Full Support

Yesterday I wore a real bra for the first time since September 2008. Since the mastectomy, I have worn a mess of medical bras, light weight Gap sporty bras, prosthetics inside and outside bras, and nothing. The wearing of the bra was as uneventful as it should be.

Last week I went to Nordstrom's for a fitting. I chose Nordstrom for two reasons: customer service and their prosthetic program. Prior to my catching the cancer, my shopping experiences in department store lingerie departments had been less than comforting. Once when seeking a minimizing bra to fit into a special order bridesmaid dress, the sales lady loudly informed me that I could "just duct tape 'em, honey." At other stores, the sales clerks were nonexistent or uninformed. The only store that was ever helpful was Nordstrom's.

I was a bit hesitant about foisting my chopped-up torso onto an unsuspecting sales person, especially since the only people to have seen my winking smiley face (my nickname for my scars) have been my medical teams, my husband, and my mother. So while I got the go-ahead to wear bras from my surgeon a few months ago, I put it off. In my hunt for a nice lingerie store in the area, I discovered that Nordstrom's has a Prosthesis Program. I called ahead to explain my situation and was told I wouldn't need an appointment. So last Friday, I first went to a spa for a facial, and then to Nordstrom's for a bra fitting. The sales ladies were wonderful. They barely batted an eye; just went about grabbing different bras, whipping them on and off me until we found 3 that I liked. Their only concern was if I had healed from my surgeries.

If I could afford it, I don't know if I would shop anywhere else for bras ever again. I rarely leave a store feeling good about myself (a long boring story/rant about how clothing retailers don't make and/or sell  clothing for tall women and/or sell them in their stores), but I did on Friday. Thank you, Nordstrom's.

Moving Right Along

On Tuesday, we went to see magic fingers for a 6-week post-surgical appointment. As per usual, I have been healing wonderfully, and the surgeon is pleased with his work. He told me I am free to do what I want. No more restrictions on swimming, bathing, exercise or clothing. Yippee!!!

Prep Work

Before my surgeries, I madly attempt to make my house a more hospitable destination for healing. Since Brandon will not be home with me during the day, I need to know that food and entertainment will be easily accessible. Yesterday, we went to Trader Joe's, where I stocked up on cheese, hummus, crackers, chips, and fruit. After five surgeries, I know what I like to eat when I'm at home and don't feel well. Today has been whirlwind of activity around the house. And now I am exhausted, and drinking my last glass of wine for a few weeks.

Today's To Do List included the following tasks

• Multiple loads of laundry, folded and put away. Now I do laundry often, but usually I let the clean clothes pile up on the guest bed until it is time to do laundry again (meaning that the pile is gone).
  
• Found old VHS tapes to watch. I plan to spend time on guest bed since it is in the "coolest" room in the house. The VCR is in the same room, so I plan to watch some of my old VHS tapes. So glad the movies weren't purchased at the yard sale nor did I give them to Goodwill.
  
• Prepared and/or cooked the following items for consumption during the upcoming week: chopped cantaloupe, chopped and blended gazpacho, zucchini cake with chocolate chips, and cleaned sweet cherries. Also put ginger ale and sparkling water cans in fridge. And then cooked fresh peaches in grapeseed oil with leftover pulled pork, and corn fritters for dinner.
  
• Tore out recipes, decorating tips, and party ideas from old issues of the Martha Stewart magazine before tossing the magazines in the recycling bin. Not really a necessary pre-surgical task but something I'd been meaning to do for about a year. What would be a better time than when I've got a billion other things to do? I certainly can't think of one.
  

I keep thinking that I have forgotten something. And even if I have, it is not the end of the world. But I hate being entirely reliant on someone to do basic tasks for me. I won't be able to drive for a few weeks. I may not be able to sit up by myself. I won't know the full level of my limitations until Tuesday when I wake up from surgery. So I plan and prepare for the worst.

Fresh Air

Wow! I just realized that I haven't been outside of the house since arriving back home Tuesday night after my surgery. No wonder I'm beginning to sense a bit of stir-craziness in my bones. Unfortunately, my mobility is not great, and according to my local news source my county is under a low level snow emergency. Crap! So leaving the house is probably not a good idea. My body would not be so happy with me if I slipped and fell. To give you an idea of my mobility levels, I can barely walk up and the down the stairs on my own, and I can't sit up in bed without assistance. Does anyone have any low energy entertainment suggestions?

Cream-y

So it has been a little more than two months since my big ass surgery. According to my surgeon, whom I have begun calling Magic Fingers but not too his face, things are looking good. The fat is settling into its to new location on my chest. He can now see what needs to be fixed. One "breast" is larger than the other. The other "breast" is lopsided. And the stomach area also needs some touching up. My next follow-up surgery will be outpatient, and should only take about 2-3 hours which is no time at all if you remember that my October surgery was about 15 hours.

The only lingering issue for me right now is that my stomach scar is taking forever to heal. It seems that some of the stitches are disintegrating like they are supposed to. In order to help move this process along, while in the shower, I clean the hole/indentation in my stomach with a cotton swab, and then put on my fancy silver sulfadiazine cream.

Despite a downturn economy, I'm doing my best to keep the lotion companies in business. I use a variety of baby skin lotions on my new "breasts" and stomach. Gotta keep the skin supple. Sometimes I feel like all I do is rub lotion on myself. Good times!