Periodic Update (November)

Nothing much to report (no news is good news, right?), really.

I had my first oncologist “check-up” in a month, about a week after the reconstruction. I felt great and they said I was doing great. I should probably get a flu shot (having a little trouble finding that), but otherwise, I’ll just see them again next month.

Also, we’ve scheduled the final reconstructive surgery (an outpatient one, so I can go home the same day) for two days after Christmas.

New Topic: Further Reconstruction

From what I understand, this is how they build a nipple: Take a patch of skin from thigh (or belly…whereever there’s a square to spare) and sorta do a gather. I cannot remember the correct sewing term, but he’ll pull “thread” through, but instead of a sleeve, we’re talking nipple. Then I think they tattoo the aereola. The ones I’ve seen, the nipple hasn’t been at full attention, but rather just a gentle little point, if that makes any sense.

eta: as of 7/16/07, I have deleted approximately 300 spam comments a month, most of which were of an adult nature, on this one post. I hate that I have to edit the title in the hopes of keeping the spammers away, but y’all, this is ridiculous how many there are.  I have also had to shut off comments for this post.

More Talking About the New Boobs

One thing I forgot to mention that the surgeon was able to do with this last surgery was to reduce the significant “canyon” between the boobs. I think that was the main portion of the “pocket-reshaping” he had to do. Anyhow, the canyon is smaller and that (according to AwfulPlasticSurgery.com anyhow) is supposed to make them look more realistic, less of a being-able-to-peg-it-as-a-boob-job-from-50-paces thing.

Follow-up on Breasteses Surgery

Had a post-surgery follow-up with the plastic surgeon today. It went well. He walked in reading the pathology report, and acted all shocked “did you know that the port I took out of you turned out to be a PORT?!” and then laughed. He’s not typically much of a kidder, so that was kinda fun to see that side of him.

Anyhow, then he mashed and kneaded the new boobs, said how thrilled he was (as I am, too…they really are very pretty, I think), and told the nurse to schedule the nipple reconstruction. Apparently, I’d misheard him before when I thought he said nipple reconstruction in 6 months…he wants to do it in 6 weeks! It’s an outpatient surgery, with no lifting restrictions and easy recovery afterwards, so no skin off my back (but it will be skin off my thigh to create the nipples! hahahaaha pardon me). I think we are looking at either the week before or the week after Christmas. Wow! The more I thought about it, the cooler I am with the idea. One thing I hadn’t even realized until today is that if I wait until January or later to do the surgery, we’ll have to meet my annual deductible again for the nipple reconstruction, but we won’t if I finish the surgeries in December.

And then we went to Target, spent wacky amounts of money, and came home.

Little Milestones, But Big Ones, Too

Two little exciting post-chemo milestones:

1) I had to shave my legs the other day. This is the first time since before chemo!
2) I called the church office today to take myself off the prayer list. I’ve been on there since the week I was diagnosed, and I realized yesterday that I am through the worst part, and while prayers of continued health are of course welcome, I feel as if being on the church’s prayer list might be taking away prayers that other people need more than I do at this point.

Reconstructive Surgery

My reconstructive surgery was on Wednesday, in Jackson, and it went well. They also removed my port at the same time. I only have three little tiny incisions, so it is nowhere near as painful as the bilateral recovery was (which actually didn’t kick my butt too bad).  I had the same recovery room nurse as with my other two Jackson surgeries; I can’t remember much about it, but Tom said I came out of recovery chatting up a storm with her.

The worst bit is that I am not allowed to pick up anything more than 5 lbs. for about a week or ten days, maybe longer. Why is that so bad? Thomas weighs 23 lbs. and Alexander weighs 24 lbs.! It’s kind of hard to take care of kids when you can’t pick them up and put them in/out of cribs, high chairs, and car seats! Thankfully, Nancy is able to come and help again for a few days. Yay!

Gotta Stop Eating!

I need to stop eating like a chemo patient. I’m managing to eat a wider variety of foods lately, although the portions are still rawther tiny (I haven’t managed to leave a restaurant without a to-go box in ages, unless the boys help me eat a meal). HOWEVER, at the hospital on Wednesday before the surgery, I weighed in at 147…that’s my pre-pregnancy weight, and is a good 4-5 pounds more than before chemo. I know “it’s only five pounds,” but that’s too easy to let 5 lbs. slide and those 5 lbs. will turn into 10 lbs., etc. etc. So I have to get rid of full-fat foods and must start making weight watchers meals again. Resolved!

On Reconstruction

This was a pretty decent surgery experience. It was longer than my ovary one (Tom estimates 4 hours, but I don’t think he realized that I spent an hour in recovery), so I still had pukies for much of yesterday evening. This despite having a big long conversation with the anesthesiologist before the surgery telling him that demerol hits me hard. This time, I woke up pretty cheerful in recovery, though they had to wrap me in hot blankets because I guess my body temp dropped pretty drastically. I had the same nurse in recovery that I had the other two surgeries at the same hospital. She was all “what happened to your pretty hair??!” And she kept telling other nurses “this is my brave girl with the twins!”

I slept off and on all night long (I tried eating, but couldn’t even keep chicken broth down), with lucid enough moments to make one phone call and watch the martha apprentice and then Law & Order. I don’t remember the storyline on L&O but I remember thinking Jack McCoy can really be a massive opinionated jerk. Hee.

My breast surgeon came by to visit twice, and the plastic surgeon called this morning to discharge me. I am on lifting restrictions for about a week, but at least I don’t have drains. Because the PS had to reshape the “pocket” (the spot within scar tissue where the implant lives) on Righty, he decided to do the nipple reconstruction in 3-6 months. That one will be an outpatient thing, I’m pretty sure.

Am sore and achy, but not really in any pain. I have only peeked inside the surgical bra, but I don’t think he was able to put in C cup implants. Oh well.