Soreness and stem cell research

Very sore! I am a virtual drug store having taken a little Tylenol, motrin and oxy along with my daily required aspirin. I am still extremely sore! Although I am thrilled to be home with my family I think this surgery as an out-patient may have been a bit of a stretch. Ice packs will be next for me I think. Whining aside, I am home and moving around so all in all not too bad.

I read over my written release instructions. Funny even though I signed them yesterday I had no real clue what they said. I get to take the surgical bra off tomorrow. There are bandages under it that must stay on and not wet until Wednesday. Getting this bra off will be good. It is very tight and annoying. It could be worse!

So an interesting thing happened before the surgery during my pre-meeting with the surgeon. He explained that due to the controversies over the use of embryonic stem cells, doctors have been looking for others that would be useful. He is part of a team researching stem cells derived from fat cells. He asked for consent to use the fat that would have been discarded from the liposuction as part of the research study. He said that the results so far showed that though not as robust as those in the embryonic cells, the fat-derived stem cells were showing promising results. Very cool..sure use my fat and if you need more take what you like!

It would be nice to think that some day it will be possible to treat tissue or bone defects or other diseases and that my fat will have been part of it!

New nips and lots of pain

And finally it is over! According to my surgeon, everything was a success. I can not judge because I am wrapped up tight and told under no circumstances can I peek for at least a week. We did discuss before hand that it would be necessary to cut pretty extensively in order to complete the revision surgery on the boobs. Again, I can not tel how large of a cut but I think I feel every inch and I am not enjoying the pain.

My friend Oxycodone came home with me again and as I type I am waiting for one to take effect.

Further updates will follow. For now, a nap.

“Brave” revisited

Since the beginning of this entire process, at least the beginning of telling other people what decision I had made regarding my health, the decision to voluntary have my breast removed in order to not become a cancer statistic, I have lost count of the amount of time I have been told how brave I am. It comes in different forms, brave, strong, how much people respect me, etc.

I find these comments to be as strange now as I have since the beginning. I posted a page called “Brave” in June and I am left with the same question today as I had then, is it brave to do the only thing really available to possibly prevent cancer and extend your time? I remember the day I got the call with the pathology report, “My holy shit day“, I was numb. That call was the reality staring me in the face of what would have been had I not had the surgery. The basic guarantee that within the next few years, a cancer patient.

In some ways I feel pressure, I have always been the strong one. Even when I worked, I was sent into situations that needed to be fixed. I was the one who dealt with the “problem” employees, implementing unpopular changes or the tough decisions. Honestly, I like to be in those positions. I like a challenge but this is different. There have been many days when I have felt like pure shit yet someone texts or sees you near the mail box and the last thing they expect to hear from me is the truth. I don’t mean that to sound bad, I mean it makes me feel good that people look at me this way, just sometimes I guess things are not always as they appear.

So, Brave? Running like hell away from something I saw running toward me? To me the only decision I had to make. But if my story can help someone, inspire someone well good! Take control!

Two more days until Newpples….

Took the girls to the salon today for back to school cuts. I think they enjoy it just a bit too much.