Surgery Update

Last week I had a tissue expander implanted in me. The expander will be pumped up and force my skin to grow. The skin will then be used to create my brand, new, fancy breast. The entire stretching process should take about three months.

The procedure knocked me down a bit more than I anticipated. My original plan was to return to work on the Tuesday following the procedure. Instead, it is now Friday, and I am still at home (working but at home). Thank goodness for VPNs and the web, it is almost like I am at the office but instead of my team of nurses sleeping beside me while I lounge on the couch in my pajamas with my laptop. I could very easily become adjusted to this way of life.

Yesterday, Brandon and I returned to Cleveland to have my drainage tube removed, which was an uneventful process. We did spend quite a bit of time in the waiting room. While waiting to see the doctor, a young woman and her family were also there. By young woman, I mean someone in her 30s. I wish I knew her name so I could give her an online shout out of encouragement. She was bald (from chemo) and proud of it. She even wore a t-shirt which explained her situation -- it said something like "I'm bald from my medicine" but better, I just can't remember the exact comment.

I could never have done what she is doing. She was so confident and seemed to have such a positive attitude (or least from what I overheard in her conversations with others). I wish that I had seen her earlier in my process because it might have made being bald easier for me. I could barely walk around my house without some kind of head covering on.

So while I didn't say it yesterday, and I'll probably never see the proud bald lady again, I do want to acknowledge what a wonderful role model she is for all the young, bald, cancer patients. I wish I could have been more like her.