I haven't posted in awhile, but that's good because things have calmed down quite a bit since last year at this time. It is hard to think back to all of the uncertainty that I was feeling just a year ago. What's going on now, you wonder? Just good things.
First off, I do plan on having a little bit of revision surgery, but we are waiting on the plastic surgeon to be able to get the newest machine. The method of reconstruction I had is called "one-step direct to implant." Theoretically it is supposed to get everything done in just one step as opposed to having to insert an expander under the muscle, stretch the muscle, then have a second step surgery to replace the expander with a permanent implant. However, going directly to implant doesn't give the surgeon the opportunity to fine tune things later in the process the way they do with expanders. With direct to implant, the surgeon has just one chance to put the implant in and hope that it's looks right in the long run. Now, don't get me wrong, I am very happy to have done direct to implant method. I am WAY too impatient to have gone through the expanding process and my results overall look very good. However, alone standing in front of the mirror, I have things that bother me. There are concave areas and ripples. Because all of the breast tissue was scraped away from my skin, I am left with just thin skin in any area that doesn't have implant or muscle right under it. So this skin just kind of falls in between my rib bones causing some concave areas. A good way to picture it is by looking at your hand. You can you can see the bones of your hand coming down from your knuckles through the thin skin on the top of it. This is kind of like what I see when I'm looking at my chest in some areas. I personally am not crazy about the ribs sticking out look. This thin skin also causes a bit of rippling too as the muscle stretches over the implant. So both of these things will be taken care of by using my own fat to fill in the concave areas and ripples. I will have a small amount of fat removed from a donor site. Unfortunately it won't be enough removal to really notice any benefit at the donor site--just like a tablespoon worth of it will be removed. We are waiting so that Dr. J. can use the newest machine available to do something to this special with fat (I am not quite sure what exactly) that will make it more likely to stick. Then the fat will be injected into those unsightly areas.
So this leaves me waiting to hear from Dr. J's office to find out exactly when this can be done. It will either be very soon (they expected it after the first of the year) or after May 19th. Why May 19th? Because Mitch and I officially committed to running the Cellcom Green Bay 1/2 Marathon. Even though Dr. J. assures me it is going to be an easy surgery with a very quick recovery time, I am not willing to let it throw off my training. I'm warning those around me already that I am probably going to be a bit crazy training for it. I've only ever done a VERY slow 9 miles in my running career and I am only currently up to 7 miles. I did however have my first long run today in which I actually had negative splits, exciting step for me! I'm thinking about doing the "Run for a Reason" to raise some money for Unity Hospice through this. I will post more about that when we get it figured out.
I have had some problems in the last few months with pain again. This wasn't something that I've had for a long time, so it was pretty strange and had me worried for awhile. It varies from sharp shooting pains to aching and soreness all day long. There was no sign of infection, no obvious reason for a bit of swelling that came with it. So as of now we think that I just did a bit too much working out. It's possible that my nerves are beginning to reconnect and I am starting to get feeling back. Suddenly I am now feeling the push ups and other things that I had felt ok doing for so long. Unfortunately, I don't usually realize that I've done too much until the next day when I'm feeling the crazy pain whenever I move. So I'm now just a lot more careful about what I do working out and with other lifting things around the house and at work. I don't want to have one breast swollen again any time soon especially since I'm waiting to hear from Dr. J and wouldn't want have to delay revision because of it. I look at this as a good thing because it means that I have an excuse not to shovel snow anytime soon, workouts are more enjoyable with out push ups, and the girls are completely capable of getting in and out of the car by themselves without me lifting them in. Ironically, after a full month push up free I have less rippling than I have had for a long time.
I also am closer to making a decision about the surgery to reduce risks for ovarian cancer. I met with another specialist to get another opinion and hear more options. I really liked the office, the staff, and doctor but it didn't make the decision making process any easier. I think that I will continue surveillance this spring and make a final decision by this summer which route to take.
So welcome to 2013 and all of the good things that it will bring!
