Exchange City
Comments
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Thanks, all! Trying to stay positive!!!
Of course I slept great last night and am feeling better today. Ugh.
Having a fight in my head right now...
"Should I call and tell them I'm much better?"
"You KNOW you're not 100%!!"
"Well, what percent is good enough? 80?? It's not like I'll ever be 100% while I can't sleep because of these BRICKS!!!"
"Stop being a baby. Tons of people are going through much worse than this!"
"You're right." Pout.
"I'm always right."
Hey! At least I'm not lonely!!!! Lol!!0 -
Dulci- you made me giggle. You can't be lonely when you have all those voices talking at once! Sometimes it's hard to ALWAYS be right! Haha
On a different note, I was getting dressed for work today put on a shirt that I haven't worn since before exchange and damn if the girls don't look great in it! I was pleasantly surprised. Maybe losing inches right now is better than the weight because they are straight out today! Really kinda liking it!
Good luck to all having surgeries or dr appts!
Hugs!0 -
I am so aware when people go out sick now and are so inconsiderate of other people. I work in retail and I would not come to work if I was really sick and infect my fellow workers and customers. I also get upset when a customer is shopping sick. I mean really you can wait to buy a bra so your not coughing in my face when I measure you.
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Annmarie the Botox goes in the pecs, numbs them so I don't feel any spasms. I had a terrible time with the TEs.
Dulci that conversation with yourself was hilarious. I'm always right too! Lol0 -
:-)
I'm alternating between knowing it's best to wait and feeling like the kid who only had ONE thing on her Christmas wish list.....and opened the box to find a pair of orange knee socks.
I really, really wanted my new boobies.
Pity party....table for one!!!0 -
Dulci - Bwahahahahah (that's for your last few posts!) At least your fabulous sense of humor is in tact.
Seriously, I'm sorry you won't be getting the twins this week...did your doc say when he could reschedule or TBD?
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Dulci- orange knee socks- I'd rock them like I try to rock everything else! Pity party table for one? Never where one is we all are there! Haven't you learned that by now?! Still holding out for a cancellation this week. Maybe one of his/her just a boob job will get sick. Shouldn't we take priority over those just a boob jobs anyway?! They just want bigger ones we want new ones. Is this being supportive????? Love ya girl!
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Thanks, Chris and Grier!! I may just have to wear orange knee socks to E-Day whenever I'm rescheduled.
No idea yet, and I'm not sure when to call them. I truly am feeling pretty good other than some occasional stuffy nose moments. But I've always been able to breathe out of one side or the other....aaaaaaahhhhhhh....the voices are fighting again!! ;-)
On the plus side I just talked to Francesco at Marena and they are overnight shipping the correct size compression bra to replace the wrong size one that came the first time. He was great, apologized for the error, and no charge for the overnight shipping. I like to give credit where it's due! They goofed and they're fixing it....yay, Marena!!!!!0 -
Hey, orange is my favorite color!
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My brother has a company that sells shoe covers and I took 10 pair of pink ones and all of the nurses, BS and PS at my BX and exchange wore them during surgery. I loved it that grown, caring, men and women were walking around with pink shoe covers instead of the usual green. It was a small thing to do but to me at the time it was huge.
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I am the anti-pink. Always hated it and hate it more now. Although I agree it was a very nice gesture on their part.
Here's my thing...diabetics don't wear ribbons, there's no heart disease ribbon, or lung cancer or pancreatic or whatever. So why is it that we all have the pink ribbons shoved down our throats. A badge announcing my health to the world and membership to club I never wanted to be in. No thank you.
Ok putting soap box away...sorry...0 -
Hey CindyLooWho....I can't speak to diabetes or heart disease (except that I think heart disease color in general is red), there are ribbon colors for many different cancers. I was given a 'Survivor' pink ribbon pin that came from choosehope.com. Shortly after that I had a friend who had a cancerous growth removed from her thyroid. Lo and behold, the ribbon colors for thyroid cancer are teal/pink/blue, so I got her one. She teared right up when I gave it to her.
I totally understand and respect your point of view and feelings about pink, but I personally was really happy to find the thyroid cancer ribbon pin to give to my friend. She was very touched.
I guess just like everything else on this journey, every single one of us has our own way of looking at and dealing with every single aspect of just about everything to do with this nasty thing called breast cancer.
Love you all and hang in there no matter what point of the journey you're at right now. This too shall pass!
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Cindy- I used to LOVE pink...now it gags me...I was dx in October
every flipping time I was out and about, letting the bc drift out of the forefront of my mind, there was a stupid pink ribbon or some other breast cancer crap there to remind me barf barf barf. Hate October now! And hate those damned pink ribbons even more!
Obxgrl- yes, since you don't loathe pink and it meant something positive to you, that was a very kind gesture on their part....happy for you..I wish that I felt differently :-/0 -
Mericat I think part of my issue is that WE are EXPECTED to share something VERY personal. I have friends that embrace the pink and I respect their right to do so, but I want the same in return. I do not wish to wear a badge to announce that my boobs are fake.
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Oh noooooo Dulci! So sorry you've had to delay your op. is it just going to be delayed for a week or two or is there a bit of a waiting list?
5 days post op and my new boobs seem to be filling my support bra out a bit more but I've developed a lot of pain down one side. Got to go back into hospital tomorrow to check out what's going on!
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As of right now my status is "cancelled" but Tina (surgical coordinator) may call me today (I hope!) or tomorrow (the agony!!) to let me know when the next opening is.
So cross your fingers, toes, TE's, ....whatever ya got!!
Jk!
I'm praying that she'll find an opening soon. Things are always very booked between them and the hospital.
Now back to my originally scheduled goal of losing 10 pounds prior to exchange.....0 -
Dulcigirl- oh no! Hopefully, you'll be scheduled ASAP! And get it done and over with!
Cindy- I think you're right...I'm a very private person by nature and feel that it's 'my tell' no one else's and I shouldn't feel compelled to do so to complete strangers unless I want to on my own volition. I can't remember being much more horrified that the pharmacy tech whom I don't know, asked me 'how do you feel' and I had never mentioned it ....0 -
Omg Mericat that would horrify me too. I have been on std since October. I work from home but my peeps have told me that one of our coworkers has it made it her life's work to find out why I'm out. Wtf! We are not even friends. I cannot wait to see what she says when I log back in on friday. I'm saving up the snappy comebacks.
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Sadly, it seems that many people don't really give a rats behind- they just want to be able to gossip or be "in the know"
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Well....... Both my surgerys, BX and Exchange were at a Womens's Breast Cancer Center in Chapel Hill, NC. So I think it was pretty obvious why I was there. By the way, I don't have another single thing pink..clothes, pins,or ribbons. My brother, who lives 600 miles away, was only making a kind gesture because he didn't know what else to do for me during that horrible time, September '12.
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OBX - I love the pink shoe covers!!!! I understand why some are sensitive to the "pink" but it really is meant as a sign of support. Susan G Komen for all of its failings has done so much to help those with BC. I really don't understand the outrage. If you don't want to wear pink, don't. Its always been a favorite of mine and will continue to be.
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Jamie....thanks! I've never worn pink...more of a blue person. But like you, I am thankful that BC is no longer whispered about, as it was in my grandmother's time.....and for celebrating pink .
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THIS October (immediately following diagnosis and then having the BMX mid Oct) pink was making me sick...I wanted to be able to "get away" from cancer and it was everywhere.
But I look good in pink. I have some favorite pink clothes. I will wear them whenever I want. (Please note the hot pink heels I bought right after diagnosis....I bought them to wear while sitting in the recliner in my button front jammies to remind me there will be FUN after boobs and I am still hot, etc. lol)
Will I wear the pink shoelaces with "the ribbon" all over them that my mom sent? Probably not.
My mom (25 year survivor) proudly wears pink EVERY DAY during October. That's her thing and it makes her proud. I'm knitting her a pink scarf so she has a new accessory for next year. I'm proud of her and she's proud of living life every month of the year.
I love the pink shoe covers. I love that another patient of my PS' sewed little pink bags with the ribbon embroidered on them and the words "pink hugs" on the straps. She donates them to the office and then each patient gets one to carry her saline bags back and forth between fills. It was such a kind gesture. Plus I felt like it let people know I wasn't just there cosmetically....know what I mean???? ;-)
Obx....that's awesome that your brother wanted to chear you up and kind of "be there" with you in that way. I DID wear the little socks with pink ribbons my mom sent when I left the hospital.
Next October I'll have to decide. To pink, or not to pink. That is the question. :-) Maybe I'll get some skinny jeans to go with my heels and wear them every day.....and some different colored tops to go over some super sexy Freyas......0 -
DULCIGIRL....... You "ROCK" those hot heels. If my legs and ankles weren't redwood tree stumps....I would march right out and buy a pair myself!!
Hope you are on the mend and you get the call today from your PS with a date.0 -
Lol. They were the first time in my life that I ever bought a pair of ridiculous, unnecessary, completely-without-a-planned event shoes. I suddenly realized that life was short and I had boring shoes!!!!!
I plan to wear them to celebrate the final product....hopefully late this summer, but we'll see!0 -
There are so many threads here with the "I HATE PINK!" theme, and I admit, I've posted in most of them. The majority of my rants have to do with pinkwashing, and the greedy vendors that think they can make tons of money off all of us by simply featuring a pink ribbon on a cheesy product.
HOWEVER, I also have to think back to the time when I didn't have breast cancer. Boy, was I stupid. I would hear of someone being diagnosed with BC, and I would do my standard "Oh-I'm-so-sorry-call-me-if-you-need-anything" response, and that would be it. I was totally clueless.
So when I was dx'd, and several family and friends gave me pink-ribboned themed gifts around the time of my BMX, I had to remind myself that these are the people that love me and care about me and want me to know they are thinking about me, often in the only way they know how.
Seriously, if they've never had BC, how would they know the complex and often painful emotions these "symbols" bring up in us?
Me? I've always been a total pink person. Light pink, hot pink, you name it. I look great in it. But after my first "Komen Race For The Cure" I admit I had a whole new perspective.
My DH has a huge, honkin, macho, diesel, four-wheel drive truck with a pink ribbon decal on the back. He is my biggest supporter and cheerleader.
My other newest favorite pink accessory is my FREE Lymphedema bracelet, announcing to the world "No Needle Sticks, No Blood Pressure Cuffs", to wear on my left arm.
In fact, when I found out that Kaiser had nothing like that for me at my Exchange surgery, I got the o.k. to wear it with my other plastic bands. Apparently, they just expect patients to have the presence of mind (and the brain cells) to remind every nurse about LE precautions.
I got it here: http://www.reidsleeve.com/alertband.htm
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Good reminder, Blessings!
In my complete paranoia (because I had a nurse assistant start to take my bp on my bad arm the night of my BMX despite the tag on the IV and the sign on the wall) I splurged and ordered this:
http://www.tlcdirect.org/Lymphedema-Alert-Sleeve.html
It wasn't free. Had I known I'd have more time before exchange I might have made my own. But it is soft and loose fitting and very noticeable. Lol. If they don't let me wear it for this surgery I will save it for dr appointments, etc. and I'll write on my arm with a glow in the dark marker.0 -
BLESSINGS....you hit the nail on the head. The people who love us, who are there through thick and thin....want to help and they are sincere in their love and support, however they show it. Did the month of October hurt? You bet it did, down to my fat toes. But I just kept reminding myself that awareness is the reason I had mammograms, the reason some of us have no chemo, and the reason there are so many survivors here with us today. I might just have to purchase a Freya in Pink soon.:)
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I agree with so many of the posts, that "to pink or not to pink" is a personal decision. I am not offended by the connection between pink and BC, but I choose not to wear it as a badge of honor. BC was not something I personally achieved; BC was a diagnosis that I suffered from.
When I used the purple bag given to my by Kaiser at my initial BC consultation for something else, I will admit that when a stranger came up to me and asked if I had BC I was a bit taken back. She said she recognized the bag. I didn't fault her for that, but when I got home I threw it away. (I am in the recycling business, and try to reuse or repurpose all sorts of things, and since it wasn't pink I thought no one would notice). I am relieved that my cancer has hopefully been eradicated, but don't feel the need to be a walking billboard as a survivor. If I had personally done something that made me cancer free, I might feel different. But I just followed the advice of doctors familiar with my case, so maybe they should be the ones plastered in pink.
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I personally don't wear anything with a ribbon on it, so I don't think wearing pink necessarily marks me as a survivor. Even some who wear the be-ribboned stuff are just showing support, not actually survivors themselves. Of course everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I just don't understand when some (not on this thread) become so outraged. Wear what you want, when you want. Rock those hot pink heels like Dulcigirl if you want. Or don't. If all the "pinking" helps save someone, it was worth it. Just my humble opinion.
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