Tag: post mastectomy

Doctor’s and Kindergarten

SO I had my follow-up this morning.  Pretty uneventful visit actually.  He agreed that one boob was looking more north than the other but says it could take up to 3 months for healing and that they should align properly.  He also feels the nipples will shrink down to a normal size.  At the moment I feel like they arrive in a room at least a minute before I do.  He told me to make another follow-up in 6 weeks.  At that point if they are still uneven then he can make a small incision to lift the left boob.  He can also reduce the size of the questionable nipple.  I wanted more detail on what this would look like, in office?  Hospital?  He did not want to discuss it.  Says we need to give it time to heal and let my body do it’s thing.  If all works out we will not need to do anything.  We shall see.

I was cleared to shower…YEAH!  So much easier than washing my hair in the sink.  I am also allowed to start wearing a bra, no under wire.  We will discuss the bra on another post.

After the doctor I came home and picked up Madison for a big day!  Meet the teacher at the Kindergarten.  I was so proud of her!  She did great!  As we walked toward her building she told me to follow her.  She showed me how to follow the red foot prints to get to the right building.  They had a bus parked in the lot so the kids could go on and practice with the seat belts.  Then we went into her classroom.  She looked around and found her seat and sat so confidently.  My baby, what a big girl!  They had an opportunity to explore, listened to a story read by the teacher and met some other kids from the class.

I love that our district does this.  Really allows the kids to get comfortable with the process.  She told me that she wanted to be in bed early so she could be ready for school.  She was asleep by 8pm…love it!  I am the mother of a 3rd grader and a Kindergartener, where does the time go?

11 days post Newpples, 64 days post BPM

64 days wow!  In the months leading up to the mastectomy, there were points where I never thought the actual surgery day would come.  Now I look back and am amazed, it seems like forever ago.  So how am I feeling?

My abdomen has healed nicely.  I have a small lump which is probably scare tissue in the front which I will point out to the doctor tomorrow.  It is still tight in the area but it is a good tight.  I need to keep it that way!  The Surgeon has mentioned that I can have a scar revision done, I will have to think about that possibility.

The boobs are coming along.  I still have one ugly bruise on the left side that causes some minor pain. The incisions are healing. I have my first follow-up appointment with the plastic surgeon tomorrow.  The newpples are different sizes, one of which way too big.  When I spoke with his nurse last weeks she said not to worry.  They have to be big to allow for shrinking and anything that does not shrink can be taken care of in the office easily.  I still think one is higher than the other  but not as bad as it was since some of the swelling has gone down.  I guess it will just take more time to determine what the final appearance will be.

I have not been allowed to stand and take a “full” shower since the nipple reconstruction.  They did not want the steri strips around the newpples to get wet.  It has been a bit of a pain, washing in the shower with the hand-held then washing my hair in the kitchen sink.  I remember when I was a kid my mother would freak out if you even brushed your hair in the kitchen.  Good thing she is not around to see this!

Big day tomorrow.  After the doctor Madison and I will head to the Kindergarten for meet the teacher.  I am happy that the district does this.  Allows the kids to not only meet the teacher, but see where the classroom is and in which building.  Our Kindergarten is separated from any of the other schools and has 3 buildings.  They are color codes.   Tomorrow Madi will get a lanyard to wear on Thursday that will match a colored set of foot prints that shows which building to go to.  This visit helps to relieve some of the first day stress.

She is so excited Thursday is the big day!

Long day at soccer and I did not even play

The day started at 5:30 this morning…rise and shine!  We made it to the soccer tournament by 7:30. The field was what seemed like miles from the car.  We made to field six, set up the chairs when of course everyone had to go to the bathroom.

Back to the parking lot we go for the girls first ever visit to the port-o-potty.   That in itself was a production, “How do I lock the door?”, “Where is the sink?”, “What, we don’t flush?”.

Once everyone had completed their business, back to the field we hike.  The game had not even started and I was already exhausted.  I stated to rethink whether it had been a good idea for me to have gone to the game.

For the next hour I got to just sit and watch the game, which was wonderful with our girls winning 3-0.  Megan looked great out on the field and the girls were having fun.  My doubts about going were replaced with thoughts of pride.

Between games back to the bathroom, another long hike and a move to field four.

The second game was a little tougher.  This was the first time our girls had ever played together as a team, the first time ever playing on a large field, and the first time ever playing two games in one day, and it showed.  By the time the game started it was about 85-90 degrees and full sun.  By the end of the game the other team, who was very good was running circle around our hot, exhausted and about to drop girls.

Sometimes the best lessons are the hardest to learn.  Coach did a nice job picking them up at the end.  They are 8 years old and lots to learn.

All the way back to the car and in pain.  Thank goodness it was over because I had more than enough.  I was so happy I could make the game and will be there again tomorrow.  BUT I was thrilled when it was time to leave.

I dream for a pain free day and normalcy!