Reconstruction Take 2!

My appointment was at 8am. The traffic was light on the roads so were able to be a few extra minutes early. I didn't have to wait very long to be taken back and prepped for surgery. The nurse were so good at getting my IV started.

Dr. J is one cool guy! And he's super good at what he does! I brought about 20 drain bags for him to give to other breast cancer surgery patients. He was impressed. He wanted to know how much they cost, and I loved telling him they were free. I went on to explain about my chemo scarf project and that the left over fabric was used to make the drain bags. At this point he sat down on a chair and wanted to know more about my project. He wants to be involved in what I'm doing. In one of the upcoming months he wants to spotlight me on his website/FB page. I'm supposed to call and talk to his nurse advocate and discuss how their office can help me with getting the fabric/ supplies I need. This was really exciting for me! I love watching how this whole project keeps coming together!

My good friend from my support group stopped by the surgical center to chat with my husband, dad and myself. It was fun having her there. It wasn't that long ago that she had her final surgery. She stayed out in the waiting area with my Dad and husband while I was in surgery. She was by my side when I woke up from surgery. She is pretty amazing. I'm so glad she could be one of my cheerleaders yesterday.

And then there's my husband. What an amazing man he is! He was always at my side supporting me and loving me. I love that our relationship has grown stronger during this whole experience. I am also blessed with a Dad who is kind and compassionate. He has been a great strength to me as well.

So far this surgery has been easier than the first one. Yesterday I slept for most of the day and didn't have much pain. This morning I felt really lousy, and was quite loopy from my pain meds. My vision has been blury, but that's because of the squalamine patch behind my ear. My liposuction spots on my tummy hurt the most. My breast are tender and sore because he had to do some cosmetic fixing, but mostly my breast are completely numb. In just a few short weeks I will not be so sore and will start to feel more normal. And as soon as I'm feeling good I'm going to hit my chemo scarf sewing!

To each one of you, THANK YOU for all the love, service and prayers on my behalf!

T'was the Night before Surgery

The laundry is all folded and put away. The floors are swept and mopped. The living room is nicely vacuumed. The bathrooms are clean!
Tomorrow is Go Time!! Hopefully this time for reals!

I need to be at the Surgical Center at 8am. Surgery will begin sometime around 9am. I imagine I'll be home in the afternoon. My sister-in-law will send out an email with an update when surgery is over.

Wish me luck!

The Finish Line is in Sight!

I've never run a marathon, but I've heard runners say the last part is the hardest! This past year has felt like a marathon! And then having  new bumps in the road right at surgery time?! UGH! The bumps in the road leave me feeling weak, emotionally and psychologically! I'm done! So close to the finish line! So close!! What's the best part about the finish line? Besides being done? It's all the people gathered to cheer you on! That's the part I'm really trying to stay focused on. I'm trying to stay focused on your encouragement to help me across that finish line! I have the BEST support group a cancer person could have! Thank you for you kind words, your expressions of love and most importantly your service! Saying thank you doesn't feel like enough, but hopefully you'll feel the depth of my love in my words!

The finish line is in sight! Real close sight! I got a call today that they could get me in this coming WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10th!! I'm super glad to not have to wait till the end of the month! Even though I was prepared before I feel like I still need to mentally prepare, again. Ugh! and Hurray!

I'm exhausted! I'm worn out! Let's get this marathon over with!

Green means GO!

Got the much anticipated phone call from my cardiologist this afternoon. My heart monitor reading showed that my heart was throwing off PVC's while I slept, between the hours of 2-8am. This PVC's they considered to be harmless and therefore gave me the green light to re-schedule my reconstruction. The results from my echocardiogram show that my chambers are normal, the size of my ventricles are normal, the contracture of my heart is normal. There was nothing abnormal! They will fax over the findings to the plastic surgeon.

On Monday my plastic surgeon put me down in pencil for surgery on June 29th, that way I wouldn't have to wait 6-8 weeks to get in, which is how far out he was scheduling. I called this afternoon to have them put that appointment in INK! The lady who needs to do that scheduling was on another line so she'll be calling me to confirm that my appointment is solid.

So, if all goes as planned (and we know how well MY plans turn out) I'll be having surgery 2 days after my 39th birthday! Happy Birthday to me!!

Be still, my heart

Many of you have asked how I am feeling emotionally, here it is- by Monday night I had calmed down and accepted this bump in the road. I feel peace of mind. I am comfortable with my situation. I feel confidant that everything will work out. Eventually.

Monday I called my insurance and had a huge list of cardiologists I could see. I wanted to go to the same heart clinic I had been receiving my previous echocardiograms and was able to. I picked the soonest appointment they had, which was yesterday (Tuesday) at 2:30. I had taken with me a copy of the EKG from the surgical center but they still did one of their own. And wouldn't you know it! My heart beat just as it should. It performed perfectly. The heart condition I was experiencing Monday is called PVC (Premature Ventricular Contractions). It's not uncommon for your heart to throw off a random beat out of rhythm every once in while, but my heart was doing it in between every regular beat, that is NOT normal. But again, it only did that Monday, they couldn't recreate the problem Tuesday. It was decided that I would go home with a heart monitor to record my heart rhythm for the following 24 hours. Following the 24 hours I would return the monitor and they'd download my data.

I was also scheduled an echocardiogram for Wednesday at 3pm, which is when I was to return the heart monitor. The electrode tabs for the heart monitor were itchy and uncomfortable. Chemo has changed my skin and I am now allergic to adhesive from band-aids and the like. I was told that if the discomfort was too great to just take the tabs off and abort the recording.  It was really hard, but I made it the full 24 hours! But it came with a cost, I now have itchy welt marks where the tabs were on my skin. Hopefully with a little hydro-cortisone cream I can have this cleared up by tomorrow.
When I showed up for my echo today I was told I was 30 minutes late. I guess they told me the wrong time yesterday. I was their last appointment of the day today and the lady checking me in wasn't very happy that I had delayed her going home. Today's echo was different than the ones I had during chemo, it was more intense. They mostly focused on certain parts of the heart and the muscle lining. My appointment consisted of 45 minutes of baseline imaging and 15 minutes doing an infinity echo (an echo using contrast). I had 3 different people take turns doing the testing. The first guy did the 15 minute infinity test and then decided he needed to use the contrast. The contrast allows for all the area of the heart they are looking at to be lighted up. To read more about this type of echo click on this link. An IV was started. I've already had 2 needle, IV pokes this week so now I have 3 holes in my arm. I still have a huge fear of needles! Today's experience getting poked was unpleasant. I bled a lot and they had to work to control my bleeding. Before doing the echo with contrast another technician did my baseline test. IT. TOOK. FOREVER! My expanders made for a really uncomfortable time too! Can I tell you how much I won't miss them?! Finally they did the contrast, Difinity echo. This part was the most

fascinating to me! Watching the muscle lining contract and blood swooshing in and out of my heart was cool! Someone will read my tests and then I'll get the results, but the technicians all said they thought things looked normal.

Before leaving St. Marks I dropped off my heart monitor. They will read the data tomorrow morning and I'll know my results from that, and hopefully my echo as well, tomorrow afternoon.

This week has had its ups and downs, but I am so grateful to know that my needs are being met and that I am being well taken care of. Everyone has been so compassionate and kind, from the doctors and nurses to my friends and family!

I'm thankful for a friend who brought us a picnic dinner Monday night! A friend for dropping by a bag full of things to make me smile (and laugh), a brother who came by to hug me tight! Another amazing neighbor for dinner Tuesday! Grateful for a sweaty hug from a friend who was out running and stopped by just to hug me! Grateful for text messages, phone calls and beautiful flowers! I know that my Heavenly Father is watching over me. How can he not be with so many people praying for me?! Please be still me heart, so I can move on and schedule my 

reconstruction!

Christy's Surgery Update

Just a quick surgery update.  Christy, her husband, and her dad checked in for her surgery at 8:30am.  They made it through all the prep work--dressing, IVs, paperwork, etc.  But sadly they hit an unexpected snag. 

While the anesthesiologist went through his pre-surgery checklist he discovered Christy has an irregular heartbeat.  While she's had other heart issues throughout this journey, today's problem is something more serious, something that has developed since last September.  The anesthesiologist put a complete stop on today's surgery--it's too risky without addressing this new issue with her heart.  They sent her home without rescheduling the surgery and with orders to get evaluated by a cardiologist and resolve the heart issues first.

As you can imagine, Christy is really really struggling with this.  She had made a lot of preparations for today--physically, psychologically, emotionally, etc.  She was ready to finish off this last stage and move forward.  Instead she faces a whole new unexpected challenge. 

Please send your prayers and thoughts her way. 

Thanks,
M