo has put me into menopause. I spoke with my OB this morning and while she sees no need to rush into surgery, she did say that the cancer I have often spreads to the ovaries and it might be a good preventative move to remove them. We’ll see what the oncologist recommends. I’m waiting to hear back from him to see if he agrees with my new menopausal status and decision to hold off on surgery.
UPDATE: The oncologist is concerned that the ovaries might wake up and the menopause might not be permanent. So we have the choice to just sit back and test my hormone level every six weeks and hope for the best, or just take them out and not worry about it. If they wake up, there is also a chance of pregnancy, so the surgery would obviously take care of that as well. At the end of my long conversation with him, I asked him if it was his wife in this situation what he would recommend, and he said surgery. I think we will probably lean towards that, just to have one less thing to worry about. We’ll sleep on it, pray about it, and talk some more, but that’s where we are at right now.
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by Jennifer | May 5, 2016 | Blog |
Yesterday I spent a few hours at Valley Medical Center. It was actually a nice visit there, for once. 🙂 No pain and actually a little pampering.
I started off with an appointment with a oncology licensed oncology certified aesthetician who was amazing. Christina operates out of the Breast Center at Valley and not only sees regular customers, but works with patients going through cancer treatments. She shaped my eyebrows which are growing back wherever they want and tinted them so small amount of hair that is there, looks darker. Christina has an amazing heart and passion for helping women going through cancer. As a business owner, she chooses to donate sessions to patients going through cancer treatment. It was a nice surprise to not have a bill at the end of my session with her. She is so sweet and caring and such a joy to be around. It was so nice to be in the Breast Center for something positive instead of negative! So if you are up in that area and need a facial, relaxing massage, etc, make sure to look her up. She’s wonderful!
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