NOLA in September?
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Ok Min. And Sandy you know we LOVE to debate who is the best- McDreamy or McSteamy (aka my wizard)..lol...
My swelling is still going down and did I mention how much Dr S rocks ??? I wish I could have seen him when I wasn't falling asleep while talking. I kept trying to tell him Thank You but I would fall asleep in the middle of talking and knew I was doing it.
Ab ladies ? My stomach is flat looking but it has bumps in it. Does anyone else have this and will it go away. ??
After stage 2 there is no running until 4 weeks ?? I am ready to put my shoes on and go but I do not want to mess with my girls.0 -
Ladies, Thank you for being reassuring! I know I am just being silly... I have faith that things will be great.
Springtime~ thank you for adding me to the list! The day is coming much quicker than I had anticipated so now I am running around like a crazy person trying to get things done. I have to go take my son to my mother in Oklahoma this weekend, and i'm just praying that the tests the center said I had to get done make it to them in time!
MauiCarol~ Good luck with your surgery. I will be sending you positive thoughts
Mari
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polamom - if you would like to be added to the listing above, pls let me know a few more specifics, see above for examples of info provided. Good Luck! Check back in!Remember this - You are in the BEST OF HANDS. (in the world!)
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So got an email from Stacy, waiting for OK from insurance and she'll call with a date..... The insurance from diagnosis to now has been a big PITA, so now of course I'm nervous and anxious all over again!
Good luck to those of you ladies getting ready to have surgery!! The center is beautiful, everyone there is absolutely amazing!!!!
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Best wishes on your stage 2 Mauicarol! Tell Dr D I said hello!
Marcia
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Hey, you guys, I have been totally controlled in not responding to several posts saying Dr. S is the best... But I finally cracked. I'll take Magic Man anytime!
Sandy - I don't really think these guys know we're coming until we show up in their office... So we'll see if he thinks you're nuts right at that moment!
Good luck Mauicarol!!!!!!!!
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I'd love to hear this debate on why one Dr is better than the other? I'm sure it's all in fun, but for new people I hope they don't take it serious.
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They are both great, you can't go wrong with either, and they work together, and with Dr. T. It's the dream team. It's just that Dr. D. has cooler shoes. (giggles!) :-)
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AGH!!! I've hesitated even asking this here but I'm getting down to the wire in making my decision. We all have different insurance coverage, and have all types of financial ability (or lack there of!). But, have any of you been asked to pay tens of thousands to have the doctors perform free flap surgery in NOLA? That's where I am right now. I could pull money out of retirement accounts to pay but DAMN! Is this what you guys are doing? They are asking for my family's financials and for me to tell them what I am willing to pay. How do you say - well doc, I'll pay you a thousand (instead of 23K) but let's make sure you do a good job okay?
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I haven't seen a bill yet from mine so I'll be anxious to hear what others say. I did fill out the financial form, but I was laid off right before I went so I don't have much income.
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Thank you Minnestota, Marcia, Mariposa, Springtime & Polamom, Soccermom4force & everyone for the well wishes (& prayers too). Marcia, will Dr. D know who Marcia is if I tell him you said hi? Is there any special message for him to remind him which Marcia you are?
I saw Dr. D today & he marked me up ALL over with his blue marker. When I asked him how bad the post-op pain would be after stage 2, he assured me that it wouldn't be too bad. The good news is that he is going to turn my DD's to full C's! Yahoo! He doesn't expect to use drains this time but if he does, he figures it would only be for a day or so. He said that I will be wearing a compression garment for about two weeks. I hope it doesn't end up being longer than that
because it sure sounds miserable especially in SW FL where it is HOT until November. I am whining already!I arrived at the Hope Lodge a few minutes ago. The limo driver said that there are two places to eat within walking distance. One is Picadilly Cafeteria (he says it is very good) and the other place is DOT's.
As far as sight-seeing in NOLA, I found that the farther you go away from Bourbon Street (closer you get to the river)off of Canal Street, the nicer & more family friendly the areas are. My husband & I (what does DH stand for anyway?) went to a beautiful park at Jackson Square. The weather is beautiful today. I'll let y'all know how it went tomorrow
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Picadilly's is good, we liked it anyway!
Also Jackson Square is beautiful isn't it? Right by there is Cafe De Monde, it's so good! 0 -
Journey, I definitely negotiated (if that is the right term!) regarding my out of pocket payment. My understanding of the process is they try to get their best estimate on what your particular insurance will pay, then figure your out of pocket based on that. It kind of sounded to me like they have a target total they are aiming for-insurance payment, plus patient payment. BUT, as they say, they will "work with you" on what you are able to pay. That is pretty darn hard to determine I thought, but they accepted my amount without hesitation. I don't know if they tell some women what they offer is not enough--I've not heard of that. I definitely got the feeling that they try really hard to make it possible for anyone (unless your insurance just won't pay anything).
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Dragonfly, Yes, Jackson square is beautiful! Reminds me of Savannah. I saw the Cafe du Monde, will probably go there on Sunday. Dr D said that I am supposed to walk to speed up the healing so....:)
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I hope it's cooler for you than when we were there
Where are you staying again?0 -
Ok ladies, in a major panic here!!! The fluid in my drains has been a yellowish (barely red) color for the last couple weeks. Tuesday was week 3 since my DIEP, there is no smell, no pain, no fever, nothing! I told the nurse at NOLA once about the color when she called to check on me, but she just said to keep an eye on it. I was talking to another lady I met there and she seems to think I should be more concerned and calling the center.... Now I'm scared, it's late, what do I do?
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Dragonfly - yellow is good. They start out red, then turn lighter red/orange, then amber/yellow. If there is no smell, no pain, no fever, no redness at the exit site, you are totally fine. Honestly.
Well, my friend here that was trying to go to Nola has given up trying to fight our insurance. They insisted on her getting a reconstructive consult here first, but she doesn't even have the $400 that the local PS would charge to try and work it out. I feel terrible for her. I think they were playing with her so that she could not get it done this calendar year, because next year they change our insurance. It has gotten progressively worse year after year. It will get even worse when the new insurance laws kick in and they have to start paying penalties for those who are insured through them. I know we needed health care reform, but honestly, alot of the changes are not beneficial for the majority of us - including increasing the amount that you have to spend on health care to write it off (up to 10% instead of the 7% that it has been). Okay, sorry, off on a tangent... But I really wanted this to work for her as I think all women deserve to have reconstruction - and it is the law. I still can't believe she let them win - but it was too stressful to her and she just doesn't have to cash to run around having 2nd, 3rd, 4th and however many opinions they may have made her have.
On another note.... I think I have sufficiently carb loaded in the last 2 weeks to supply me with energy for the next month... LOL...
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Thanks Nordy, so relieved to hear that. I honestly wasn't concerned at all til my sweet friend got me freaked out
I'm so sorry about the insurance issues, that is horrific to think about what they can get away with. What company does she have? Does the surgeon in her area do DIEP/SGAP or anything?
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All of the docs there are the best!!!!!!
MauiCarol - Royal Street is a beautiful street to walk - from one end to the other. It parallels Bourbon on the "family friendly" side - it's the block in between Bourbon and the street that runs past the front of St. Louis Cathedral. Also, the Aquarium is great - on the river - down near where the paddleboats dock. "DH" is "dear husband"!
Say hi to Dr. D. from all of us gals on bc.org! And tell Dierdre (the black nurse in pre-op with very short hair) hi, also, and that we all think she's a riot! She is so great at getting you laughing and not worrying about surgery!
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Oh, and if you tell Dr. D that Marcia is the one who used to be a Playboy bunny, he might know who you mean! LOL!!!!!!!! And then there's another gal who has the most expensive breasts, per ounce, in the world!
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Mauicarol, I signed on too late to send you wishes for tomorrow, but know that I'm thinking about you. Hopefully you'll be checking in with us very soon.
Nordy, so sorry your friend is giving up on the insurance battle. I don't recall if I have mentioned it here or not, but my team of ladies out here in the L.A. area decided that we'll approach helping women with breast reconstruction from a different angle than that of My Hope Chest, so we are forming our own non-profit and will begin working with women in L.A. County. We have an ideal situation here because we have no fewer than three plastic surgeons and my own surgical oncologist offering to to pro-bono surgeries (including DIEP and GAP!!) at a local county hospital, which is free to uninsured underprivileged patients. We don't even have to do any fundraising to get women into surgery....we are so excited! The name of our organization is 2Brestored, and the 2B symbolizes "two breasts". I've changed my avatar to our logo and we are working on the legal filings, etc. We've received a donation of a few hundred pair of pink slippers from a top shoe designer and I'll be selling them on my web sites to raise some funds, plus donating a percentage of our sales...this is something I have wanted to do for quite some time and am very happy about.
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Yes I'd like to be added to the list.
Oct 13 Polamom - Unilateral Stacked DIEP Stage 1 Dr D, Hope Lodge
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Dgragonfly, I had yellow at the end too & it was a good thing. Last night we stayed at the Hope Lodge. Tonight at the hospital and the next two nights at Doubletree. My DH (thats for the deffinition
got us an amazing rate thru Priceline. So while there Iwill check out Royal Street, Minnesota. & I be be sure to tell Dr D hi from you and can't wait to hear about the "Bunny" thing & the expensive breasts lol! Thank you too Sandyinparadise. Here I go......0 -
Hello Everyone,
I am finally back home in beautiful East Tennessee. Went in on last Tuesday for bilateral stack with Dr. D. It has been an incredible journey. The staff at the Center and Surgical Center were just amazing. Waking up from 11 hours and having an angel named Holly at my bedside was a blessing. Spent 5 nights at the hospital before heading to Hampton Inn on St. Charles. New Orleans was just beautiful this time of the year.
I am now down to 3 drains. Yeah!!! The compression garment leaves a lot to be desired but without it my back seems really weak. My drain on the breast that has always been painful. 1st with cancer then with the implant from hell is barely draining and the color is still the deepest shade of red. Anyone ever have a drain that never cleared or lightened in color? I am very optimistic about my outcome. My breast have not been hurting the way they did with the implants.
I have thought of you all everyday and sending my prayers your way. Now I have to prepare my myself mentally for Stage 2. WoW!!
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Sandy~ I think what you are doing is great!!! There really needs to be more help out there for women with no insurance. Please post your website link when ever you can.
Mari
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Melinda~ I'm happy to hear you had a good experience and that everything is going well!!
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Melinda, you sound great. Congrats on your new girls!
Mari, building a site is going to be a project I'll probably work on while recovering after my upcoming revision and then of course, I will link to it here. My business slows down during the last quarter of the year, so I'll have some time to breathe and work on something other than work! The exciting thing about the way this developed is that it could be done in any area which has a county-funded hospital and a willing doctor or two, with no fundraising necessary to get going. One surgeon stated that he is willing to do up to 10-12 cases per year, and I haven't even spoken to the other two yet.
Wow, Minn, my claim to fame will go unnoticed. Unless I no longer hold the record...do I?
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Sandy~ I think that it is just amazing that you are able to put something like that together. I pray all goes well and maybe down the line you guys are able to expand and help even more people!
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Sandy - Well, whatever do you mean? Hmmm. Would that be "Nip Girl"? Now what if I were to tell you that I can pass the "Bead Test"?
BTW, LOVE your logo!!!!!
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Melinda~ I adore Holly
She has been one of my night nurses every time and I just think she is fabulous. I am glad you are doing well. Dragonfly~ The color change is good it meant to me that it was slowing down.
Minn.~ I am sending you a message ?
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