An Update

An update on my Gill:  Jill is two weeks out from the bomb squad taking care of business (her hysterectomy).  She is doing remarkably well!  She has started driving again and is able to take care of some light house duties.  Physically, the recovery has been easier than expected.  I won't say it's been easy by any means, but she's capable of doing a lot more than she thought she would be (and most definitely doing more than she probably should be).  Physically, the first week was rough, but the second week has been a turning point.  I don't think she was prepared for the emotional toll the hysterectomy would take on her.  She said the first week was horrendous, but seems to be leveling out the second week.  That Gill is such a trooper!  Seriously, she's my hero!

An update on me:  Yesterday I received my mammogram results and everything appeared to be normal!  Hallelujah!  I know that there are a lot of women who would give anything for an unremarkable finding.

Today, I met with a highly recommended plastic surgeon to find out my reconstruction options.  I visited Dr. Carl Price in Springfield, MO.  His office staff was extremely friendly and made me feel very comfortable.  Dr. Price was sincere, attentive, personable and gave me a very realistic picture of the best route of reconstruction (even though it really wasn't exactly what I was hoping for).  Dr. Price also gave me the name of a breast surgeon who could handle the mastectomy; I will be meeting with him in a week to discuss the ins and outs of the mastectomy procedure.  I'm anxious.  But, really glad to be gathering all the information possible now, so that when I'm ready to press forward, I have the information to do so.

I've done quite a bit of research online, but this was my first time to visit with an actual person about the reconstruction process.  I was hoping I was a candidate for an immediate reconstruction (often called a direct to implant reconstruction).  Dr. Price said he would do either procedure, but preferred to do a stage reconstruction with tissue expanders.  The stage reconstruction lasts between 3-5 months (Yikes!) but he said he gets better results with that procedure and there are fewer complications and risks.  Once I was finished with Dr. Price, a nurse led me to a room where they took some 'before' pictures.  Goodness, that was an experience!  I had never been topless in front of a camera before I SWEAR!  So, that was a first, and once my 'after' pictures, that will most certainly be the last :).

Overall, my spirits are good.  I've been keeping very busy with work and planning Mason's birthday party and when you are neurotic like me, staying busy is your friend!  I do get scared when I think about the hysterectomy, so I just try not to think about it (if only it was that easy!).

One of my biggest stresses was how I would get my nose piercing out before my surgery.  Yes, I'm getting ready to have a couple of major surgeries and I am worried about a little nose stud in my nose.  My sister candidly told me "Julie, anyone going through menopause probably shouldn't have a nose piercing."  Touche Gill!  So, out came my nose piercing.  There is so much stuff I cannot control, so after about 3 hours of worrying about this (I told you I was crazy!) I just decided to take it out and be done with it.  I miss it, but I'm not stressing anymore about it, so that's worth something.