Surgery Set!

This officially will be my last blog post being published to Facebook.  I’ve shared my journey for those who were interested but I’m ready to move on and want things to be more private. So going forward, only updates will be made  on the blog page.

My first appointment was with the plastic surgeon Dr.Vandervender. The last time I met him back in March, I have to admit, I was so disappointed. He just wasn’t someone I instantly connected with. His personality seemed BLAH, but today was different! He came in with all smiles, and said how great I looked. (which I was surprised he remembered me). He also noticed my weight loss, so that was nice! I liked him better today. We discussed what kind of surgery I would be having, and even got it scheduled. I was completely shocked that it’s so soon, since I was told it probably wouldn’t be until 2017! !  I could have done it in October, but I am not allowed to travel on an airplane and I have to go to my moms wedding in November so that date did not work.

With that being said, I have everything scheduled for November 22nd. I have to be there at 5:30AM and surgery time is about 6 hours. I will be having skin from my back removed, (known as Latissimus Dorsi Flap) and I’ll be having expanders in to get me to the desired size I want. I haven’t completely decided on the size, but i’m thinking a full C. Once I reach my desired size, I will have my last surgery which will just be removing of expanders to place the implant. I’m nervous but this is officially the last BIG thing to happen. All this is finally ending, and I’m ready to move on= ] Before surgery I will have to go in for blood test, and my evaluation. I didn’t really discuss recovery time, but from what he said last time was around 12 weeks. I’m hoping to only take a couple weeks off and go back to work once my drains are removed. For the mastectomy I had about 4 drains, this time I’ll have more= / (not looking forward to those) but it’ll be worth it.

My last appointment today was meeting with my therapist Dr.Hunter. I haven’t seen her for 3.5 months but I had to see her today since Friday is her last day at Loyola. I’m sad that I’ll never see her again, since she was such a big part of my life this past year! But she was offered a AMAZING job, and I couldn’t  be anymore happier for her. She has gotten me through some of the worst days, and always made me laugh! I’ll miss her so much.

 

 

❤