August 31, 2022

Goodbye, August. I wish we were going into September and a holiday weekend with big plans, but I think it’s going to be laying low and feeling crummy. Covid has finally hit our house. Patrick tested positive yesterday. He’s been suffering from body aches and head cold symptoms. He also lost his sense of smell and taste, which is a bummer. I hope for his sake it comes back right away, or that will be hard for his cooking.

Although the next few days will probably be lousy, I am grateful that we’ve avoided getting Covid during the worst of the pandemic, and now the symptoms are mostly flu-like. I’m also thankful for good soup tonight thanks to Olive Garden drive-up delivery. And that I felt well enough to get our yard mowed before we had to let it go for another few days and we’d probably need a tractor to get through it.

August 29, 2022

I love it when I’m able to talk to both my kids like I did today. Texting is fine, but an actual conversation is better. And it was especially nice after a long Monday work day.

I’m also thankful to day for these late blooms in my garden. It’s starting to feel like fall, but these flowers are holding onto summer. Aren’t they lovely?

August 26, 2022

Fall is here in the Midwest USA. Our local Apple orchard opened today, so Patrick and I got there when it opened. Apple cider donuts, mmmm. I also found some Halloween spiders. I’m sure they’ll make their way into the blog soon.

The morning started well, and my afternoon got better. I spent a little time with my friend Ann after I dropped off some garden vegetables to her.

Then I had a massage. OMG. I had to use rolled up towels and a pillow to keep the pressure off my implants, but I’m glad I was face down for most of it. That way my masseur could not see me grimace. Everything hurt. I had knots all throughout my back. My legs. My shoulders. He also worked on the super tight muscle under my left arm that has bothered me since my very first surgery. I won’t be surprised if I see bruises over the next couple of days. But I’m so thankful I went. I think I can already feel some relief. As I told him when he commented on how well I was tolerating things, I’d rather suffer some short term pain for long term relief.

I’m thankful for a pretty good day, and I’m thankful for Ann who gifted me my first massage.

August 22, 2022

I had a follow up visit with my plastic surgeon today. I fully expected to schedule my next fat grafting procedure. Not so.

I had been feeling lately like my left side implant was higher than it started out, but I figured it was just my imagination. Turns out it’s not. My doctor says that the late effects of radiation are causing my skin to continue tightening, which in turn is pulling up my implant. He figures it is about 2 centimeters higher than after my surgery. It’s probably why I keep feeling aches and shooting pains along my side again. The implant is pressing more on my nerves since there is no more give in my skin.

The biggest problem, however, is that the movement is taking away the inframammary fold my doctor created by pulling up skin from my stomach. If he must recreate it again at some point, he will need to take skin from my back. The alternative is removing the implant on the right and reducing the size. That will require moving the nipple we tried so hard to save.

For now, we just wait to see if the skin continues to tighten and I’ll see my doctor again in December. I asked about the muscle tightness I have under my arm still, and he thinks the radiation has impacted the muscle as well. I’m going to start massage therapy to see if it makes any difference with the tight muscles. Maybe it will at least give me a little more range of motion.

It was a disappointing visit, but my doctor reminded me that I’m now fully healed from my surgery. Plus I have no more restrictions, aside from waiting one more week before soaking in a tub since he finally removed the scab from the scrape on my incision. I’m thankful that all is not lost yet. It sounds like I’ll have options. And even if the skin shrinks more, my doctor assured me the implant won’t rupture. Thank goodness.