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.

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!