Ta-ta to the tata's!

There has been a recall on all 1981 model Cristal Hydo's for faulty parts. Tomorrow I'm taking her into the shop to get worked on.

I wasn't nervous until I started getting a lot of "good luck"s and "I'll be thinking about you"s at my last day of work on Friday. I'm not even sure why I'm nervous. I am positive nothing will go wrong and that I'll heal quickly. I have the best surgeon around and a great plastic surgeon as well. I guess since I've never actually had surgery before (except for wisdom teeth), I just don't know what to expect!



My friends and family have been great (as usual). Earlier in the week we had a "Ta-ta to the tata's" bowling party and I bowled a 144 (I have photographic evidence to prove it). I also picked out my new tata's:

Tonight my friends surprised me with a big dinner at Rocco's Tacos. My parents, youngest sister, and grandma are here for my surgery and to help out at home. I'm all packed and ready to head to the hospital in the AM.

Pre-op

Days until surgery: 5
Number of eyelashes: 12 (11 on the left, 1 on the right)
Hair length: Still about 1 mm

I went in for my pre-op appointment this morning for my mastectomy on Monday. What I have to do to prepare is not take any medications that would thin my blood, do not eat or drink after midnight the night before my surgery, and wash the surgical area with anti-bacterial soap the night before and the morning of my surgery.

My surgery is first thing in the morning so I have to be there at 6AM. They will take me to pre-op, knock me out with anesthesia, and when I wake up I'll be in recovery. Seems simple enough, right? I'm getting a bi-lateral mastectomy (both sides taken out) and lymph node removal on my left side only. This is done by my breast surgeon. Then my plastic surgeon will put in tissue expanders and drains and they'll sew me back up.

I've been trying to figure out what I can do to prepare at home for my surgery. The recommendations I've gotten have been to buy cami's and button up shirts (a shopping trip? Deal!) because it'll be hard for me to reach over my head to put clothes on. Also helpful is to move dishes, food, etc on lower shelves because I won't be able to reach them for awhile. I have family members who will be staying with me so they should be able to help me with all the lifting and reaching that I need. I went into my closet and arranged it so all the button-up shirts are in one section. I don't know what else to do to prepare, so I'll just relax and wait!

Eye of the storm

Number of days since chemo = 26
Number of days until surgery = 13
Length of hair (in mm) = 1

I'm sitting here in the eye of the storm waiting. This is an eerily calm period between chemo and surgery where I don't have a lot going on. I don't know what to do with myself, I only have about one doctors' appointment a week. My blood counts are bouncing back up. I can tell because I'm only sleeping 8 hours a night (yes, only 8). My little hairs are trying so hard to grow. I'm feeling better. I'm working full time.

I've had the pre-op meeting with my plastic surgeon so I have an idea of what to expect for surgery. To prep I basically need to avoid blood thinners and bulk up on vitamins. I'll be in the hospital for what I expect to be 2 days. Then lots of pain, sleeping, and healing.

I had my blood taken by the vampires today for the BRCA genetic test so I should get those results in two weeks. I also learned a new fun fact today: People with larger than normal heads are more likely to be genetically predisposed for breast cancer. The nurse practitioner measured my head, it's pretty normal sized.