1 week post surgery

I never thought I'd have to stuff my bra. Here I am, 33 years old with a size D cup on one side and barely an A cup on the other. I had a lot of salvageable skin so I am very puckered and one part, right under my arm, looks like it has a butt crack. It's also due to a lot of swelling but it looks funny. So I stuff my bra on one side with gauze (also to protect my incision and keep my lovely bra from rubbing it). Then I have this lovely Velcro belt that holds my drain bulbs and its wrapped around my waist so I look all lumpy and like I have a weird shaped growth under my shirt. It's very attractive, really. (sarcasm eye roll)

Aside from that, I am doing very well. I went in for a post op visit yesterday and they were very happy and impressed with my range of motion in my arm. I can't lift it all the way up yet, but it's getting there. They were going to add more saline in my tissue expander, but I was still too tender so they decided not to. (Thank God!!!) so, next Monday they will add saline and take out one drain tube. The following Monday, they will add more saline and remove the second drain tube. So I'm stuck with these darn drain tubes and major uneven breasts till the 21st. Actually, my breasts will probably be uneven until reconstruction in October but they will be a little closer. Maybe I wont have to stuff my bra much longer. :-)

They also replaced my pain meds. I was on Narco and they kept making me tired and very dizzy. I almost lost my dinner one night from the dizziness so they switched me to Ultracet. Much much better.

So, there is my update. Lopsided, and wrinkled with a butt crack under my arm, but CANCER FREE!!!!! Can't complain.

Update day 2 post op

My pain is subsiding some. I'm still in pain because they beat me up so bad during surgery, but the pain is slowly going away. I am able to move around better and I can almost get out of bed by myself. I can go up and down the stairs by myself without an escort. I am really dizzy though from the medicine. It's one of the side effects. So I'm slow going because I have to watch out for things spinning around me. My arm can raise about half way up and can rotate some too. I slept pretty decent last night too. I finally fell asleep just before 10pm. Chris came to bed at 10 and gave me my pain pills and I slept until 2am when it was time for the next round. I took those at 2 and wasn't able to fall back asleep until about 3am. I slept like a baby until 6am when I was due for more pills. I got up at that time because it is Kaylee's birthday today and I wanted to tell her Happy Birthday before she left for school. After the kids left for school I laid down and took a nap until about 10:30am.

I finally was able to shower today. I had to wait 48 hours before I could shower because of the drain tubes but it felt so good to feel somewhat clean. It was hard to shower with the drain tubes in place but I managed to get all the important parts clean anyways. I got a look at my battle wound. Its pretty scary. We had already decided that the kids would not see my scars and today re-assured that thinking. I've seen mastectomy scars before, but because my tissue expander isn't filled up yet it looks awful. I'm puckered and gathered under my armpit and looks funny. Then it's swollen where the drain tubes are sticking out. Throughout this all, my husband still looks at me with love in his eyes and sees me as beautiful still. Thats the best feeling of all. No words are necessary. I can feel and see his love for me and I know that even though he is a boob man, he loves me for my insides.

Well, tonight we are celebrating my sweet baby girls 8th birthday. Spaghetti dinner, presents and lots of love. We have a snow day tomorrow (not because we are expecting a blizzard, but in Texas if it starts snowing at all the town shuts down) so we will spend tonight with hot chocolate in hand and watching Kaylee's movie choice.....Evan Almighty.

I'm a little lopsided

Surgery went well. It took about 5 hours and they took out a really good margin. My tissue expander is in place but very painful. My throat is extremely dry from the intubation but hopefully it will feel better soon. Pain medicine is working but not 100%. I'm in so much pain that I just don't think it will get down to a 1 on any drug. My pain level is about a 5 and will get down to a 2 once the pills kick in. I just feel like I have an elephant sitting on my chest. I have a burning sensation on my side up by my armpit. They only put in about 300cc's into my expander and it holds 900cc's. So, I have my normal D size booby on the left and I look like a 10 yr old with a bud on the right side. So, I have about a boob and a half, if that.....

They were able to remove my lymph nodes through the same incision so I only have the one scar. I am supposed to start on my exercises today, but I'm in so much pain I don't see that happening. I'll have to get Chris to help me get them done.

I know the pain is temporary, but the thought that I am OFFICIALLY cancer free now that the tumor is gone is a great feeling.