MRI and pre-op appointment

I had my breast MRI on Monday.  This is just routine and “just to make sure” there are no tumors in my other breast.  I’m not quite sure what I would do if tumors show up.  The results will be in the mail in a couple of days.  Patience.....

Today was my pre-operation appointment with plastic surgeon, Dr. Vega.  I had to sign the surgery papers that tell you all the things that can go wrong.  Always fun.  Then, I had to strip down for my photo-shoot.  Also always fun.  (Eye roll).   The surgery is still scheduled for February 13th.  It should take about 2 hours to do everything (remove port, create a nipple, lipo and fix my disaster of a stomach from the DIEP flap incision, and fat graft my (hopefully non-tumor filled) natural breast.  She didn’t say how long I would be laid up, but the doctor had mentioned a week.  She says I will be really sore where they lipo to get fat for the fat graft.  She says that I will know if the fat graft was successful after three months because the body can sometimes absorb some of the fat.  If that’s the case, I would have to go in for another surgery to do more.  Question:  Why can’t my body absorb the Christmas fat I put on????  The final step for this reconstruction is tattooing on an areola.  They have a tattoo artist right in Vega’s office.  It takes about an hour.

On the immediate horizon:  A cut and color with my hair stylist next week!!  I’m excited.  I don’t have a lot of hair, but it’s time to have it trimmed up and get the gray out!

Joint update:  I’m still doing acupuncture every week.  I am in much less pain with my joints.  The doc gave me a moxa stick to do moxibustion at home for the pain.  It’s some ancient Chinese way of  giving the painful joints intense heat.  It really does take away my pain.  I don’t quite understand it.

And if you’re following the Bergen house saga:  Most of the downstairs carpets, ceilings, and some walls had to be gutted.  A company came in and dried the house and applied a mold barrier.  The oil company is taking responsibility for not delivering oil.  The buyers are sticking with it and besides getting a great deal on the house, are now going to get a brand new first floor!  If all goes well, we will let them choose their preferred carpet and paint colors.  The whole thing is unbelievable.  And then I will have to deal with the actual sadness of actually selling that house.