On Monday, I had a post-op appointment with the Plastic Surgeon. This is my sweet Becky. When I say I took a walk with Becky, it’s this chick. I’m really looking forward to our walks this Spring and Summer! She drove me to my appointment since I hadn’t been released from the gyno to drive just yet. Everything is healing nicely and I should be able to go binder free after two more weeks! The binder is super uncomfortable, but it helps the body to contour, so I’ll keep wearing it knowing it’s helping me have a good shape! After my diagnosis, my breast surgeon had me stop taking the birth control pill. I had taken it for years for the hormones. I was a nervous wreck to not take it for fear that my mood would be all over the place. I stopped taking it several years ago […]
Author: julesfarm@yahoo.com
Rebirth? Kinda Feels Like It
I’m not even kidding. I woke up Easter morning and thought to myself, He’s alive and so am I! A little feeling of “Rebirth” with my pal Jesus if you will. I was looking forward to an Easter tradition and I was feeling rested and good. Mike and I spend Easter with his side of the family almost every year. At least, I don’t feel like we’ve missed too many years of this tradition. Mike’s mom is one of nine children (three girls, six boys) and every Easter the entire family (four generations now, unless it’s five and I’m missing that?) gathers for a Pot Luck. It’s always fun to see the family continue to grow with new babies and new fiancés and watch the little ones fill their baskets after dinner. This is Mike’s mom on the far right. These are her two beautiful sisters. Mike’s mom is going to be 80 […]
Finally Feeling Cancer Free
July 21st, Breast Cancer Diagnosis. Surgery 1. August 31st, Double Mastectomy. Surgery 2. December 14th, Died Flap Breast Reconstruction. Surgery 3. March 21st, Total Hysterectomy and Breast Revisions. That’s three surgeries with six weeks each of recovery. That’s like four months of recovery and healing! I still have some breast revisions (just touch ups), but they will be minor and they will be outpatient. These revisions are no surprise as they were expected as a part of the DIEP flap breast reconstruction process. It’s a complicated breast reconstruction, but I knew that going into it. These revisions will not require me to take any time off work, other than maybe a day or two, but taking 6 weeks off after a surgery is now OVER! I had my last big surgery on Wednesday, March 21st, and came home the following day. My daughter Tess came in from Dallas for a week […]
Good Morning!
Just checking in to say Good Morning! I’m one week post op a full hysterectomy and revisions on my breast reconstruction. Other than feeling tired, I’m doing great! After reading so much about these two surgeries combined, I was prepared to be in a lot of pain for the first week, and I haven’t been at all! Yay! Tess came in the day before surgery and stayed with us for a week. She just went home on Tuesday and it was hard to let her go. Tess and Mike have become this great team when it comes to taking care of Mom and I’m not sure what I would do without them. I was feeling so good 4 days after surgery, that I even went to Palm Sunday at my In-Laws! (Our annual tradition so our kids and grandkids don’t have to stress on Easter trying to visit everyone) I […]
I’m Almost There
Hi Friends and Welcome New Readers! Thank you to Prevention Magazine for featuring my blog on their website and bringing me some new friends! They did a small feature about my blog in the magazine last Fall, then recently asked if they could share my blog online. Um….YES! I first feel like I should apologize to my new subscribers for not being the Weight Watcher blog you signed up to follow. However, I will be back to Weight Watcher blogging very soon! For now, I’m focusing on this dumb breast cancer and getting my body back. (Please make self breast exams a part of your monthly routine. Six months after a 3D mammogram, I found my lump and had it checked out!) Tomorrow I will be having my third surgery. I will be having a full hysterectomy and my new breast will be having a few revisions. After surgery, I’m on […]
Where Have I Been?
I kind of fell apart. Since finding out that I had an Iliac Aneurysm a few weeks ago (an aneurysm located in the abdomen) I let my mind go to the worst place that it could have gone. All that I could think about were the drastic measures that I had taken after my breast cancer diagnosis. Have a Double Mastectomy. No Implants! Go through a 10 hour surgery, have my entire torso cut open and have my belly fat transferred to my breast area and make new breast. Schedule a hysterectomy to remove Ovaries since my Breast Cancer is estrogen positive and eliminate the ovaries to eliminate any extra estrogen and to eliminate the chance of Ovarian Cancer since it runs in my family. Take my Uterus too. One of the drugs that I will now be taking to reduce the risk of a Breast Cancer reoccurrence can cause […]
Road Block
Just over a week ago, I went in for my 9 week post op appointment. The purpose of this appointment was so the doc could see how I was healing and discuss our next step, Phase 2 of the DIEP surgery and talk scheduling so the OB can do the hysterectomy at the same time. Yay. Progress. I was happy to learn that during the next phase of this surgery, the doc will be able to give my new breast a much needed lift and a reduction and clean up a few things around my ab incision. He will also do some “fat grafting” where he will take fat from my hip area and fill in the top of my breast where there are still some empty spaces from where the breast tissue was removed with the mastectomy. This appointment is really a discussion of how he will make things look pretty and more […]
WW Freestyle Fiesta!
I haven’t hosted any sort of social get together in months! When Weight Watchers offered the opportunity for WW Ambassadors to host a Freestyle Fiesta, I gladly accepted! On Tuesday morning, I hosted a Freestyle Fiesta Brunch for a few friends. It was so fun to have a houseful of girl friends on a cold and dreary Ice/Snow Day! You all know I love to play in the kitchen, but I will say that fixing food for a large crowd stresses me out. I can’t boil water and carry on a conversation. I can have 10 different things going on in the kitchen, but carrying on a conversation can NOT be one of those 10 things. That being said my Crockpot Breakfast Casserole was not completely cooked and I realized it after I’d told every one to dig in. My Enchilada recipe had great flavor, but I did not buy chopped […]
Happy Saturday!!
Thank you Rebecca for my adorable coffee cup! All the coffee in the world can not seem to make this face look awake! Hi All, I am alive and well. So, I jumped right back into life full speed ahead and everything has been great except for my time management skills. Blogging has been at the top of my “want to” list, but life responsibilities and a little fun here and there has left my blog feeling extremely neglected. Yes, my blog has feelings. I am happy to report that I have been cooking and eating lots of yummy Freestyle foods, I spent last weekend out of town and had all sorts of fun, I have been walking on the treadmill and doing Yoga with Adrienne on YouTube (Love her!) and I am back working at WW meetings! I worked at three meetings this morning and I was the Leader at […]
I’m Talkin’ Eggs
I hope you all are having a great Sunday! It is snowing just a little here in Kansas City and I think that it is beautiful! It’s looking like a good day for some Turkey Sweet Potato Chili and a fire. We are watching the Super Bowl here at home and then I’m all ready for This Is Us! I have a feeling it’s going to be tear jerker! Are you watching This is Us? I went to my WW meeting on Friday and it feels so good to have that worked back into my schedule for now. I loved being back at work Thursday morning, and this week I will be working at meetings on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, so a routine is going to feel great! I didn’t blog daily this week like I wanted to either due to lack of time, or internet issues, so I thought […]