4-12-11

As I was talking with a friend today, I realized it has been months since I have blogged. It might be time for an update:) Today I had my last surgery for good. This was just a simple surgery to fix the appearance and fill areas that needed more assistance..ha ha... Everything went well and recovering at home. I am still dealing with my vertigo issues but do have a great neurologist working to help me. It looks as if I had a nerve in my inner ear that was damaged by Chemo. This and a chemical imbalance is causing severe vertigo. I am on medicine that is definitely working and will be doing physical rehab as well. We will monitor this as time goes on. I had my almost year check up last week. In May it will be One year of remission. VERY EXCITING. My doctor is so pleased with the outcome. So all in all I am doing great! Doing a lot of planning for the wedding and of course getting pumped!!!

2-18-11

Recovery is going well. I was finally able to get some sleep last night which allowed me to get out a little today. I am pretty tired now from doing a few errands, however still feeling good. I should be back to normal in no time.

2-16-11

Surgery yesterday went well. It was the last revision of the reconstruction process. I should be done at this point as far as surgeries go. My pain is not as bad as the last surgery which is wonderful. I am definitely sore all over and tired. I never sleep well on my back and being on it all day yesterday did not help. But soon enough I will be able to sleep well again. I am also happy to say i can shower as early as tomorrow. They did not have to put any gauze on the outside. They used that lovely glue again which is fabulous and stitches on the inside that dissolve.

Thanks to all who checked in on me yesterday. It is always great to tell everyone it was another successful surgery!

2/6/11

A new month and on a new path to figuring out why I have severe vertigo. I had a wonderful neurologists spend an hour with me the other day getting to the base of my issues. Her final analysis was a chemical imbalance. Basically my head goes crazy when i am over stimulated and it causes me to have these issues. The fact that I had chemo did not help matters either. On a side note from my MRI she did say I have a very good looking brain.

So the way to treat all of this is trial and error with medicine. Some of these medicines tend to make you feel worse before you feel better, that is the only down side.

I will keep you all posted.

1-28-11

I have not forgotten about this blog:) I guess it is safe to say when I don't blog things are good however I do miss it.

Not much to report here. I have an appointment with a neurologist to see what is causing my vertigo. Since we have ruled out my eyes, ears, and any sinus issues, the next step is neurology.

My surgery is also scheduled in two weeks. Hopefully this will be the last surgery:)

1-12-11

6 months cancer free...woooooa!! I am excited if you can't tell. Doctors are pleased with my bill of health:)

As far as my recovery from reconstruction that is going well too. I have opted to do one more surgery to correct a few skin issues. Basically the doctor will remove some extra skin and add fat to areas that did not get enough inflation the first time around. This will help with the shaping and make me feel more confident about the final results. I figure I have to live with these the rest of my life so I better like them:) The surgery will be scheduled some time in February.

1-9-11

Tomorrow is my 6 month check up. I am looking forward to a great appointment and another reassurance that I am cancer free. 2011 is going to be a great year with lots of wonderful memories.

12-26-10

This Christmas for me was about reflection and growth. I was reminded of a few things that I would like to share with all of you. First people i.e. my family..ha ha...love this blog and make it a point to read it often. So I do need to keep it updated for those who follow and for those out there who might need some comfort in their journey as I did. Secondly I was reminded that I am still a survivor and how good it feels to hear that. My cousins gave me a small sterling silver necklace that says survivor on it. Such a small gift that means so much to me. And to top it off my cousin told me how proud she was of me. What a great moment that still brings tears to my eyes. I am not sure I will ever take the necklace off..:) The most important thing I was reminded of lately is the meaning of a gift. It was talked a lot about at church today and Adam and I had previously talked about it. Although I love to give gifts and of course receive them I honestly feel honored that I am able to say my greatest gift I have been given is my health and another year and many more to celebrate my health. I told Adam that If I am healthy and I have him that is all I need this year as a gift.

Happy Holidays to all of you that follow this and may this new year bring the meaning of a gift as this last year did for me.

12-16-10

As most of you said recovering from a skin graft procedure is a process and I am definitely experiencing that. My stomach is very swollen and uncomfortable. Luckily i am good at hiding excess skin/fat with the right clothes..ha ha. I do hope this goes down soon and everything heals as it is suppose to.

12-14-10

My follow up appointment with the doctor went well today. He removed the gaze and stitches and was very happy with the results. For the next 3 weeks I have to put a daily dressing and medicine on the area but that should not effect the appearance in my clothes. Without going into too much detail, let's just say what he did is amazing. It will take time to get to the actual size it needs to be but by mid January I should be all healed up.

12-12-10

I can say without a doubt that this surgery has required a lot more recovery than I thought it would. I am doing better today than yesterday however still having pain and very swollen in the stomach. I think the combination of the anesthesia and actual skin graph has caused the majority of the swelling. Between that and and the stitches and gauze on my chest, I am not able to wear normal clothes..ha ha..Literally right now I can wear sweats and baggy shirts. I am hoping this will all be better by Tuesday. That is when I go back for my check up.

12-11-10

The surgery was successful however I am in a lot more pain than I expected to be. My actual chest does not hurt at all probably because I don't have nerve endings or feeling up there. I just have to be cautious not to mess up the stitches and gauze that stick out. Wearing baggy shirts does help. What really hurts is my lower stomach where they took the skin graph from. I am not sure how much skin was taken or if stitches were involved however it really does hurt. If I am laying it is minimal pain but standing up and walking around causes it to ache. Hopefully this will decrease in the next two days. On a side note my doctor was not able to use the extra skin on my chest for the actual skin graph. He said it was too close to the center and healing of this surgery. He did say he could remove it once I am healed and this could be done in his office. I am not so sure how that would work..ha ha

Thanks again for all the phone calls and emails to check up on me:)

12-10-10

Adam and I are checked in at the hospital and waiting:) Feeling good with high spirits just very thirsty..ha ha...Adam will update everyone here in a few hours.

11-30-10

I learned today that I have to have extra skin taken for the next surgery. Luckily he gave me the option of taking it from the groin area or the lower stomach(C-section) area. I asked "well which one is less painful" and he said stomach. So that is what we will be going with:)

11-17-10

Today was a rough day. My dizziness/vertigo was intense and has been for the last few weeks. Luckily my doctor believes it is related to my ears or sinus's and not the cancer. I have an ENT appointment in December and look forward to an answer and possible plan to ease the discomfort.

11-13-10

Today I received my information for the next step in my reconstructive surgery. I will go in for an outpatient procedure on Friday December 10th. I should only need a few days rest and be back to work right away. Basically they will be doing a skin graph to construct the last area of my chest. I am not exactly sure how this all works but I know it is common procedure and that has great results. This should be the last actual surgery I will need :)

11-8-10

Good News today my bone scan was normal! I am so excited about the news and can't stop smiling!

11-1-10

I can't believe it is already November and I am 2 weeks post surgery. Recovery is still going well and my two week check up is tomorrow. I am expecting a good report from the surgeon.

Today I did have a unexpected check up with my oncologists. I have been experiencing extreme pain in my neck and back for the last few months. I always have seem to manage to deal with the pain but finally it got the best of me. My doctor is almost positive it is related to muscle pain but does want to rule out anything with my bones so he ordered a bone scan for next Monday. Once that has cleared he will probably send me to physical therapy. I think this will ultimately be the best option moving forward.

I will keep you all posted....

10-23-10

Almost a week has gone by and I am moving right along.
Still feeling good while focusing on recovery. The pain is still minimal but I am experiencing a little numbness in my arms. I have a feeling this will fade as I regain full range of motion and get back to working out. Hopefully this all happens soon.

10-21-10

4 days in and still doing good. Today I can officially shower so I am excited about that. I have also been able to look at the "results" and so far so good. He did leave a little extra skin for the next surgery to make it easier. But I am looking natural and as normal as can be...Oh and still no pain meds...yay!