January-08-2008

Happy New Years 2008!!!

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year! I spent my Christmas in three parts: With Teddy, Kristin, & Evin, with the Guerrinas (Ben's Family), and Christmas Day with my parents and Ben. For new years, a bunch of my friends, Ben, and I went to a dressy concert venue in Washington DC, which was a lot of fun! Getting dressed up helped my suddenly lower self confidence, so it was a great way to start the new year!

So yesterday, January 7th 2008, I received my LAST (hopefully ever!) chemotherapy treatment!!! I was so excited to walk out of that building and wish and pray that my only return visits will be for HEALTHY follow ups!

Things I wont miss about chemo! :)
  -fingernails starting to fall off
  -having bad wig days
  -hot flashes (from the temporary menopause)
  -eyelashes falling out and eyebrows thinning
  -thrush!
  -occasional low self confidence (especially lately)

Things I will miss
  -Not having to do my hair in the morning (getting ready is fast!)
  -using my head as a thermostat
  -the nurses at the chemo center
  -feeling brave
  -not having to shave!

I also have the big surgery date scheduled for Feb 11th. Yikes! As nervous as I am about the surgery, I am very thrilled to be almost done! The reconstructive process of the surgery will take almost a year, but at least the big step is almost behind me! Here are the steps of surgery, if anyone is interested: (Feel free to skip over this for people who dont like medical talk)

1. Feb 11th: Unilateral Mastectomy with immediate reconstruction
  -I prayed for help with the decision whether to do a double or unilateral mastectomy. I believe God has shown me through the negative genetic test and negative lymph biopsy (done twice) that only doing a unilateral mastectomy isnt a risk, and it will hopefully give me the opportunity to breast feed on the unaffected side.
  -My breast surgeon will perform a skin saving mastectomy, which is cutting around the nipple and removing all of the tissue and nipple, yet saving the skin, so that the scar is only where the nipple was.
  -My plastic surgeon will place a tissue expander empty under the chest muscle (a tough pouch, similar to an implant, but with a valve to inject fluid), and then close the skin where the nipple was

2. After surgery, I will have 50mL of saline per week injected through the skin into the valve of the expander until the tissue expander reaches the same size as my other side. then, I let my muscles and tissues heal for 3 months

3. Approximately 3 months after the first surgery, I will have another surgery to replace the tissue expander with an implant.

4. A few months later, I will have a nipple made (very fascinating how they accomplish this!)

5. Then, finally, sometime this fall, I will have the nipple and aerola tattooed to match the natural color.

Too much information? haha!

Over this past weekend, my friends threw together a bowling fundraiser for me, which turned out to be a ton of fun. I was blessed with the opportunity to have my Aunt Julie (my dads sister), Uncle Scott, and cousin Kayla fly from Wisconsin come to my fundraiser. I am so grateful for my friends and family, who are constantly thinking of fun ways to raise money, and are always so supportive! Thank you!

I will write again soon before surgery! God bless all of you in 2008!

Love,
Jami