Upcoming Surgery, and Other Things

I received my surgery packet last week. My surgeon's office is nice enough to send out a packet with info about the surgery, as well as preparing for it and recovering from it.

This surgery is called "revisions." The surgeon will be "sculpting" the two breast mounds for symmetry and placement, adding fat to fill in a scarred area in my right foob that is "wrinkly," liposuctioning the little bulges at the ends of my abdominal incision, and making nipples.

The surgery starts in Baltimore at 12:30pm on Monday April 27, and I am expected to be released from post-op recovery around 4:30pm. Depending on how tired/disoriented Jim and I are, we may try to find a local hotel for the overnight instead of driving the ~2 hours home.

I have to go to my family doctor this week for a mini-physical, an EKG, and orders for bloodwork. Information in the surgery packet tells me I will be down for about a week, and on activity restrictions for three weeks.

This is the last procedure planned for general anesthesia. I am very happy about that. The anesthesia really knocks me out....for days now.

Jim is planning to have his right knee joint replaced in June, and then we have planned a 9-day cruise for September. We will be taking a ship out of Bayone, NJ, up the east coast into Canada and back.

I was away for a week recently, in the DC area caring for a friend who had been released home after 3 weeks in the hospital for peritonitis. I feel this is one of the ways I can "pay it forward" for all the care others have given me through my journey.

Emma, one of the new kittens, worries me. She has a fever of unknown origin that has been going on for almost a month now. She is going back to the vet today for another check-up. She has lost weight, isn't eating well, and is very lethargic.

My brother Les is being such a trooper through his lung cancer treatments. This is his final week of first-round chemo and radiation. He is having alot of trouble swallowing, because the radiation is affecting his esophagus. But he is happy that the end is near. I talked with him on Saturday, when he was out buying a bunch of flowers for the yard. You have to feel somewhat OK to garden.

That's all the news.

More on Les

Les is so upbeat about all of what he is going through. He has only two more chemos scheduled (his chemo combo is Taxol and Carboplatin) and only 9 more radiation treatments. He still has his hair, was feeling "like shit" the Tuesday and Wednesday after his Monday infusion, but recovered (as much as possible) by Friday. He also is having throat problems from the radiation treatments, but a DR prescribed magic mouthwash, which did wonders for my mouth sores. He also has not smoked since his surgery, and is repulsed by the smell of cigarette smoke.

Good for you Les. I love you bunches.