Care free

Ah...to be care free again

12 week update

It's been 12 weeks since surgery. This is a big milestone!  At this point, it is safe to say that all the skin survived the surgery and has a sufficient blood supply to remain healthy for a long time.  I've made it through the point where infection was major a concern.  If my body was going to reject the alloderm patch they used, it would have already by now.  I'm showing zero signs of capsular contracture, which would be my body rejecting the implant.  AND my hospital bills have been paid by insurance!  I made the transition back to work just fine.  I'm back to running.  I ran on a relay team for the Cellcom Green Bay Marathon. Thanks to the race being cancelled part way through due to the hot weather, all I have to show for it is a bad sun burn (photo courtesy of Aila).  I'm really back to a new version of normal.

There have been a few side effects that have taken some getting used to.  I knew these things going into it thanks to the women of FORCE sharing so openly about what life would be like after surgery.  But like with pregnancy, reading about labor and actually being in labor is incredibly different.  So...things you may not have known happen after mastectomy:

1. I have no feeling over a large portion of my upper body.  I knew going into it that I'd lose feeling in my chest area, but I was surprised by having no feeling in my underarms, on my sides, and even a small area on my back by my shoulder blades.  It's strange, but if I'm nervous or uncomfortable I will itch that area on my side even though I cannot feel it and do not feel an itch there at all.  There is a small area right in the center of my chest that I can feel.  I discovered it one day while working out because I could feel some drops of sweat! Never been that excited about sweat before.  There's a small chance feeling will come back eventually, but it will likely not be the entire area effected, just small portions of it.
2. I get really cold or really hot easily.  I have 3 pounds of semi-liquid in me that takes the temperature of the air around me.  I haven't had major problems with it yet just a noticeable temperature difference, but I'm concerned about what winter will be like. From the outside the layers go: skin, muscle, implant, chest wall.  The implant gets cold, making the muscle on top of it cold.  The muscle only has a thin layer of skin to keep it warm when usually it would have a layer of fat as well.  I've heard that if if gets really cold the muscle will then start spasming. 
3. Swimming was interesting. There's the temperature issue from above.  It's also a very different sensation having something that floats stuffed inside you. 
4. I occasionally squeak. Picture the sound of an old rocking chair.  Hopefully this is done now and no longer comes back.
5. It is amazing how much better things are looking since those first few weeks!  I see why people sometimes post pictures.  While I will not be posting any, I did take photos along the way for my own personal use (that are securely buried and locked away in hidden files on my computer).  It was something a friend who had been through it already recommended.  I took one weekly in the same place, from the same angle.   On days when I felt like nothing was getting any better, I'd just look through those and I could really see the progress.  It is honestly amazing was plastic surgeons can do with reconstruction.  When I first considered this surgery, I google for pictures of mastectomy/reconstruction examples and ended up in tears thinking of how I did not want to look like that.  I did this same google the other day so that I could see again for a comparison.  I'm so thankful that my doctors were able to everything they could make me look good! 

Why do I want to get back to exercising so soon?

Why do I want to get back to exercising so soon?
This is why.  It's a link to a great article a friend sent me about the importance of exercise during and after breast cancer treatment.  Hopefully the YMCA Livestrong program starting in Green Bay or the YWCA Encore program can help others in the area get back to exercising as well.

Pull ups

Yes, this post is about pull ups and I'm not talking about Adrienne's night time pink princess pull ups.  For the last three weeks, I've been going to Zumba on Tuesday nights.  Tuesday used to be my toughest work out night--the day I had "group personal training" with a really small group :)  Pull ups were my enemy.  I think I have a mental block against them stemming from childhood.  Too many gym classes with failed attempts at the flexed arm hang, too much embarrassment over not being able to the monkey bars on the playground.  I hated every second of training with them and knew I'd be in for a tough night whenever I saw that stupid rack pulled out. With Chrystal's help I was able to learn to do them.  I still didn't enjoy them, but I could tolerate them and feel a small sense of accomplishment after.

So back at Energy the last few weeks, I see the gadgets and goodies Chrystal has out for other training sessions.  Of course, she has the pull up rack out.  It's like it's sitting there taunting me.  For three weeks, I'd walked right by it trying to ignore it.  This week I could no longer.  Something in me was curious to see if I could still do one.  As Chrystal was dancing next to me last night (try to talk to me and break my intense concentration needed to not trip over my own feet), I quickly asked, "Would you help me do one pull up after class?"  She loved that idea and the minute we got over there she changed it to "Ok, give me 5 of them."

No, no, no.  I wanted 1.

Well, I was able to do one, but quickly discovered that I shouldn't have even done that.  It wasn't so much the pulling up that hurt.  Instead it was the hanging down in between.  It was a much bigger stretch than I had yet to feel. 


However, it was good timing as I had a doctor appointment today.  I asked Dr. J's opinion.  He assured me that there was no sign of damage.  Interesting though, he said he didn't really know when I'd be able to do pull ups again.  He hasn't had a lot of people asking to do them before.  I'm taking that as my excuse to never do them again...or at least for the next 6 months until my curiosity gets me again.