<\/p>\n
My healing process has had its ups and downs, but I\u2019m still so
\nthankful that I will not have to have any radiation or
\nchemotherapy!! The recovery from the surgery has gone at least
\nas well as I expected, if not better. My only remaining symptom
\nfrom the surgery is the fatigue that I expected, but wish it would
\nprogress a bit more quickly. I continue to work on patience!<\/p>\n
The reconstruction process has been a bit more than I expected,
\nbut, I guess if I stop to think about it, it all makes sense.
\nWhen they did the mastectomies, a plastic surgeon placed \u201ctissue
\nexpanders\u201d as the first step in the reconstruction process. I
\nguess I didn\u2019t stop to think exactly what expanding the tissue
\nmight entail. Each week (or every couple weeks depending on our
\ntravel schedule), I have to have saline injected into the tissue
\nexpanders, thus stretching the tissue. At first I described the
\nprocess as being similar to having your braces tightened, but I\u2019m
\nnow realizing that the similarities are pretty limited. Luckily
\nI only have two more \u201cfill\u201d appointments and then I will have
\nabout three months to heal from this process before the next surgery.<\/p>\n
Kelly and Damon<\/p>\n
8\/26\/11
\nI continue doing well with my cancer journey. My last \u201cfill\u201d
\nwas July 18th and I expected to be back to myself by the
\nnext week, but realized that it was another time to practice the art
\nof patience. The reconstruction process continued to be
\nchallenging, but I finally felt like I had a breakthrough last week.
\nI started sleeping without ice, sleeping almost through the night,
\nand being able to sleep on my sides for a few minutes at a time (all
\nthings I took for granted before this journey).<\/p>\n
I have discovered that physical therapy is a great tool during
\nthis process. I have found a therapist who knows what she\u2019s
\ndoing and is incredibly supportive. She helps me remember that
\nit\u2019s not uncommon to take five steps forward and then a couple
\nback, but I\u2019m so thankful that she\u2019s helping me through this
\nprocess. We started with the simple art of breathing because I
\nhad to re-train my body since I hadn\u2019t been able to take a deep
\nbreath for so long. She has taught me some great stretching
\nexercises and we\u2019re hoping to progress to some weight work in the
\nnext week or so.<\/p>\n
My next surgery is scheduled for November 9th so I
\nshouldn\u2019t have any more appointments and will continue the healing
\nprocess until then. During that surgery the tissue expanders
\n(or rocks as I fondly refer to them) will be removed and permanent
\nimplants will be placed. That surgery will be a day surgery and
\nshould be much simpler than the first one. As Madison says, the
\nsurgery will also probably be easier than the fills.<\/p>\n
Kelly and Damon<\/p>\n
Each year since then we\u2019ve done Sleep in for the Cure which was
\njust our speed. This year Molly talked us into going down for
\nthe family event and we\u2019re so glad we did! We were amazed at
\nthe number of people who come for that event. It was an
\nemotional day for me, realizing that I wasn\u2019t walking for the women
\nin pink shirts, but was now wearing the pink shirt.<\/p>\n
It was also a day to remind me of my good fortune. Seeing
\nthe women without hair and talking to a woman who went through lots
\nof radiation and chemo helped me keep my perspective and continue to
\nfeel lucky in my situation.<\/p>\n
The next surgery in my reconstruction will be next Wednesday.
\nDuring this one they will remove the tissue expanders (AKA rocks) and
\nreplace them with saline implants. I\u2019m looking so forward to
\nhaving something more comfortable and I know it will be nice to be
\nable to comfortably cuddle with the girls.<\/p>\n
Damon and I went to the pre-op appointment yesterday and learned
\nthat, although this surgery will be SO much easier than the last one,
\nsome of the restrictions will be the same. This surgery will be
\nabout 2 \u00bd hours versus the 4 hours for the last one. This
\nrecovery is expected to be shorter, hopefully only a week or two.
\nI\u2019m still coming to grips with the fact that I won\u2019t be able
\nto lift my arms over my head (including washing my own hair) or drive
\nfor two weeks and I won\u2019t be able to work out for a month. I
\nwill only be able to lift 5 pounds for about a month. I guess
\nthese are small sacrifices compared to other things I could have gone
\nthrough. I am especially thankful that I won\u2019t have drains
\nthis time!<\/p>\n
As I continue to focus on humor, I\u2019m picturing the \u201cIron
\nMaiden Bra\u201d that I\u2019ll be wearing for a couple weeks. I\u2019m
\nsure it\u2019s going to be very sexy, but I promise not to send
\npictures!<\/p>\n
Kelly and Damon<\/p>\n
Breast Cancer, The Journey Monday Evening, November, 7 2011 (thirteenth post in this series) We started this blog to document our travels and for the most part we stick to that goal. However, we are \u201coff the road\u201d for a … Continue reading