Moving On......After the Flap
Comments
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liefie.....is that a new "quote" under your messages???? I like it!0 -
Goldie, the treadclimber takes a little getting used to, but I like it. It is a really good workout.
Nihahi, I never had a quote or my diagnosis there for that matter. Put it on this afternoon. Glad you like it!
Movie, where are you? We miss you!
Just finished scrubbing the kitchen sink, and cleaning all the counters thoroughly for a change. Time to call it a day. Sweet dreams everybody!0 -
Darn it....I've missed everyone......
Just barely put my aching feet up, and it's almost 10 pm! Busy day, today......I am completely exhausted......and I still managed almost 17,000 steps......whew!
Liefie, I am so happy and relieved about your mammo today! That is wonderful news, eh? ( I am learning a new language.....Canadian). I did the happy dance when I saw your post, YAY! Now you can focus all your attention on the upcoming nuptials (sp?)
Jeannie, I am so very sorry you are dealing with additional LE since stage 2.......and I agree that you have every right to complain......heck, I probably do more than my share of that! Sending love your way, sister! (((Hug)))
Katy.......what an adorable little lobster Aubrey makes! Darn those "OTHER" grandparents......they need to get lost somewhere...... (I am just kidding!). I am getting excited about my trip to SoCal.....mainly to meet you! (Seeing DD will be great, but we will be driving back up to Portland on Saturday). Really looking forward to it!
Nihahi.....are you walking in a winter wonderland yet? Our mountains are almost snowy enough to open the ski resorts.......Winter is coming...... (((Sigh))). I expect you to grab your buddy (and mine) and send lots of snowshoe pics........
Bailey.....I saw those shoes......can you actually stand in those things......I have a terrible fear of heights.....don't think I could manage those!![:\](https://community.breastcancer.org/resources/emoji/confused.png ":\")
I had my pre-op for stage 2b today........set for Tuesday, December 3rd.......nipples created, and dog ears removed......and some lipo.......already a bit nervous!
I know I have missed a bunch of you.....but you are all in my heart!
Love you all! XO0 -
Thanks for the lobster pic, Sbel! Everybody looks like they are having a great time. I admire you for cutting down on carbs. I eat fewer than I used to but I think I will go crazy if I do much more right now. In time. I could certainly lose some lbs.
After waiting on the phone for TWO HOURS with the Social Security office, I was informed that my brother is already enrolled in Medicare. NOBODY enrolled him. I have two letters demanding that I enroll him NOW. It is now in the hands of the long-term facility where he lives. Apparently, they have to request a Medicare card, not me. So, it's good....and confusing!
I am up way too late. Always happens when DH is out of town...0 -
Baby Lobster! Best costume ever! (Everyone in the office agrees)
Liefie - Congratulations on the mammogram! Also, that's a great idea about cutting out carbs to cope with the tamoxifen. I don't eat carbs in the evenings, but I'm starting to get a bit lazy about it. Especially now that it gets dark so friggin' early. It also reminded me that I was carrying my pill around in my back pocket this morning - don't like to take it on an empty stomach. But I don't know if it even matters - just habit, I guess. (Now it's covered in lint so I'll wash it down with a coffee)0 -
jeannie...that is beyond frustrating!!!! Your brother is lucky to have to looking out for him.....it is so sad for elder or disabled residents of care facilities that have "no one"...heartbreaking, really. You are front and center in my "thoughts" today....hope all goes well.
movie...you're doing very well on picking up the Canuck lingo, eh!!! No walking in wonderland today, unless I can find my warmer mitts. It's a gorgeous sunny morning, but a windchill at the moment of -18. I'm headed to the condo gym now, hoping it warms up like they predict later in the day. Yep, ski hills around here are opening over the next weekend, I think. I don't downhill anymore, so am really just paying attention to the cross country reports. Ade and I are hoping to go shoeing on Friday, all things being well.
liefie...could you come scour my kitchen too??? It sure needs it!
janet....careful, that habit of linting your tamo pill could give you a furball!....explain THAT one to the docs!!!!
gotta go....busy day planned. Have a great one ladies.0 -
Nihahi, I can't get used to the Canadian thermometer. When I think -18, I'm thinking FARENHEIT, and I've experienced temperatures that low only occasionally when we lived in Denver. Let's see...times 9...divided by 5...plus 32...your outside temperature is zero degrees Farenheit? Even that is COLD. My car thermometer said it was 64 degrees on the way to work this morning.
I feel like a vampire when it's dark when I get home from work. Headlights and mountain biking! A new adventure!
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yep, sbe...your math is correct!!!! Your -18F, would be -27C for me, (sigh) and that is certainly part of my reality soon. Amazing how we all are commenting on the longer hours of darkness. It seems more drastic differences to me now, as we go from one extreme of daylight to the other end of the spectrum. When I lived in Miami, it didn't seem to be such a HUGE thing, because the difference wasn't as great.
fyi....suck it up sweetheart....you wanna compare hours of darkness.....I'll match your hours and raise you about 4 by Christmas time!!!!!!
(just kidding)! It's really only about 2 hours diff.
Done in the gym, having some food, then it's hit the shower and go do a massive grocery shop, since we seem to be out of everything! Then...hopefully a walk down to the library. It's warming up!!! (-6C =21F)!!!0 -
Good grief.....I haven't started a thing today...been on the threads for too long!
Here's a funny one.....I got a letter from my BS, saying it was past time for me to come in for a check-up/mammo. I called her office and was told.....well, it's been a year since your last mammo, and you are overdue! I politely reminded the front office gal that I had a BMX in January.......she told me that the Dr. wanted to mammo my flaps!!!!!! After I stopped laughing, I told her under no circumstances would they EVER mammo my foobs-EVER! PS said "No".....and the concensus(sp?) on the thread is "No".....well, I must have been too harsh.....because she was very offended......(I am laughing as I type this) so I agreed to come in and let my BS "look-but not touch" so she can say she did a year follow up.....I will do this only because I really like her.
Nihahi, it's cold here too, but NOT like yours.....just a damp, bone-chilling chilly thingy.......
I hate that it get so dark, so soon! I bought a SAD light......maybe it will lift my mood.
Looking forward to a few days in SoCal.......Sbe?????
Love to all you ladies!0 -
Movie, the DH and I are all set for meeting new friends on November 21, somewhere between Pasadena and Simi Valley. I'll hunt around for a good place to meet, greet, and EAT. We're both looking forward to it!
Speaking of DH...every night before we turn off the light we read from our devotional book and pray together. On very sleepy nights, the prayers get interesting. Last night, DH prayed, "...and bless Katy, lying here beside me in her clown suit."
One has to wonder...
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Go Jerry!0 -
Don't worry Katy! I'm sure God has a good sense of humour . . .0 -
Katy...I can not wait to meet your DH too! Clown suit......heehee!
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hahahahahahahaha!!!!!! Love that man of yours sbe!0 -
SBE- That baby just gets cuter and cuter! I laughed out loud when I read your hubbys prayer!
Movie- That would scare me if BS didnt know not to mamo foobs.
All this talk of snow makes me glad to be in the Piedmont, I am over snow for a long time!
Went to get my Cymbalta refilled and medicaid doesnt cover it (at least according to pharmacist). Its 250 a month which is out of the question for me. Im going to call tomorrow and see if there is a way to get it covered because darn it, it works for me!
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Ohmygoodneeess Jerry! That made me LAUGH OUT LOUD......HARD....right here on the exercycle in the YMCA! People are looking at me. Good thing I am not on real wheels....I would have fallen over, Sbel. HahahHahA. Does this clown suit of yours come with COMPESSION??? The 14 year old is giving me the, "OMG MOM SERIOUSLY YOU ARE SO EMBARRASSING" look. You think he'd be used to my random outbursts of hilarity by now, no?
And, truth in advertising, the picture of the green and white killer heels.....just a pic I found on the internet. I was trying to intimidate Sbel. It worked. Victory for MSU. I am a flat heeled knee high boot kinda girl these days. I have Femara feet
Love you all soooosoooo much....back to my workout.
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Sbel, that is too funny! Jerry must fall asleep as fast as my Tom when his head hits the pillow...HAHA! Thanks for the Celsius vs. Fahrenheit reminder, too. You are so brave (crazy?) to ride your bike in darkness, even with a light! I see road rash popping up all over me in my imagination. As it is, I have one dark purple spot on my lower knee....
Movie, I got one of those mammogram calls, too, before my DIEP when I had those hard-as-rocks TEs in me. She was so apologetic...I could just picture those puppies exploding all over us. I agree this weather is not conducive to cheerfulness. It was raining on my way to my PS appt. today (45 minute drive) and very, very foggy on the way home. Chills to the bone, for sure. I have on fleece, my warm computer on my lap and my warm doggie snuggled next to me. Who needs a blanket? By the way, pitch black here by 5 and it's only early November...
Sweet, they better cover that drug for you! The nerve! My fingers are crossed for you.
I wrote on the DIEP 2013 thread, but my PS appt. went very well today. I really could not be happier right now.0 -
sbe...still chuckling about the "clown suit" comment, and the image of bailey "snorting a laugh" on the workout bike just got me going again!!!!
jeannie....I messaged re: your appt. on the Diep thread......but just want to say again WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!
sweet........something has got to be found that will cover this med for you!!!! Surely you aren't expected to just do without it if finances are an issue?????0 -
Movie, good luck with stage 2!
Sbel, Aubrey is adorable as usual! My son was also lobster when he was a toddler. I made his costume out of red cups and red solo plates. I'll have to see if I can find that photo.
Jeannie, hope all goes well with your brother. You are one amazing woman!0 -
bluebird, thanks! Just taking care of family. My brother is a sweetheart. We didn't get along growing up so it's ironic that I am his guardian now. He was brain-injured in a car accident at twenty-six while he was busy being a "hippie" so he is a little stuck there, with a long white beard, gray braid down his back and tie-dye clothes. He is well-loved at his facility/home, which is devoted solely to brain-injured individuals, a rarity. We were lucky to find it. My brother is brilliant, a national merit finalist with a four year scholarship so .... it's still hard to see him like this even after all these years. He seems happy and healthy, considering, and is always so happy to see DH and me.
Liefie, I noticed your quote and I like it! So true.
Thanks, Nihahi for the double whoop!
I love you guys!0 -
Jeannie, you're a hero to me, and to your brother, I'm sure. My brother and I are best friends, but I can't imagine being his guardian and protector. "Guardian." You guard him from the effects of a world that would not understand him. I truly believe that God directs our paths, and I bet you do, too--although I don't know why your brother is brain-injured, or why all of us here battle with breast cancer, but there's a PLAN.
I can SO see him, with the picture you painted! A sweet, grey-haired, hippie. God bless him, and you.
Thanks, Bluebird. Aubrey was adorable. I'd love to see your red cup/plate creation! I made my boys' costumes when there were about three--they were sheep. They LOVED them and baa'd all over the place.
Sleep well, gloobsters.0 -
Just wanted to share this.....I have read a few of my recent "past" messages on the threads.....without being aware of it, I see that I am starting to occasionally use the word "breast", as opposed to flap, noob, gloob....
Gosh, ladies....I think I am "moving on" in a whole new way.....cannot tell you how this realization has affected me. Tomorrow will be my 22nd "cancer-versary", and I can honestly say, I don't think I have thought of myself as having 2 breasts, in all that time. 22 years ago, I remember thinking and feeling, "I will never look/feel feminine again, I will never have 2 breasts again.....etc. etc. etc." Implants NEVER made me feel the way I feel at this moment.....New scars, lack of final symmetry, no nipple yet, DOESN'T MATTER....I already feel "whole".
Have WONDERFUL, JOYFUL DAYS!!!!!!!0 -
Nihahi I am so happy for you. What an incredible feeling. Time and skilled surgeons heal all. Yesterday I looked at a before pix taken in early 2012. What a difference. The girls get better each day, as does the body. Happy 22nd anniversary.0 -
Welcome Deb! Good to see you here - means that you are moving on in a way, which is good.
Nihahi, 22 years out - what an achievement, and what inspiration for us others who have just recently finished treatment! Congratulations, and thanks for your presence here. I love you, friend!
Will be seeing my PS on January 2, 2014, to discuss the nipple and further tweaking that may be needed. Want to have that out of the way before my first grandchild arrives in early March. Grandma wants to be on her game with no more sore parts anywhere by then. Hoping to get this done in January.
Off to the gym now. Two more pounds to lose before I hit my wedding goal. Not much time left - LOL!0 -
Sbelizabeth--,cutest.baby.lobster.ever!!
Nihahi--love love the positivity that you share with us. I'm so glad that advancements in the medical field allow for ways for us to feel whole again, whatever that means for each of us. Happy 22!
I knew implants were never the way to go for me as an individual, no matter how hard I was pushed to consider implants and was so glad for all the posts on BCO that helped me along my BC journey. I'm trying to make the best of it, and hope that I too will have the chance to say I'm a decades-long survivor!0 -
Nihahi, your post was so joyful about your 22 year anniversary. Congratulations! Although it really brought tears to my eyes to think you have gone that long feeling like you didn't have breasts. I am so happy for you that you now feel like they are your own. I just realized the other day that having immediate recon with nipple sparing allowed me to wake up looking practically as I did before. I psychologically have never felt that cancer took anything from me (that wouldn't grow back). I am thankful that the science arrived before I did, I am thankful for my wonderful surgeons, and I am thankful to have such a great group of women to share in this journey.0 -
Nihahi-dear friend.....what a wonderful realization you have come to! I hope for the very same feeling, at some point in the very near future.....I know I feel very protective of my new "girls", imperfect as they are.....they are all ME, and I love them.I found it amusing that I was in no way going to allow my BS to poke, mash, prod or squish them in any way......
I bow in admiration to your 22 year achievement...I am coming up on my one-year Cancerversary this coming Saturday.....easy for me to remember as it is DH's BDay.....poor guy. I think I will start focusing on the day I had my BMX/DIEP.......then my poor DH can have his day back!.
I was having second thoughts about the haircut last night (after I washed my hair, and spent a good 45 minutes drying/styling) and then again this morning before I went to the gym (did and hour and a half on the elliptical...7 miles) but after the sweating and the frizzing....yep.....the hair is coming OFF! I don't know how I tolerated it long enough to get it to this length (chin).
Welcome, Deb........we are a chatty, chatty bunch, but even we reach a point where we have to talk about something else besides BC and surgery, except in passing. I am sure you will have no problem fitting in here, as well.
Well, the day awaits, and I am not even showered yet after the gym....gotta run!
Love you ladies!0 -
Happy 22, nihahi. So glad "flap" is finally become "breast" for you. I used to ask my ps all kinds of questions about my "flaps" and in all his answers, he always referred them as "breasts." Only once when he had to make a distinction between my originals and the "flaps," he called them "reconstructed breasts." Reading your post, nihahi, makes me think that it may have been a deliberate effort of his...0 -
I'm still not there yet, but I can feel it coming. These days I'll show anybody who wants to see the incredible work that my PS did, moving my tummy to my chest and creating "breast-like" facsimiles. Maybe when they have nipples I'll start feeling more private about them. Right now they just feel like an amazing work of art and science.
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Nihahi, yay for you! You brought such a smile to my face. 22 years is a long time to be cancer-free. So glad you feel whole again. I have moved on from calling mine noobs to boobs. They feel like boobs which is a good thing. I don't know if I will think of them as breasts but that's okay, too.
Thanks, Sbel. I am so thankful to be able to be there for my brother. My elderly parents live in another state so I am glad to relieve some of the burden they feel for him. Even in my brother's condition, he has expressed faith in God. (We grew up with no religious background) I will never in this life have answers for why these hard things happen but knowing God is with me makes all the difference. I know what you mean about not being shy about showing off the PS handiwork. At my appt. yesterday he tried to give me back my gown at one point but I didn't put it on because we were still talking and what was the point?? I just watched a UTube video about an organization called P.I.N.K. that matches up tattoo artists with bc women. This woman had recon but got big Brazilian flowers on her boobs. She was looking forward to going topless on a Brazilian beach.....
Movie, you'll rock the pixie cut, just like Pamela Anderson!! Sounds like you're preparing for a marathon on that elliptical....7 miles? Wow.
Liefie, it's fun to hear about the exciting things coming up for you! You are in such a good place!0
