Sunday, October 30, 2011

D Day or Should I say De-B Day Is Upon Me!

A few of you astute readers may have recognized that I have been conspicuous by my absence!?! I thought I could do it all: have breast cancer, go through chemo, work as much as my body lets me, deal with complications from chemo (i.e. infection), run this blog, and have a life. Sheesh! What's a girl to do, I ask you? I apparently dropped more than a few balls
while juggling and one of them involved making timely posts to whet your appetite for good, wholesome, Southern, LC vittles. My apologies!

For both of you who stuck with me and continued to read here, I wanted to let you know I am having surgery Tuesday, November 1. Yes, both Ginger and Maryann have been voted off Survivor Island and have their bags packed. It was a unanimous vote by the tribe and they were informed to never return and to take their creepy little cancer bugs with them when they left. So there ya have it.

On Tuesday I will replace the girls with mannequin bumps. That is - the plastic surgeon will place a cadaver muscle into the wall of Ginger (I think it's only Ginger who will get this) and place expanders or deflated balloons into my chest where the cancer and girls used to live while on the Island. Then each week for the next four to six weeks, while we wait for healing and radiation, I will receive a "fill" of saline to expand the balloons. The maximum size of each balloon is 800ml. Think that a large IV is 1000ml, so the maximum size is about 20% smaller than that a large bag of IV fluid.

Relax. Are you nuts? I'm not going for large here. My triple-D days are over. I want to be able to play golf when I'm done, and the piano. I have endured a serious handicap with the triple-D Bobsey Twins over the course of my life and have the permanent stoop and chronic backache to proove it! Hello Betty and her little friend! Cuz the new ones are gonna be Size A or Bs at the most!

But as my doc explained it doesn't really work that way. First we get rid of the cancer and whatever that entails - taking as much tissue and skin necessary to accomplish that feat. Then I heal. Then we evaluate what was left behind and see what we can work with. We can only inflate the expanders so much each week and since we're on a time frame with the radiation, we will only have so much time to expand the skin. See expanders make the skin grow to accomodate them. And an irradiate breast cannot be expanded any further. So it's a race to the finish!

So that's it. The next step. I don't know too much from that other than I may be able to get back online in a week or two to post an update. I am thinking seriously of posting the befores, durings and afters. I was informed by the WPP (Witless Protection Program), that I'm allowed to post body parts as long as I don't post any RECOGNIZABLE body parts. Whatever the hell that means? So for those of you out there who have seen me topless on the beach and recognize me by my boobs, you better keep it to yourselves - you little snitches.

Wish me luck and for God's sake, say prayers! Please pray like you've never prayed before - that God give my surgeons skillful and quick hands to immediately dispatch this terrible disease from my body and to give me the opportunity to recover quickly without complication and with minimal inconvenience to my lovely assistants: Denny, Cakki, and Nannie and whomever else I end up imposing upon. Tallyho! And TAWANDA!

6 comments:

  1. Sorry you have to go through this! I went through this with my sister, so I understand what you are dealing with. Praying for you right now. I hope all goes very well for you.

    God bless,Ginny

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  2. I will lift you up in my prayer journal!

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  3. I am praying for you. I am so very sorry. :( I know too many wonderful people going through the same thing. I don't understand it.

    You have such an amazing attitude and make people around you smile. I do admire that. I pray all goes well with everything. You really deserve it. Get better soon and smile because people care about you and, of course, God does.

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  4. I have been checking in and thinking of you. I hope all goes well and i will pray for you. Best of luck may God be with you.

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  5. Sending you many heartfelt blessing my friend.

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  6. Followed you hear from low-carb friends for recipes. Sorry to hear that you have been ill and facing cancer. I hope that being connected to others and being able to talk about it here will help you as you go toward recovery. Praying for the best!

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