I let Dr. Mosier know since he was the one who had asked me to attend the meeting and be a model. He was not pleased with this news and said he would look into their "policy" as he thinks it's ridiculous that I can't participate...amen Dr. M! I can understand where the BCRC is coming from but I still think it would be great for them to extend their outreach to men/women that haven't had breast cancer yet either.
Last night I attended the Art Bra Austin Model Q&A to hear about this fundraising event and to learn more about becoming a model for the show in June. To saw I was blown away and very excited is an understatement. I had already found an Austin artist to work with and was getting some thoughts and ideas together to help her with the design, but..... You knew there was going to be a but, right? Apparently even though I have gone through the reconstructive process, since I am not a breast cancer survivor or a client of the BCRC, I cannot be a model for the show. I left extremely disappointed but also very emotional. I was disappointed for obvious reasons but the emotional side had many parts.
I let Dr. Mosier know since he was the one who had asked me to attend the meeting and be a model. He was not pleased with this news and said he would look into their "policy" as he thinks it's ridiculous that I can't participate...amen Dr. M! I can understand where the BCRC is coming from but I still think it would be great for them to extend their outreach to men/women that haven't had breast cancer yet either.
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I got an email this past week from Dr. Mosier's office assistant asking me to attend a meeting this coming week about modeling in the 2015 Austin Art Bra show. If you've never heard of it, check it out here! Models can be any woman that is a part of the BCRC community. I remember hearing about this event last year but it had just passed. I was so bummed as I just wanted to attend but to think that I could actually be a part of it, how cool is that?!?
The bras are donated by artists and aren't made of just glitter and jewels. Look through the gallery to see the amazing art that these artists create for this great fundraiser. I will know more after this first meeting on January 29th and will post more then! I decided to pick up my old blog: EatWorkoutandLove.blogspot.com. I want to be able to talk about other stuff but keep this blog primarily about my mastectomy journey and all things breast cancer related! Come follow me over there too. Today I had my follow up with Dr. Mosier and it went GREAT! I have to do the gauze dressing around my nipples for one more week just to help ensure that they don't sink in too much. I have ZERO bruising but am still a little swollen and tender in certain places. I am completely out of the Spanx, thank the LORD! Those things are the devil.
I will not go back again until mid March and at that appointment we will discuss my areola tattoos. I will meet with the woman who does them and discuss size, shape, color, etc. Who knew you could design your own nipples?! LOL I have to wait until 3 months after my nipple reconstruction surgery to do the tattoos or insurance won't pay for them. I just got new insurance too so I'm hoping this is a smooth process. The only down side is now I have to start over and pay my $500 deductible again and 20% of any future costs...ugh! I sure wish I could have done this all before January 1st. I was cleared for lower body and upper body as long as I listen to my body and not push myself too much. I bought a Groupon for cycling before the Christmas holidays so I am looking forward to starting that soon. It's time to get back into shape...pre-surgery shape! I am so behind on my blogging but here goes!
Today I am a little over 3 weeks post op from my liposuction and nipple reconstruction surgery that happened on 12/19. I am like a new woman! I am only having to wear the Spanx at night, which is GREAT and I'm still doing the gauze around my nipples. I'm not sure how long I am supposed to do that but I have another check up this week with Dr. Mosier and will ask him then. My bruising is almost completely gone from my legs and my boobs and back are completely healed. My back is still a tiny bit sore from the lipo but nothing compared to what it was. Wearing jeans to work this past week was a weird feeling as my bruises weren't compressed by the Spanx and just kind of jiggled around when I walked. I wouldn't say it hurt but it was slightly uncomfortable. My nipples have almost completely changed and I am no longer embarrassed of them. At my last appointment with Dr. Mosier he tidied up the stitches and cut them down to make them look better and dissolve faster. Stitches were literally coming out of my nipples from every direction. It looked gross and gangly before! I have been off of my ice packs and pain meds since the day I left for Indiana. I had such a great time hanging out with my bf's friends and we attended a PJ NYE party, which was great because we were already in our PJ's and our bed was just upstairs. We stayed up until 5 AM singing karaoke and having a blast. We later paid for that as we had to get up 4 hours later and drive to Chicago from Indianapolis. Now remember I told you he had some "surprises" for me?! Well we got to Chicago and met up with his grandma and 3 aunts that were just plain wonderful. I've never felt so loved by complete strangers! We all went out to eat at an awesome pizza place called Lou Malnati's and completely stuffed ourselves. The next morning we got up and took the train to downtown Chicago where Kody surprised me with a night at The Drake hotel. We spent the day shopping on Michigan Avenue and made our way down to see the bean in Millennium Park. We tried to go ice skating but the line was too long and we had to get back and get ready for our dinner reservations. That was my second surprise! He booked us reservations at The Sky Lounge on the 95th floor of the John Hancock building where we had a window seat with a city view. It was absolutely breath taking! My meal was to die for as well. I had pan seared sea scallops and gobbled them right down. The rest of the trip was a blast too and we ended up driving home Sunday evening, leaving Indiana around 9 pm and making it back into Austin on Monday around 5 pm. To say we were exhausted would be an understatement but we had so much fun on our road trip. I can't wait to go back for my follow up this week and see what's next! I just got home from 5 wonderful days in California with my family for Christmas. Being with them made recovering that much better and easier. My sister was a great nurse as well as my mom. She had ice cold champagne ready for me, warm blankets and a fire plus some amazing home cooked meals. Mom kept my ice packs full and cold and helped me get up and down from our air mattress. Handling my niece and nephew were a bit of a challenge because I am so darn sore from the liposuction.
PS. If you fly after liposuction ask you doctor as I had to take an aspirin 1 hour before my flights. You would not believe the bruising and swelling I have. It stretches from my mid back, down my hips and all the way down my legs to my knee. My boobs are also bruised and very tender where he did the fat injection; I was not expecting that but those bruises are healing the fastest of all. I am going to go ahead and give you the best advice of your life...NEVER GET LIPOSUCTION! If it weren't for the fact that I wanted to get rid of the rippling, I would have NEVER done it and now that I've been through it I beg you, DON'T DO IT! Eat salads, workout and/or juice to reduce fat...anything. The simplest things are so difficult like sitting, standing, walking, removing clothing, getting dressed... you name it, it hurts after lipo. I was truly miserable the entire time I was in California but I am so glad I went through it with my loving and supportive family. Even my niece was helpful and kept reminding me to be careful because of my "bruised butt!" LOL My sister wasn't sure what to tell her so that's what they decided on; Aunt Jenny has a very bruised butt! I have been very upset and unhappy with the way my nipples look too. I know it's a work in progress but the left one is so awful. The right one is starting to resemble a nipple which is a plus but scares me for my left one. Today I also had my 1 week-ish post op appointment and got right down to business with Dr. Mosier. I started by complaining about the Spanx and how awful they are especially on an airplane. He gave me some good and bad news. The good news is I only have to "try" to wear them for 24 hours for 1 more week and then I can wear them only at night for an additional week and then I'm D-O-N-E! He told me the reason I need to try to wear them as often as possible, is to help with smoothing out the areas where he removed fat in my legs and back. If it doesn't stay smooth, it could leave dimpling or uneven skin and I DO NOT want that! Spanx, here I come with a big, fat smile on my face. Next up was my nipple review. I shared my concerns about the left one and he said it looked fine but that if I wasn't happy with it in a few weeks he could do a quick nip tuck in the office. That made me feel better! I am still cutting, taping and wearing the gauze nipple shields. He said to make sure I am really supporting the left one as it is a little lazy. I can do this by making sure my gauze is in the right place and the hole isn't too big or too small. I made my appointment for 2 weeks from today and am off to unpack, do laundry and repack as I fly out again tomorrow morning to head to Indiana to see my boyfriend who is there visiting family. He said he has some "surprises" in store for me when we go to visit more family in Chicago.....EEK! I just love surprises. |
About This Blog:This is my journey to beat breast cancer before it beats me, by undergoing a non-nipple sparing, prophylactic bilateral mastectomy. Archives
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