7-31-10

Just a quick update to say the weekend has been great. Had a nice dinner with Adam last night and tonight we will be visiting with friends. I am still not sleeping great at night even with medication from the doctor. So basically everyday I am tired. Oh well hopefully that will start to turn around. I am still in some pain most days but the Ibuprofen seems to help a bit.

7-28-10

Feeling tired and kinda blah....I didn't sleep very well and I can tell it took a toll on me today. I also tried wearing a sports bra today. It was a bit uncomfortable however I think in the long run it will help.

Again thank you to all my friend's who have brought food over. It has helped Adam and I out tremendously. I said last night, we could get use to others cooking for us....ha ha

7-27-10

My doctor appointment went well today. He seems pleased with how my recovery is going. I will say the injections today were a bit more painful than last time. The way I describe how these expanders feel is like rubber bands on braces. Stretchy however painful if you move too much. He did say this is normal and will eventually loosen up. He actually suggested wearing sports bras for comfort. So I will be purchasing some to see if that works.

7-26-10

I guess the weekend wore me out a lot more than I thought. I took about a 3 hour nap today. Crazy, however my body must of needed it.

Tomorrow I am off to the Dr. for another injection into the expanders. I will blog with an update.

Until tomorrow.......

7-25-10

This weekend was a great success. Liz's wedding was a blast and everyone had an amazing time. I was able to hold up all weekend and enjoy the festivities. I am kinda sad it's over but happy for the newly married couple.

Hope the weekend treated everyone as well as it did me.

7-22-10

Feeling well today just very tired. Everyday I gain more mobility and range of motion. I am pretty self sufficient and try to do most things on my own, however I do ask for help when I need it.
I am just so thankful I am doing as well as I am at this point. This weekend is my best friend's wedding and being in the wedding I was not sure how I would be coping at week 2. Luckily I have been blessed and will be able to enjoy the weekend and celebrate.

7-20-10

Another great Doctor visit today with my Plastic Surgeon. He took out the other drains so I am drain free. YAY! They also put in a small dose(60 cc) into my expanders and will continue to do this for about 4 weeks. Once they have expanded to the size I want then we will wait 2 months to let everything heal. At that point a surgery will take place to take out the temporary expanders and put in the actual implants. Another 2 month healing process will be needed and the last step is the nipple reconstruction.

So all in all hopefully I will be all done by Christmas and before the new year.

7-19-10

My doctor's officially confirmed today I am 100% Cancer Free. They could not be happier with the treatment process and how my body responded. The next step is to check in every 3 months and closely monitor my progress.

As far as my surgery, I am healing well. I was also able to get 2 of the 4 drains out today and are hopeful the other 2 will be coming out tomorrow. I am very realistic that this recovery process will take time and I still have my reconstruction surgery ahead of me. However I am blessed to be here, cancer free, and able to call myself a survivor.

7-19-10

Heading to the doctor shortly. Will blog later with an update....

7-18-10

Yesterday was my best day yet. Adam and I were able to get out to do a few errands,grab lunch, and a few movies to watch for the evening. Of course by the time we got home I was so exhausted I only made it through one of the movies...oh well....

I also tried to sleep in the bed last night in comparison to our theatre chairs. That didn't work so well. By about 5 am I was back out on the chair and feeling good. Maybe once I get the drains out and have more mobility I can tackle sleeping in our bed again.

7-16-10

I can't say thank you enough for all the emails and texts regarding my blog yesterday.

I am happy to report things are getting better however just trying to mentally manage the pain...if that makes sense...


Also thank you for all of my flowers, gifts, and cards. And of course help from Heather, Adam, and William. I know It hasn't been easy, but I couldn't do it without you guys.

7-15-10

So yesterday was such a wonderful/happy day and now I am having the worst day ever. Because of pain medicine I now have severe constipation. I also made the mistake of trying to overdue it in the bathroom last night and now I am paying the cost. We are trying all things suggested by the nurse however i am struggling to bare the pain.

I pray for tomorrow to be a better day and pain free.

7-14-10

I WAS GIVEN THE BEST NEWS EVER TODAY....I AM CANCER FREE!! My final report of the lymph node biopsy came back clear and they found no residual cancerous cells in my left breast what so ever. So in my terms Cancer Free....Hell Yeah! I must say!!!!

I got back to the Doctor on Monday for update on my current surgery recovery.

7-13-10

Just woke up from a nap feeling very groggy and sore. It seems if I sit awhile in my chair I do get sore and stiff and need time for my exercises. The PT exercises are very challenging and do stretch my mobility and range of motion.. It is surprising how each day gets better and better.

Today was especially good because Heather and I picked up my surgical bra. It basically holds everything in place and has pockets for my drains. I am much more comfortable in this bra than before. Although it is not the hottest looking thing...ha ha

7-12-10

First blog since surgery and it has taken me forever to complete it. I am either usually passed out from the pain medicine or trying to work on therapy exercises. However I have great help between my sister during the day and Adam at night.

I will say each day I gain more movement and better mobility . I can do more things on my own as simple as using the restroom and pulling my pants up...ha ha...crazy but very true.

Now since this is my blog and I am able to be honest I do want to share my true journey through this time. This surgery by far was the hardest thing I have been through and the worst pain. As I said before each day gets better but this recovery is no joke.


On a lighter side I do want to say thank you to all of those who have emailed, sent letters, gifts, and even food. I appreicate it all and and is very helpful to my family and I right now.

7-10-10 Post Surgery

The update from Adam at the IU Medical Hospital:
So yesterday was quite a long day of waiting, but it ended with some great news that the cancer had not spread to the lymph nodes, and that the doctors couldn't feel the tumor! The doctors said everything went well in surgery.

She finally landed in a room late yesterday, and was pretty happy with all of the different drugs that she was on at the time. We thought that she would then get plenty of sleep last night, but unfortunately that was not the case. For those of you that know Jess really well, you know that she doesn't like pain medicine, and that proved to be the case all night. They tried several all throughout the night, and are still trying to find something that works well for her. So, she is pretty tired because she hasn't been able to sleep through the pain.

Her spirits are high though, and she is very very happy that she is done with the surgery, and the results that the doctors told her.

We will more than likely be here tonight, and possibly tomorrow night as well. We should find out for sure when her surgeon gets here later today.

For today, we probably wont be able to accept any visitors because she needs to get some rest, but we'll let you all know if things change.

That's all for now!

7-7-10

Feeling much better today and in control of my emotions. Looking forward to dinner with Adam and a glass of wine. Might be the last glass I have for a few weeks....

7-6-10

Who knew I would be this emotional before surgery. I don't think I have cried this much in months. Oh well I guess I do have a lot on my mind with surgery being Friday. I am doing my best to stay busy and stress free. But we all know me and that is nearly impossible to do.



Just another update on the surgery for Friday:
Option #1 Tissue Expansion: After breast is removed, a tissue expander(basically an implant with nothing in it) is placed under the chest muscle. Over the months saline is injected little by little through a port. AS the expander fills up, the skin and Muscle in the chest stretch out to create a pocket. Another procedure would be done to remove the expander and put the actual implant in. This would all happen over a 6 month time frame. Surgery will take around 4 hours and a 3 week recovery time.

7-5-10

Well it's about 4:30 am Monday morning and I can't sleep so I decided to blog. Lately I have been awful about blogging so I feel the need to step it up.
This entire weekend was a blast. We spent Friday night at the Indiana's Game with Liz/Jose and her nephew Caleb. The best part of the night by far,the fireworks. It was such a great experience to watch Caleb in complete happiness as the show started. IT truly was a priceless moment for me.

On Saturday I did my amazing yoga class and then Adan and I had a nice lunch at the
Blue Moon Cafe, new place in Carmel, excellent food and service.

After an afternoon of errands we headed to dinner with some of Adam's friends. Good times, good food, and great company.

Then it was Sunday and we were off to see my family in Ohio. It was a short stay due to my lack of energy these days, but I was very glad to see everyone and catch up. They said they are all avid readers of the blog, so this blog at 4am is to u all.....ha ha

OK off to try and sleep and ease my mind....

7-2-10

It's Friday and I am looking forward to the Holiday Weekend....Feeling good! Spirits staying High!