Winding Down

Well hello everyone,

You may or may not have noticed I am winding down on my blog entries. As I said before, one reason is because I have kind of moved over to Facebook and put small entries regarding my condition on there every now and then, as well as other bits of info. But, you all have been with me for an entire year now, do you believe it? Yes, my mastectomy was Aug 6, 2009; and here we are an entire YEAR later! It's gone slow, but fast too, if that makes any sense.

I am scheduled for my reconstructive surgery this Thursday, Aug 12. It is not going to be an easy surgery. The doctor tells me it will be very much like another mastectomy in terms of pain and recovery (4-6 weeks). But I will get through it, and that is largely due to your thoughts, prayers, encouragement and love, all of which have given me more strength than I can express.

There've been some unexpected bumps along my journey. A year ago, when doctors implanted a "tissue expander" at the time of my mastectomy, its purpose was to stretch the skin I'd lost, so that there would be enough skin to cover an eventual implant when reconstruction took place. However, at the time of my mastectomy, they did not know that I would need radiation. Radiation shrinks the skin, and sure enough, that's what happened to me. So although I went through weeks and months of "fills" in my expander to stretch the skin, radiation virtually undid any progress made in stretching. Therefore, my reconstructive surgery will be the "latissimus flap" procedure. Yikes! The plastic surgeon will make an incision in my back at the bra line. He'll leave the skin connected because it needs a blood supply. He will then "tunnel" through, and pull that skin out another incision in the front, and stretch that skin over an implant. OUCH! And of course, the doctor will remove this God-awful tissue expander that's been in there for a whole year, replacing it with the implant. The expander is hard to the touch, and even harder now, since my skin has shrunk around it. That has made it even more painful and uncomfortable, so as frightened as I am of my upcoming surgery, I am just as happy that the expander will be HISTORY!

I am so blessed to have a spouse, my Larry, who has been by my side and never faltered in my care this entire time. He remains my angel. And he is prepared to continue to care for me throughout the journey of this next surgery too. I thank God for him. I also thank God for all of my family and friends, who have cheered me on along this difficult road! How will I ever be able to thank all of you??? Please know that I remember all of you in my prayers every night, and I don't take for granted the blessings you all have bestowed upon me in being there for me. THANK YOU A MILLION TIMES!

I don't know when I'll be back on here again. As I said, if this upcoming surgery is like the mastectomy, as I have been told, it will be hard to use my right hand again (and just when I was getting used to the "new normal" of its limited mobility and its numbness!). But as soon as I am able, I will inform all of you of my progress and recovery. In the meantime, I thank all of you in advance for your prayers and well-wishes, and for your loyalty in guiding me down this road. I love you all.

Love, Deb 33333333