Tag: Disney

Be our Guest

Thank you…
for thinking of me
and then wondering
how you could help.
Thank you…
for doing what you did,
instead of being too busy,
or just forgetting about it.
Thank you…
For inking me
on your priority to-do list,
when you have
so many other things to do;
I am honored;
It meant a lot to me.
Thank you.

By Joanna Fuchs

 

Anyone who has read a few of my posts can probably draw the conclusion that I am not a wordsmith.  My writings are not polished but they are real and from the heart.  There are so many people who I wanted to thank. I found this and I think it fits perfectly.

From delivering meals to watching the kids, from stopping by, making a call, sending and e-mail, card, blog comment,  text or even Facebook post.  Goodies and flowers all thoughts from special people who have helped  myself and my family work our way through this experience just a bit smoother.  All appreciated!

There is one person who I have known for years who did none of these things. I know that I should not let things bother me but after oh, 25+ years of “friendship” to not warrant a few words even via text?  I am thankful for this also.  This experience has opened up a world of new friends and shown a light on those that were a bit more shallow. Life is too short to get bogged down.

Anyway, still very sore but at least the pain pills can keep up now, thankfully!  The Disney reservations continued today with the highlight being dinner at the new Be our Guest restaurant.  I am honestly not in love with the menu but that is not the point of eating there for the girls.  It is all about the dream!

And now we invite you to relax, let us pull up a 
chair as the dining room proudly presents – 
your dinner!
Be our guest! 

Dreams can come true, once the pain is gone

And the Disney trip planning is in full swing.  Today marks the 180 day mark until we land in Orlando.  Dinning reservations have started with dinner in Italy at Via Napoli (Epcot’s version of Italy anyway).  Making plans for our Disney trip allows a nice distraction for us all!

I can’t believe 56 days have passed since the bilateral prophylactic mastectomy. All of that time waiting seems like a lifetime ago.  What is very real to me right now is the pain I still feel from the nipple reconstruction on Friday.  I knew the revision was going to be extensive but I just was not fully prepared.

I received a call from my doctor’s office today.  The call came from his assistant who was also the woman who removed the last of the drains. I told her that the pain level was much higher than expected.  In reading the op report she explained that it is for a few reasons.

First, the doctor gathered the skin from around the flap to build the new nipple.  He did need to harvest some skin which he did from the actual flap itself and then gathered everything around it..ouch.  The incisions he made to remove the “air bags” that had grown under my arms goes all the way under my arm.  On top of that, she explained that liposuction is much more painful than people realize and that mine was extensive.  I can see bruises all the way into my back as high as my shoulder and as low as right above my ribs.

I still personally feel that it was a real stretch to do this surgery as an outpatient, not that I wanted to be in the hospital but I wonder if the pain could have been managed better.

Although I am happy to be home, it has been a very rough weekend for my family.  But we are all trying our best.  I downloaded a new jumpstart game for the girls today.  They love those programs.  In a few hours I will be ready for a nap so I will put a movie on in my bedroom and let them lay with me while I sleep.

Positive things:

  • A mix of Oxy and Valium made for a wonderful night sleep last night, best in weeks
  • Making dinning reservations for Disney with the girls allows us to change the subject for just a bit
  • once they finally stop hurting..my boobs are perky as hell! Been a LONG time since I could say that!

I am sure that like before, each day will be better.  Until tomorrow….

Day 18 Post OP

So made more progress on our Disney trip!  We will be staying at the Disney Animal Kingdom Villas-Kidani Village. I booked both the park tickets, dining plan and air transportation.  We decided after the year that we have had that we are going all out on this family vacation! Disney is still a company who understands the importance of customer service.  I spoke with a gentlemen, (Dante was his name) who was just fantastic.  I even spent the time to take the survey after to make sure I told them so..everyone takes the time when the experience is bad we all should make sure to say when it is good!

What is funny is when he asked “so how is your summer going so far?”  Of course he is just making pleasant conversation while waiting for the computer to process reservations.  What ran through my head was, well very busy to be honest Dante.  I recently spent a week in the hospital where I had my breasts removed and then refilled with fat from my abdomen.  I have an enormous amount of stitches that run from on end of my stomach to the other and my boobs are really a sight to behold.  NOW, people who know me know that often things will fly out of my mouth sometimes without thinking and other time just to get a reaction.  But in this case, I held back and gave the standard, “not too much”.  I wonder how our interaction would have changed had I given my actual thoughts as the answer?

Some people think that I am insensitive in how I discuss my surgery.  If I offend anyone I am sorry and it is not my intention.  I also realize I can not relate to anyone who has cancer and has been forced into certain decisions.  For me, especially after now having the final pathology reports know that I made the right decision.  The boobs are only flesh that can be pretty easily replaced…bottom line is that had I not removed them they would have eventually tried to hurt me!

Not too much to update today…the abdomen continues to heal nicely.  What a beautiful incision.  The boobs hurt still.  My mobility continues to improve.

My girls come home from their shore vacation today.  I have missed my babies!