FREEDOM!!!

The surgical drains are gone!!! Yesterday morning all three drains had output well below 30 cc in a 24-hour period. Dr. Chandler's requirement for removal is that they have less than 30cc for two consecutive 24-hour periods. He had told me I could get them removed locally as long as the requirement is met. So I got on the phone and first asked my primary care physician, but she wasn't comfortable doing it since she hadn't done the procedure. So I called my local surgeon, Dr. Teget, and after he contacted and got the ok from Chandler, he agreed to do it this afteroon. Bless his soul!!! 

So I can no longer play gunslinger while walking my laps around the house, although Scott later thought I also looked like a major league umpire with ball bags around my hips...ha! Well, good-bye and good riddance. I can now sleep and shower without them constantly in my way. Thank you, Jesus!

Cue Pharrell Williams’ Happy Song

It’s been so nice at home these last two days, since Scott has been here. I’m really feeling pretty darn good and would have been ok without him today, but they aren’t very busy at the shop, so he stayed home one more day and has me stocked up with food for the rest of the week and even into the next. I’m so spoiled…and loving every minute of it!

I thought it might be too uncomfortable sleeping in my bed with my belly stretched out straight, so I slept in my recliner the first night. I tried my bed last night and it was not too bad. I did get up and sleep in the chair for a little while when I got tired of being on my back. Side sleeping is not an option!

I am trying to get up and walk around the house regularly. It actually feels very good with my binder on. By the time I finish my last laps later this evening, I will have over 5000 steps today according to my Fitbit. I’m staying on one level, because I don’t think stairs are a great idea yet, so it’s a pretty boring route. I find ways to amuse myself though.

I told you about the three surgical drains I have and how they tend to get in the way all the time. I have them safety pinned to the bottom of my shirt on the sides, two on the right and one on the left. With my binder slung low on my hips and my swinging drains, I feel like a gunfighter protecting my domain! It honestly made me giggle when I thought of it and Scott thought it was comical too.

Because I am so curious and interested in this whole process, I finally got to take a good look at myself in the mirror yesterday. Surgeons sure do like to use a lot of black permanent marker! I have a hip-to-hip incision under my belly button where they took the tissue to rebuild the breast. My tummy is definitely firmer, but a little full right now due to the slight swelling. I have an incision around my belly button (black marker there too) and I’m pretty sure it is a little higher than it used to be. All of the incisions are covered with a clear tape that has ridges. It is starting to come off around the belly button, so I don’t think it is absorbable, but is simply temporary until it falls off.

May Be TMI Alert

They took a section of my belly skin shaped like a boat. I’m assuming that is the “flap” they always refer to, but I’m not sure. I’m anxious to ask my surgeon about that. I believe the fat tissue, artery and veins are attached to the flap. They took out the tissue expander I’ve had in there since they performed my mastectomy, they stuffed all that belly tissue in there, attached the artery and veins to areas within the chest wall to ensure blood flow, stitched the flap to the opening in the breast, and “voila” brand new breast that is all me and not some foreign material! It is fascinating!

Now the thing you have to imagine, is the fact that this old belly skin flap of mine has not seen the light of day for years! Think white…very white…pale, red-headed complexion white. Stick that little boat shaped white flap of skin in the middle of a poor breast which suffered some pretty wicked radiation and recovered extraordinarily well, but still has a slight pink tinge. Add to that the lovely black marker and what we have is a new breast that looks very much like a smiley emoji, without the eyes! I’m dead serious…I have this guy 

for a boob! I didn’t just giggle at this thought, it made me laugh out loud! It is so fitting for me and reflects exactly the joy I wanted to be surrounded with throughout this process. Once the black marker wears off and if I heal as well as I have from my previous surgeries (very little scarring, if any) and the irradiated skin returns to normal, it won’t be there forever. But I’m going to love my happy, little mammary for as long as I have her. She’s endured a lot with me and she deserves to be a happy girl too!

We go back to KC for a post-surgery check on Monday. Hopefully, the drains will be removed then and the real healing will begin.

Have a great week! Love you all!

I'm Home!

Home with my new favorite socks!

I am home in my favorite chair with my new favorite socks the hubs purchased for me while burning some time in KC. I started getting up and walking the halls at the hospital yesterday afternoon and took my first shower this morning. I did get a sponge bath which was nice, but not even close to the same! We were grateful for the early release, since we are supposed to get a winter storm in Hays starting later this evening. I am getting around really well, and am not walking as hunched over as I expected.

The day after surgery!

I have three surgical drains this time, one at each hip and one under the right arm. That is the worst part for sure. They are a gross necessity and having three means one or more are constantly in the way. I thought I had devised a perfect solution when I got out my mastectomy camisole, which has these lovely little pouches you can slip them in to get them out of the way. Unfortunately they all then lay right around the belly area, which is where I have to wear a binder when I am up and about and it’s not very comfortable wearing the binder directly against the skin. I’ll keep working on it and might come up with a better solution yet!

The finished product from Kinley,
including a train (in orange and purple),
the sky (in blue), and a tree
(in green) and a “hun”
(which mom helped with in yellow)!
So precious!

I have the BEST home health nurse a girl could ever ask for. He takes care of my every need, including stripping and emptying the drains and he makes me laugh as he does it. Laughing hurt a bit right after the surgery, but that is getting much better too! Thank you all for the good thoughts and prayers. I am a BLESSED woman! 😘

Whew! First Phase Done!

Surgery is done and I am getting awesome care between the nurses and Scott! The number of OR staff who came to visit in pre-op before they knocked me out was amazing. I can’t imagine how many people were in that room. Dr. Chandler said it was challenging (apparently some of my vessels were extraordinarily tiny), but everything went well and he is pleased. It was right around 8 to 8-1/2 hours total. Everyone here at KU is amazing. The same experience as we had with the mastectomy. Tomorrow will be the interesting day, as they want me to get up and start moving. 😳

They will be coming in every hour for the next 24 to ensure the blood is flowing through the “flap”. They use a small stylus-sized Doppler, and it sounds very similar to a baby’s heartbeat, without all the fluid noise of course! 😂

I can tell the tummy is going to be the more painful of the two. They gave me a block in the area prior to surgery, which will help significantly. They said it should last a couple of days. Yay!

Thank you all for your good thoughts and prayers! You are my warriors and I love you all!

Let’s Do This!

Well..Thursday morning is the day! My appointment on Monday went well and I managed to ward off all the crud that is going around. I’m anxious to get it done, so I can check one more step off the list! There is one little hitch I found out about on Monday though...I have to do this reconstruction in two surgeries (at least). Ugh! I have decided I either don’t ask the right questions, don’t listen, hear what I want to hear, or they just haven’t been clear about the timeframes with each step! It’s probably a combination of all of those things. This surgery will be the DIEP (tummy tuck and reconstruction of the breast with the mastectomy). I have to wait a couple of months for it to heal and then come back to have the lift done on the healthy one to make it match. There is also the possibility of additional fat grafts, if needed to fill in where necessary.  It makes perfect sense now. So...I won’t be done quite as soon as I had hoped, but there is still a light at the end of the tunnel. God is good, all the time! So, again, your prayers are treasured and appreciated! Love you all!