May love and laughter light your days, and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours, wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons bring the best to you and yours!
~ Robert Frost

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog. This is my story of how I faced my risk of breast cancer, the decisions I made, the support I received and my week by week recovery from surgery. I chose to have a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy with immediate DIEP reconstruction at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston (March 2010). For more information on my 'Medical Team' please see tab above. I also have a wonderful circle of friends who have supported me throughout. They have provided us with lots of delicious meals and desserts. Many of those recipes are included above under "Feed the Flap" recipes. "Feed the Flap" is a term I coined when trying to increase my abdominal (fat) flap to ensure that I was a good candidate for the DIEP procedure. This was not something recommended by any medical professional, it was just something that made sense to me. I think it worked!! Feel free to join me on this journey and feel free to post comments.

Select the tabs on the left side marked Week 1, Week 2, Week 3..... to go immediately to the surgical/recovery part of this blog.


Saturday, March 27, 2010

Ready to go....

The lists are made. The clothes are packed. The Marsupial is packed (only those who have had to wear one of these will understand). Throat lozenges are packed and ready (oh, I dread that tube). The computer is charged. Did I say the lists are made - oh, yeah. It might take all week for my beloved sister-in-law to read through the lists for each day. She's a good sport though.

Work is now officially shut down. Thanks Jen for the advice of "Shut it off. Shut it down.". I probably didn't do that soon enough, but now it is official. It has been very hard letting go of work. But now that's done.

Early Friday evening I spent time with my aunt at the racino. I thought one of us would win, but not this time. We have a date for when I get back. Winning is so much more fun than losing. Then all of us spent Friday evening with friends (playing Qwirkle) which was a great diversion from everything that is going on right now. Plus they gave us enough food to last until we leave.

This morning was hard. It is the last official day at home with my original body and all it's parts. Still seems pretty surreal that parts of me will be gone this time on Monday. In two days!!! When I think that way the fear creeps in. Well it doesn't really creep, it floods the gates. The tears are pretty close to the surface, too. Some friends have given me some very thoughtful gifts and I am so overwhelmed by their thoughtfulness that the tears just start streaming down my cheeks. I am simply amazed by my friends and my family. I couldn't ask for a better circle of people around me.

Tomorrow we will head to church for Palm Sunday and to listen to JieJie sing in the Children's Choir. I can't think of a better send-off than to listen to the voices of angels as we head off to Boston.

1 comment:

teri said...

Best of luck to you! Please keep us updated when you can.

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