Moving On......After the Flap
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Jeannie, I can hear the happiness in your voice. Hope you have a wonderful time on your get away.
Happy healing and thoughts to everyone! I don't think those plane tickets are coming down in price. Argggg!
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Hi ladies...am back from my crazy vacation in So Cal.......DD was so busy getting ready to leave for Mammoth, I don't think I was ever home for more than 2 hours at a time....we were driving all over, (she was) getting waxed, eyelashes dyed, hair cut and color touched up......I am exhausted!
Morning Sun....SOOOOOO happy about your good news......Yay!
And here are a few photos from our trip out to Mammoth/Yosemite........
Some sort of Iris....there were literally fields of these.....Nihahi/Jeannie?
AND a whole lotta sheep.......
and lastly......the back side of Half Dome.....(You have to look for it!)
I am meeting with Hospice for my mom tomorrow......will have a better idea of what direction we will be going after that......I just know I can't do this much longer.....I am thoroughly too pooped to poop........
Love you all! XO
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movie....just wonderful to hear from you. I hope hospice is able to give you some relief soon, so that your energies can be just being a daughter with mom, and not exhausting yourself as a caregiver.
The photos are LOVELY......is that sunshine I keep seeing???? Definitely irises, but, I've never seen wild iris, so have no other info. Beautiful to see though.
Glad your home safe, now it's time to a deep breath and some help.
Love you.
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Love you, too, Nihahi.......XO
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Nihahi, good guess, the staple was accidentally left behind. They staple the sterile drapes to the skin because of all the position changes in surgery. My PS blushed and apologized a lot when he pulled it out...but no big deal. I've done worse to my finger with the staple machine at work.
Our first stop today was to the dermatologist, who removed a basal cell spot from DH's back, and wrote him a script for skin-chemo, which eats away little cancer spots on his face. The tube of cream was red and black. Then we went to my PS, who pulled my drain (and a little staple), told me my swollen hoo-ha would be fine, and wrote me a script for a steroid cream to put on the flaming skin of my abdomen. The tube of cream was red and black. Do I need to tell you what we rubbed all over my abdomen?
Oh, my. Fortunately we figured it out within the hour and did the keystone-cops thing into the shower, where I de-chemo'ed my skin.
Jeannie, ENJOY your getaway! Boy, do you both deserve one! We'll miss you but love the fact that you're on vacay. Ewww is all I can say about having to wear the binder 24/7, including showers. This medieval thing I'm wearing would take a week to dry, and wearing it like that? No way!
Movie, love the pics. We used to see wild iris all over Colorado. And that's a LOT of sheep!
For those of us who have had fat grafting to shape the girls, has it lasted? I'm so hoping I get to keep this lovely shape!
Happy dreams, everyone.
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Morningsun, so happy for you. That relief feels so great . . .
Movie, so glad you will be getting help with Mom. Caregiving is very exhausting, and you need a break. I saw what it did to my mom when she took care of Dad (Alzheimers) for years. Not good.
Sbe, glad you are so happy with the girls, and hope they stay that way.
Jeannie, relax, breathe and enjoy your getaway!
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Good Morning! I'm loving all the happy news -
Morningsun - Yahoooooooo! Excellent path report.
Sbe - It's been a long crazy rodeo (your expression, which I've adopted) and you love your new girls! It doesn't get much better than that, does it! I'm so happy for you.
Jeannie - Fabulous that you and Tom are getting away. You certainly deserve it. Such a sweet time in your life with your new tattoos, and a new job to come home to. Have a wonderful time.
Movie & Nihahi - Gorgeous photos. How nice for us to see the things that you see.
Have a beautiful day everyone.
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Have to share my pictures too. Beautiful Lake Michigan, 5 miles from our camp.
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Movie-I have dealt with hospice 3 different times and it was a good experience every time. They will take great care of your mom and be helpful to you too.
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Cherrie, your photos are beautiful! Looks so serene and peaceful, and love that sandy beach.
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Movie, hope things go well with hospice. Sounds like you need a vacation from your vacation. Jeannie, hope you are having a great get-away. Sbe, I'm hoping my fat grafting from 05/23 stays, too. It's doing well so far. My PS said he thought it would, today when I saw him. I am losing a little of the areola. No big deal. He said I could lose the binder!
Cherrie, lake Michigan is a beautiful place! Love the pics.
I found a ticket for $398. First one under $400. It comes in to Portland at 6:53 PM on 09/19 and departs at 10:04 AM from Portland on 09/22. I'm not sure how far Portland is from our destination. Are those good times for a ride? Just don't want to mess this up!
Love to you all! ...Julie
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Thanks for all the support, flappers. I love you all. Most of my friends and family don't know about my recent FBC scare. I only told my dh and two other friends who I happened to bump into. Great uplifting pictures, movie and cherrie, and nihahi. Love your dressing for wedding and cream story, sbe. Enjoy your GETAWAY, jeannie. liefie, what language is that you sometimes use on fb?
Julie, Portland is the airport movie suggests that we flyers use. nihahi, are you flying in and out of Portland? If so, what is your arrival (to Portland) and departure (from Portland) time? We can try to book ours as close to yours as we can.
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Oh, my, I haven't even begun to look for flights yet. I better get busy. Cherrie, I love, love, love Lake Michigan. I think our next Reunion ought to be on the lake in Michigan somewhere.
sbe, you had me cracking up with the Keystone Cops thing. I have this picture of you running around naked running into each other...too funny!!
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Woooooooohooooooooo!!!!! Jeannie and Tom!!! I'm jumping up and down, so excited! And a much deserved vacation before starting, too! I am so happy for you.
Morning Sun....so glad the biopsy was negative. What a relief.
I'm a huge hugger and I plan on having my arms around someone all weekend when we're together lol!
So exciting to hear about all the nipple work going on here. I am waiting until October....just not anywhere near the top of the priority list until then.
So, thing 1 has been graduated and is off to work at summer camp. His open house is the 21st, so that's still looming.
Mom and Dad are hanging in there.....still planning on surgery in Mexico on the 30th. I leave for Mexico on the 28th.
I have been physically degrading for weeks and finally gave in and had my thyroid checked yesterday. Yup. Tanked. Again. Sigh. At least I know what it is. Will get my med adjusted this week. Then a few weeks to get it built up in my system and I'll be right as rain again, I hope. No wonder I've been so exhausted. Really bad timing.
Good news is today is my three year survivor day
DH took me and Thing 2 to dinner to celebrate survivorship for all of us. Here's my three year selfie. Ok apparently it's above my typing.
Love everyone's pictures....so beautiful....especially partial to Cherrie's Lake Michigan pics, of course
Good night, friends. So full of gratitude for each of you tonight. I am blessed.
Love,
B
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Bailey, happy anniversary. You have so much to celebrate.
So I went to yoga, the first time back since treatment started a year and a half ago. I'm still rather tight in the tummy and other areas, but at the end when you are just laying there meditating, tears were running down my cheeks. I was so overcome with gratitude for having come out on the other side of this journey a whole woman, ready to begin taking on the world. Towanda!! Love you ladies!
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Hugs, bailey....Love the 3 year photo!!! Hope you start feeling perkier again soon.
cherrie...those are lovely photos of Lake Michigan...Is that where you spend your summers?
jlbloom.....That amount is what my ticket cost....I added on cancellation insurance, just as a precaution.... I was too nervous to wait any longer to buy, since I wanted to make the times convenient for my sister and the "good times" were rapidly disappearing.
morningsun....I'm flying in and out of Seattle. I have a sister there, so I'm combining the W3 weekend with a visit with her. Hoping to get a ride to and from with jeannie and cherrie. I'm not positive, but I think it's at least an hour drive from Portland to Mt. Hood.
sbe....I think almost all my fat grafting has stuck around. I'm going to have one more session, since my PS has to do the lipo thing on my other thigh to even things out, so he's going to try to regain the small amount that disappeared. I would be very happy with what I gained, if that was the last of it.
ok...weird question for you all. Ever since the "reaction rash" on my flap, post nip recon....I keep getting rashes that look like a heat rash on that breast, almost always including the nip area....everytime I wear anything other than a very, very loose camisole top. The rash stops at the football scar, never appears on the "native" breast....any ideas????
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Ok, I have my ticket! I'm flying Frontier airlines from IND to DEN to PDX, arriving at 6:53 PM on September 19, 2014! Now I can really start to get excited. Bailey, congratulations! Wow, you sure have a lot going on. Hope you are back to full strength very soon.
Love you all. ...Julie
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100 days until the gathering!!!!!!!!
way to go julie..!
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bosum... Good luck tomorrow! Just want to say again that I had the reduction on good side and love that! Had the small implant on my DEIP side last November. So far, I am very happy with the outcome from that. I am very symetrical(except my nipple..uggg). There is a little tightness, but I'm not sure it is from the implant . It is nothing like how the implant I already had felt.
I'm jealous of you all getting together for a gathering! My DD gets married in Chicago on September 20.
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BosomBlues - thanks for all your posts - very helpful as we travel this path! I wanted to give you my $0.02 on BRAVA. I used it for one month before each of my first 5 procedures with Dr. Khouri. It was not fun but I managed fine. Some women had much worse experiences, but for many of us, it is a temporary (albeit major) inconvenience. PM me if you want to discuss details - happy to share my experience.
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We're baaaaack. We had a great time on our short getaway. We went to an inn/spa and it was lovely. Great food, great walks, beautiful scenery and lovely weather. We left the TV off and took no calls. I wish we could have stayed longer! We came home to the news that DH won't be able to start work until the 30th and my parents are not doing well. It's too bad DH won't get a paycheck until mid-July but at least we can spend more time together. My dad is horribly depressed and won't eat. He has to be dragged out of the apt. It's too hard for him to walk to the dining room. Yesterday they said "we want to move back! We feel so isolated!" My brother is with them every day but their loss of independence (NO driving) is hard to deal with. My mom is so stressed that she is losing things like her driver's license and credit card.I get it and wish I were there to help out. I hope my dad hangs in there but I don't think his will to live is very strong at this point.
On to happier things! Sbel, your story about the creams was hysterical and freaky, too. I can't imagine moving very fast with drains and incisions. Hope you are healing well from surgery and THAT, too. Sorry about DH's skin. We all have to be careful with every skin spot "at our age."
Zenful, that cathartic cry sounds just right. I want one of those cries! You have been through so much and come out the other side so beautifully. Your pictures on the forum are fantastic!
Bailey, you are beautiful! I look forward to a mutual hug. I hope your thyroid med adjustment works speedily----you have so much going on!! Congrats to Thing 1 and so happy for you and your three years out. You had an especially tough hike through it all and your faith and spunk are still intact. Rock on! Towanda!
Julie, yay for tickets! Nihahi, I am still planning on offering a ride to you, Cherrie and Liefie, too. My car is comfy and seats five, but four is just right for a long ride. If we manage to avoid rush hour in Seattle and Portland it should take four and a half hours or so driving plus any pit stops we make.The train does sound appealing! Riding with me won't cost you anything, though, and getting to and from the train is a detail I can't wrap my head around. I bet the ride will go fast with a lot of chatting. It would probably be best for my lymphie arms to have a little break driving now and then....
I think Michigan sounds lovely for our next trip, especially if it is before my SIL graduates from dental school at U of M in 2016! I would love to sneak in a visit with them.
Deb, I hope your PS visit gives you a plan you can go with so you can be looking back at all this sooner rather than later. You are stronger than you think you are! I know how hard it can be to climb out of depression and anxiety. Eat right, sleep well, get outside, keep taking the positive steps you are taking, take meds for it. You won't be in that hole forever. Life is still a beautiful gift for you to unwrap!
Janet, good to hear from you! Your words are like a warm hug, sometimes shaking with laughter but other times very nurturing.
Movie, I hope you are recuperating from your vacation! My brother lived and taught high school in Mammoth for many years, a beautiful spot. I also hope the hospice appt. gave you some peace. You have been a loving daughter to your mom, that's for sure.
I hope I didn't miss anyone but I know I probably did. You miss so much on here in just a few days! Morningsun, did you enjoy the French Open?
BTW, didn't even notice my nipples or the bandaging on our trip. They are healing with no discomfort. I am really doubting the color I picked but I know it will fade. Choosing the color was the hardest part! PS took so many pics, they should have had a before pic to compare with. Keep that in mind!
Love you guys.
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Morningsun, that language is Afrikaans, my home language. Still happy for you, girl!
Zenful, I know what you mean. Same thing has happened to me in yoga class. What makes me instantly tearful, is the goodness and kindness of people who were so amazing during the time I was getting surgeries and treatments. I'm still blown away by that.
Bailey, you look amazing. Congrats on the 3-year mark, and happy you got the thyroid checked. When we see you in September, you will be the Energizer Bunny - lol.
On Sunday I'm taking a quick trip to see Emily for a few days. She's growing fast, and I cannot wait till the end of July to see her - will miss too much. She's so alert now, 'talking', smiling . . . what a blessing.
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Bailey- it was so nice to see and hear from you. Hope your energy soars soon. When things settle down in your life we need to meet up.
Jeannie- So happy you had a great time. Much deserved. Sorry to hear about your parents. Those decisions are hard ones and boy can they make you feel guilty. If they are safe and well cared for it should be a no brainer. Change is so hard.
I better start looking for those airline tickets. I was going to wait for that 7 week theory.
I love love love the idea for a visit to west Michigan some year.
Nihahi- we have a fifth wheel in a campground up north near those pics. It was our escape during the summers when we were both teaching. It was just put up for sale as we now have a place in Florida for escaping cold weather on Michigan. Something had to give. We loved the climate last Winter in FL and were very active walking, biking, tennis. Etc.
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Bo- I can't find much information on a connection between bc treatment and thyroid conditions. My oncs office said there can be issues during chemo or rads and didn't seem to think it was that unusual.
Mine was a bit wonky acting before treatment and was being monitored. Idk if the treatment pushed it over the edge or if I was headed here anyway. I have theories, but honestly, nothing provable. It went really wonky at one point during chemo....which I think is when we started Synthroid, but I may have forgotten exactly when I started the med. I know that the field of rads had made leaps in making treatment safer, but I believe that my thyroid was subject to some "scatter".... It's not upsetting to me. They did what they knew would kill the badass cancer I had and couldn't really worry about what other conditions they might cause in the process. I'd rather be hypothyroid than a whole lot of other things. My problem is mostly that I probably wait too long to get it checked....I'm always assigning my symptoms to age, or life or Femara or whatever else is handy....I don't want to be the crazy thyroid lady at the docs office lol!
It can't hurt to drop some blood at the lab to get it checked. If it's not working correctly it can lead to a whole host of side effects.
I am waiting for a call back from the docs office but already increased my med on my own and actually feel a bit better today.
100 days! I'm so excited! Looking hard at flights still. On the way out is easy, the way back on the 22nd is either a 6ish am or an 11ish pm flight so far.....ugh
Love to all.....hugs to all!
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If you go to drmarga.com you will see my story there. She asked me to be her Mermaid of the Month. It was hard for me to do, but I know you guys understand. It is so WIERD to have it "out there". I don't tend to be that way as I am reserved until I get to know people.
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will anyone please tell me who is Wilbur?
Thanks
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Wilbur is a state of mind we can find ourselves in after surgeries! It canbe our actions or words while on the major drugs they give us. We had one member who posted a very funny post right after surgery. It was obvious it was Wilbur.
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Liefie, have a wonderful time with that snuggly baby! I'm glad you get to go.
Cherrie, what a beautiful story and well-written. You are truly blessed to have had such a skilled and caring team. You have stepped out of your comfort zone many times with great results! Good for you!
Bailey, I was on Synthroid before dx and my Rad Onc warned me that the rad scatter would probably knock my thyroid out further. So far, so good, though. I'm glad you are on top of it, but knowing you, I'm not surprised!
BosomB, my folks have lived within a three hour radius of where they were born all their lives until now. They were used to being able to get in the car, run errands, etc., even though they shouldn't have been driving. They lived in a house. They now live in a big new city, a huge sr. apt. complex and have had to rely on their son for pretty much everything. They are used to being the caretakers, not being taken care of. My dad is so weak and he has a lot of pride. They have only been there for ten days or so and are simply overwhelmed. I talked to them a long time today and they sounded a bit better. When they get a routine going and can do some things for themselves, I hope they will feel better about being there. They have been such great parents. I want them to be safe and get some joy out of life, too.
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Jeannie-I hope your parents find some joy there too. I think it will happen as they adjust to this next stage in their life. They know you love them and you know they are safe. I feel for you.
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Oh, no worries, BOsomBlues!! Thanks, Cherrie.
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