August 16, 2003
Saturday, 3 days after surgery

It's me!

I have drains in for about a week, kind of gross but the girls take care of them for me so I don't have to look! Jen calls them my grenades! Get them out when the yukky stuff measures less than 15cc. The plastic surgeon doctor - Dr.Jankauskas - Dr. J for short calls me "her highness!" Came up behind me in the hospital yesterday morning and said, "Well, if it isn't her highness, out for a stroll." He is too funny.

All the doctor visits begin when I go to get the drains out and have my first appointment with Dr. J. Then I always see my regular surgeon Dr. Portoghese or Dr. P, a week after I see Dr J. After the drains are out I return in a week for my first "fill!" Sounds a bit like I am getting the car gassed up! I will go, roughly speaking, about once a week, have to see how comfortable it is for my skin to stretch, for a fill until I am the size I would like to be - how's that for ultimate satisfaction! Then we wait a bit and then I go back in for surgery to have the expanders taken out and the permanent implants inserted - he will also do liposuction under my arms at that time (a little extra added bonus there!) Then all will sit for two to three months for things to "settle." Then he will take skin from my tummy and create the areola, they use your own chest skin for the nipple. Amazing! After that all settles down I may or may not get the area tattooed! I may have them tattoo a rosebud, too, while they are there anyway!

Don't have the pathology report back yet so don't know the rest of the course of treatment at this point. Then I may or may not see the Oncologist, Dr. Molthrop or of course, Dr. M, and will know what my immediate future holds. Dr. P said the lymph node sample they removed had no glaring problems but it is the microscopic stuff they are really concerned with.

I asked Jaime to compose a prayer for me to read every day in words she thought I would use when speaking to God. She left it out this morning for me and it is wonderful. Her "art" is with words and she excelled with this creation. Don't know if you know this about me but I feel closest to God in my garden not in a building and she based the prayer on those feelings. I am truly blessed with family and friends and have had the most extraordinary life so far and see more, wonderful things for the future. Something like this really makes you take stock in what you have, what you have done with your life and what you will do. I am already a strong woman and feel this will only make me stronger and more aware of others.

I am sending this out to all of you who have made this ordeal so very easy for me with all your support, prayers and well wishes. I truly love you and it is an awesome feeling to be able to love so many people!

I also want to extend the invitation for you to ask me questions, now and any time in the future. It is a scary thing to face but the known is much less scary and if there are any questions I can answer I will be glad to, even for a friend of yours that would like information. I talked a lot with the nurses and you would think they would know everything but it was as a woman that I spoke with them and not a patient. Big difference.

I also was not ill with any nausea in the hospital from the anesthetic. I usually feel so miserable for the first 24 hours - that was usually way worse than whatever procedure I was having done. The gave me a new "recipe' and I had them write it down for me for the future since I know I will need to have the general anesthesia another time yet. Be glad to share that info if anyone needs it.

Must go now, took my "happy pill" and am feeling a bit woozy. Just wanted all of you to know I am home and feeling very well.

Love,

Margot (IBTC member for now, soon to be known as Perky Polly)

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