Hairdo by Sarah

Check out my hair growth:

Of course, I'd never wear this style outside my house.  :-)  Fully extended, my hair is about 3 inches long now.  I wear it pretty tightly curled (wet curly).

Recovery Woes

My problem areas are still not healing well.  This is according to me though, for I have not seen the doctor since Tuesday, and he's not concerned about it.  I'm changing bandages twice a day - using the wet/dry bandaging technique with saline solution. 

Also, I've been troubled with dizziness and lightheadedness for three days now.  I wasn't sure until last night why this was happening, but now I'm confident I'm dealing with anemia.  My red blood count has been low since chemo because the Herceptin can cause anemia too.  Then I had surgery, which has caused it to drop further.  I think my additional leakage from the problem area is causing it to drop even further.  Anyhow, I will probably be calling Dr. T. tomorrow about this.

In the meantime, I've been eating Cream of Wheat and other high-iron foods and increased my intake of orange juice (for absorption).  Also, I've started taking iron supplements that I've had since 2009 and chose not to take.  :-) 

6-month Testing

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze." (Isaiah 43:2 NIV).

Today, I had my 6 month testing done.  My CT Scan and tumor markers were all normal!!  This means so much to me - especially now that I've had my reconstruction.  I am cautiously optimistic that this cancer ordeal may actually be behind me.


I don't feel any stronger or any wiser, but I do feel that my faith has grown.  In spite of my shortcomings, God has carried me through so much.  People say they "admire" me.  I really don't get that.  I am only being carried.  We should admire and give praise to the carrier, the Almighty God.


"Dear Lord, thank You that I never have to walk through the fiery trials of life alone. You promised that You will never leave me, and I cling to that truth today. Also, thank You for sending friends to walk through the flames with me! They are some of my most treasured gifts. In Jesus’ Name, Amen."

Lots of Healing to Do

Today's visit with the surgeon went well.  He removed all my sutures and my last drain tube today, so in a way, I'm FREE!!  :-)  I do have a problem healing area that will require some wet/dry dressings to speed up the healing.  The RN gave me a mirror to see how to dress the area, and it nearly made me nauseous.  The problem area is deep and has to be packed twice a day.  Eww!  Dr. V assures me that this is not uncommon and that it will heal.  I don't have to be back until 1 month.  :-)

Followup With Surgeon

I had my followup visit with the surgeon yesterday and his exact words were "perfect".  :-)  He actually seemed impressed with the way I'm healing and the success of the surgery...like it's not so typical.  I, also, have been surprised by the pain level.  It's been much better than I expected.  I know I should be in serious pain, but I'm already down to 3 pain pills a day when I'm "approved" for up to like 10!  Who would take that many pills in one day?  I mean, really?!  Oh, and to top it off, he removed 2 of the 3 remaining drain tubes!!  I feel almost free.  Bottom line: THE PRAYERS ARE WORKING!!!

Next Tuesday, I'll revisit the surgeon and probably have the last tube removed.  Yay!  Next Wednesday, I'll have my next CT scan at the West Clinic.  *sigh*  I will immediately see my oncologist, Dr. T., to discuss the results of my scan.  I'm not nervous about it.  Quite honestly, I know this goes with the territory, but I don't think I'll have a recurrence in my life.  I believe I'm cancer-free, not in remission.  I think I'll have scans every 6 months or so until I'm 5 years out; then it will be every year.

Well, I feel my night dose of pain meds kicking in, so I better get offline now and get to sleep. 

Surgery = DONE!

I'm home!  After a 4-day hospital stay, I was able to come home this morning - one day earlier than expected!  The surgery went very well on Monday.  Aside from some minor complications during recovery, the process was pretty uneventful.

The DIEP is great.  I have tenderness in the abdomen from the stitches, but the muscles are still there so rising, sitting, and lying down aren't at difficult as it could be.  The reconstruction site is also doing well.  There was constant blood flow so no problems there.  The only issues I had were on day one and two.  I has some elevated BP and temperature, then my blood absorption was a bit low a couple of time, requiring some oxygen.  Those factors cleared up quickly and were in perfect range the last two days of my hospital stay.

It's hard to believe this is the last phase of my breast cancer journey.  I thank and praise God for carrying me through this cancer experience.  I am a better person after it.  I hope to be used greatly for the Lord and bless the lives of many because of it.  I'm in a peaceful place right now.

One More Day

This time tomorrow, I'll be taking my last swig of water before midnight.  After that, it's to bed then to surgery Monday morning. 

I think I'm a little bit anxious.  I'm in a daze this weekend.  Nothing really on my mind... just dragging.  Tomorrow morning, when I go to church, it will be the last time I'll have to wear my prosthesis.  Wow!  I am excited about getting this reconstruction over with, but I'm not excited about the painful recovery it will require.  Feel free to keep me in your prayers.

Feeling "Blah"

I'm not sure why, but I feel so "blah" tonight.  Trying to think about all the things I won't be able to do over the next 5-6 weeks and trying to be proactive.  Feeling down and not sure why.  So tell me, what does "normal" feel like again?  I think I've forgotten.

Surgery Anxiety

Friday night was crazy!  I got in bed at 1:00ish and could not sleep.  I laid there for almost 2 hours and decided to get up and watch a movie until I got sleepy.  As it turned out, I watched the entire movie - a great tearjerker, I might add - but still was not sleepy after 4:30!  I found myself thinking about the surgery.  Little things like: what will I look like afterwards? What should I pack?  How will I tolerate visitors?  Will I be able to work at all that week?  I finally went to sleep at daybreak - 5:30 Saturday morning - and slept two hours before getting up to take Sarah to a hair appointment.  Not a good experience!

Two Great News Flashes!!

First of all, my friend who I told you about who had the recurrence scare got her biopsy and results this week.  It's BENIGN!!!  We are praising God whole-heartedly for this blessing.

Secondly, my cardiologist has cleared me for my surgery.  It looks like the pre-op EKG test had a glitch on Monday, but to be certain, he did another EKG today, and it looks great!  Yay God!!