A Photographic Journey

Sorry, there are no pictures of breasts here, just random pictures from random moments that didn't make it into any other blog posts.

This is what my abdomen looked like after giving myself Lovenox injections before my first surgery.

Whereas some surgeons write YES and NO to remind themselves which side to operate on, Dr. L put a smiley face on my left hand. :)

I just thought it was funny there was a need to clarify that you should not use marijuana products post-surgery.

These are a few of my fantastic friends. Three days after my first surgery, I hosted book club, so they came over and helped me make Chinese dumplings. 

This is my porch, after it got a makeover. After the first oncologist I saw told us that we should cancel our vacation, my friend (in the photo above, on the right) helped me turn my porch into a tropical getaway. Or close. It made me feel better at the time, anyway. :)

Notice the crappy quality of the photos from here on out. This is because I got an old iPhone as a gift to myself for my hospital stay, and it takes terrible photos. I couldn't have made it through four days in the hospital without it, though.

This is my hair before I chopped it off.

This is my hair after I chopped it off. The reasons I chopped it off are as follows: 1. I needed a change. 2. I noticed that lot of women have short hair post-chemo, when their hair is still growing back, and it actually looks really, really good on them. Even though I missed out on the chemo experience, I decided to try the short hair thing. 3. I have VERY THICK hair, and ever since I started having surgeries, it has been difficult to care for. I wanted it short for The Mother Of All Surgeries so it would be easier to take care of. I'm so glad I did it. I think I might even keep it this way for a while.

This is me, waiting for my mastectomy.

This is me, post-mastectomy, showing you what a drain looks like. Before my mastectomy, I heard the drains were everyone's least favorite part about all of this, and even my surgeon admitted to me that she found the drains disgusting, so of course I Googled 'drains after mastectomy' to try to see what all the hullabaloo was about. I'm including my own photos of drains in case you arrived here the same way. (It gets even better when big chunks start appearing.)

This is me, in the ICU, the night after my reconstruction.

This was the sunrise the morning after my reconstruction, because I was up all night and didn't sleep a wink.

These are my kids climbing on the couch in my room, staying as far away from me as possible. I think it really freaked them out to see me hooked up to so many things.

This is what my abdomen looked like, six days post reconstruction. Lovely, huh?

This is what three drains pinned to an abdominal binder is like. I got off pretty easy and only had to deal with this for 10 days, but many women have these for several weeks.

This is me, 10 days after reconstruction, all dressed up (LOL) for my first post-op appointment with Dr. T. Suggestion #1: Save some of your maternity clothes, because they can come in handy if you have a mastectomy. Suggestion #2: Attach all the drains to a lanyard, wear them around your neck, and cover them up with a scarf if you're going out in public. Suggestion #3: Although dresses are the easiest thing to wear with an abdominal binder + drains, stick with a loose skirt so you don't have to get all the way undressed at the doctor's.

This is the card I made I for Dr. T, because I love him. LOL.

This is me on the way to book club. All those necklaces are necklaces I made for my book club friends, because I love them. LOL.