New Boobies!

So, I am in my final few days till surgery! I am excited, but also nervous as H.E double hockey sticks!

I met with my surgeons this week and got the "all-clear" for surgery. It is a 10-12 hr surgery. I will be in the hospital for 5-7 days. This is a bit longer than I expected! So, I thought I'd be coming home on Good Friday, but it looks like I'll be staying through Easter, possibly. (Don't worry, the Easter Bunny already came and dropped off baskets for the kids. We are hiding them for him) Chris' mom said she may have the kids over to do an Easter Egg hunt on Sunday. Not sure if Chris will be coming to get me that day from the hospital or if it will be Monday.

Here is some basic info on my type of surgery.
Here is a few before and after pictures of a girl close to my size who had the TRAM flap done
Yes, I have taken some "before" pictures, but I'm not sure if I'm gonna post them yet. I guess it depends on the outcome of the "after" pictures. You'll have to wait and see.....

As for the details on surgery: I have to report for surgery at 5:15am on Monday morning. I will be in surgery until about 5-6 pm. I will have a catheter in until Wednesday morning because I will be pretty immobile till then. Tuesday, they will move me from the bed to the chair a few times. That's it. Wednesday, they take the cath out and I get to walk the halls. Get to, actually.....I will be forced to! He said they kick up my therapy on Wednesday to get the muscles moving, but they won't overdo it. I will have 6 drain tubes the whole time. 2 in each breast and 2 in my stomach. I will probably be coming home with at least 2, maybe 4 drain tubes a week later. I should be able to walk a little at a time, and go up and down my stairs at home once or twice a day. I will be sleeping upright for about a week, but should be able to side sleep after a while.

Pain- I qualified for a new study they are doing at MD Anderson. My plastic surgeon, Dr Skoracki, is writing a study and conducting research of a new kind of pain management and I was the first one chosen. Basically, in addition to the normal pain management (a small piece of mesh netting that numbs your abdomen,  in the inside right by your fascia) I will have a pain pump with 2 small tubes inserted into my abdomen, one on each side. In this pain pump, will either be a saline solution (placebo) or bupivacaine. I will conduct a survey a few times during recovery, and again at 6 months and 12 months. Once all 40 patients have participated in the study, the results will be released as to whether or not I received a placebo or the real pain drug. I won't know until then what I got. Once there are 52 patients between MD Anderson and other hospitals, they will publish the findings of the study. So, let's hope and pray that I get the real drugs and not the placebo!!! It's a 50/50 shot.

Visitors- I will welcome HEALTHY visitors anytime, however, there are a few times I've blocked out for my kiddos, so please call ahead before coming. I will also welcome daytime visitors at home after Chris goes back to work on April 16th, if you bring coffee/lunch. hehehe I am gonna be bored outta my mind that month! Especially Tuesdays and Thursdays while Grayson is at school!

Updates- Chris will be posting on my FaceBook page all day Monday, and hopefully I can get him to tweet for me too, so it will show up on the sidebar on the left of the screen for those who aren't on my FB page.

Help- as mentioned before, we welcome hot meals anytime. We don't need them every day, but an occasional one any time during the month of April would be helpful!  Cleaning fairies are always welcome! You'd be doing Chris a HUGE favor and he deserves it. ;-) The other way to help is to come rescue my kids from house boredom and take them on a play date or outing of some sort. Weekends for the older 2 kids, or M,W,F for Grayson.  Plus, it would give me a chance to rest, and possibly Chris on the weekends since he will be working so hard at work, and also once he gets home.

So, as for me and my thoughts.... I'm nervous and excited at the same time. I've never been under anesthesia that long..... I've never been in the hospital that long...... I've never been immobile that long...... I just don't know what to expect...... I'm nervous as all get out...... I am also scared...... The normal usual scary surgery stuff...... I hate IV's and I will have to have one in the whole time. YUCK! .......Grayson has never gone that long without snuggling with me. I am his security blanket. Not that I wanted that role, but for some reason, he never got attached to a blanket or teddy bear as a baby. So, I'm worried about how he is gonna handle me being away, and also how he is gonna handle not climbing all over me once I'm at home..... I'm also nervous that he is gonna forget and hurt me accidentally. He's a little brute, and is sometimes quite rough.....


Please remember to lift me up in your prayers on Monday. Thanks!