Yay, Friday! I had another painfully good massage today. I’m finally getting some fascia release that’s loosening things up a little. It’s a good thing.

I’m grateful today that Emma has been able to spend time with a friend while she’s here this week. I’m also thankful that we will see her again this weekend before she leaves on Monday.

This is the second Thursday in a row where we have gotten a major snowfall, and of course, I had my MRI scheduled this morning. I’m glad I didn’t arrive too early because they were already behind schedule. I was there at 7:45 for an 8:00 am appointment but didn’t get in the MRI room until 9:00. Because of my implants, the scan took an hour. An hour laying face down with my arms up. After about 40 mins, my arms started twitching. I was so thankful when the nurse announced I was down to my last “round.”

If you’ve had an MRI, you are familiar with all the weird and extremely loud sounds the machine makes. I forgot how much they drown out the music playing through the headphones, so to keep myself occupied, I started counting all the different noises. There were about a dozen, give or take. If you’ve never had the pleasure of an MRI, check this out for a sample. Only know that it’s even louder.

By the time I got home around 11:00, I got my results, which made the long morning worth it. The MRI showed “no abnormal enhancement to indicate malignancy. Bilateral breast implants without rupture.” Woohoo! Still cancer free. I’m incredibly grateful for that today.

I’m thankful today for funny cards, silly laughter, living room strutting, and fuzzy blankets.

Happy Valentine’s Day! I know it’s not a holiday everyone celebrates, but I enjoy having a day reserved for love—and not just romantic love, but friendship as well. And I felt the love today. I’m thankful for my friends and family. And for dinner out with Patrick and Emma.

I’m thankful for having a day off and having a fun time today with Emma. We went out for breakfast, and then drove to a cute little town and did some shopping. It was a lovely, warm day to be out and about. We finished our day with dinner with Patrick, manicures, and Ted Lasso repeats.

I’m thankful for a beautiful day today. It was warm and sunny and felt like spring. We went to church and had lunch afterwards and ran a couple of errands. Emma then went over to a friend’s house. Since I’m taking tomorrow off work to hang out with her, today feels like an extra Saturday. Yay!

I’m so thankful today that Emma is here to visit this week. The pups are happy about it, too!

Yup, I’m thankful it’s Friday! Even more so because Emma is coming to visit tomorrow and will be in town for a week. Yay!

Well, today was my appointment with my new plastic surgeon. It was the one day in our week where the weather was bad—a mix of rain and snow. His office called me to offer an alternative appointment next week, but I didn’t want to postpone, and I’m glad I didn’t. It sounds like I’m in for another long haul.

I have a couple of options but both entail multiple surgeries. One would use skin and fat from my stomach, the other would use skin and muscle from my back. Both have long recovery times—6 to 8 weeks—and would require hospital stays of 2-4 days. And I wouldn’t be able to get scheduled until several months from now. He also suggested I either have my ovaries taken out ahead of time, or wait until my second surgery with him.

I left feeling like I wanted to cry, mostly from the exhaustion of knowing I’m starting over again. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn’t multiple surgeries.

On the upside, this doctor has done thousands of the option I’m leaning towards and even teaches at a university hospital, so I feel confident about his ability; I could get rid of the implants; I don’t need to worry about losing weight because he’ll use the fat for the surgery (more fat = bigger my boobs); I’ll essentially get a tummy tuck; and I have options when I was worried I might not. I’m thankful for the upsides.

I recently wrote this poem, and it sums up my feelings today. I’m going to leave this here, and then I’m going to focus on the positives.

It was a long day again starting with a 6 am, four-hour training. I feel like I spent 90% of my day in meetings, so I’m thankful for an easy evening and a glass a wine. And with so much devastation out there today, I’m grateful that a long workday is the worst I’m dealing with.