Bandages off, Drains Out and Another Surgery....

**So I'm warning you I have some pictures of my double mastectomy photos below so if you don't want to see them either close your eyes and scroll through them or view at your own risk or don't view at all!! **

So, timing hasn't been my strong suit.  With everything involving my breast cancer, I have always stayed extremely positive, even down to chemo and my double mastectomy.  You would think with as much positivity that I've had that some of those good vibes would turn into good luck with timing...but no.

I highly recommend to anyone who is getting a mastectomy, double or single, to try to have your surgery scheduled on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday.  I had mine on a Thursday, and what usually happens is two days later you meet with the plastic surgeon to have your bandages removed and have the area looked at.  Since two days after my surgery was a Saturday and my doctor's office was closed, I had to wait until MONDAY to have them removed.  Usually I wouldn't mind but the tape was pulling on my skin and making it itch and in some spots it actually hurt.  So me being stubborn like I am, I was pulling back on the tape and tucking it under my gauze bandages. (not a big deal in my circumstances because otherwise I would have gone crazy)  The only one who I almost gave a heart attack was the hubs because when I would eat he would get worried that crumbs would fall down my bandages and I think I almost put him over the edge a few times.

But finally, on Monday, July 29th, I went in and had them removed and they didn't put new ones on. Thank GOD!!!!  Another huge part of having my bandages removed was I could see what my new boobs looked like.  I had all these thoughts running through my mind of huge incisions covered in black and blue bruises with staples and stitches and tape. Dr. Hussussian is a phenomenal plastic surgeon and I'm not discrediting him by what I thought they were going to look like, its just obviously I've never had this done before and frankly I didn't know what to expect!

But actually they weren't anything like what I thought... 

No staples.  No black and blue bruises everywhere (just a little yellow) and skin colored tape covering the incision, (which I feel lessened the blow of no nip action).  It's weird because when I look down at my non-boobs-boobs, I feel like I look like a 12 year old girl with nothing there, but in all actuality I do have some tatas.... they do look kind of football shapes, but who knew that expander's could do that.  It's just amazing.

In the picture below there is my proof from the red tape lines were more then annoying...but that was one of the best days for me to get those bandages off!



I would tie the happiness I felt that day with three other days in my life.

1. The day I married my best friend.
2. The day the hubs and I finally got to take June-bug home.
3. The day I got my drains out. 

Speaking of getting my drains out. THEY. ARE. OUT!!!

So I thought I was going to be able to get them out last Friday, but I was just on the border of putting out too much for the past three days (30 cc's total in a day) when I called them.  This is another one of my "Emily has perfect timing with everything" sort of moments.  Right after I rescheduled with Dr. Hussussian's nurse to come in Monday, I checked how much I was putting out from my drains and it was half as much as the previous morning.  FIGURES. Annnndddd....they aren't open on Saturdays, so I had to wait until MONDAY, and I knew knew knew that the rest of the weekend I was going to be barely putting anything out from them and have to be stuck carrying around some sexy lumpy grenades and wearing my standard issued mastectomy bra.... The regular sports bras usually work for normal people but I have a knot in my back SO bad that it hurts to move most of the time and a regular sports bra was pinching my drain along with the knot)

Onto bigger and better things, kind of.  When I got the call last Tuesday from Dr. Kepple letting me know about the pathology results, she let me know that her and Oncologist along with the Radiologist were going to have a conference on Monday about the plan of attack to take care of business.  

I was nervous because if the Radiologist recommended radiation and I decided to go along with it, it would entail a surgery for my right expander to come out because they cannot do radiation with it in.  Then they would go ahead with however long amount of radiation, then I would have to have ANOTHER surgery to have the expander put back in, then continue with whatever else they want me to do.

I was SO grateful when Dr. Kepple called me on Monday and told me that radiation was NOT recommended for me.  *WOO-WOO and yes I totally did a little booty dance when I found out* 

The kind of bummer news though is that Dr. Kepple did recommend ANOTHER surgery to go in and take out more lymph nodes, just to be safe.  I have full faith in her and her recommendations, but its still a bummer because I was just starting to get to a point with my mobility and now I will be out again.  And....the worst part.  I will have yet another drain under my frickn' arm pit. How attractive.  

On a positive note, I start physical therapy this Friday so maybe then can teach me some tricks!!

The hubs and I will be going to the Wisconsin State Fair later this week, any recommendations??