Update Post On My Health

I have received numerous emails from folks asking about my health and wondering how I am doing. Thank you to all my friends near and very very far in Blogdom. I love you all and look forward to hearing from you and reading your blogs as well.  My mastectomy was on August 14th. I was in the hospital from that day which was a Wednesday until that Friday evening I was released to come home. My husband stayed with me the entire time. My older sister met us at the hospital and stayed with my husband until I came out of surgery . Then late that evening she went to my home to stay with my children.  Between my 2 sisters they looked out for my kids until we returned from hospital. 
       My husband was off work several days with me. I had a good friend helping to cook meals and bring over and one of my sisters as well. In
addition to  my husbands cooking and getting take out.  I have been quiet sore and in lots of pain. The first muscle relaxers weren't effective. And a week later I finally got ones that actually worked. The pain meds work as long as I take them around the clock. Literally setting my alarm for every few hours to get up and take them. This week I am feeling quiet a bit better. But their are still lots of things I can not or should not do. 
    A couple days after my surgery by that did the mastectomy called me to let me know the lymph nodes he removed were all free of cancer. And that all my margins on the breast tissue were cancer free this time. That he had gotten it all this go round.  So awesome news....Yipppeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
      I have had my 3rd check up with my plastic surgeon as of yesterday. I had drain lines left in from the reconstruction process of the surgery. He removed one the first week after surgery and finally removed the last drain at yesterdays appointment.
      The plastic surgeon placed a tissue expander in the chest to start reconstruction as soon as my other surgeon had removed the breast on the day of the mastectomy.  At last weeks visit they were able to get 50 cc's of saline into the tissue expander. At yesterdays appointment more saline was placed in it. Their was 70 cc's added on yesterday.
   Because I am very small chested and very petite  I have the smaller version of tissue expander in me. Which means It should hopefully require less fills to get my skin stretched out enough to create a breast. Once the correct amount of skin is their and the tissue expander has been in long enough. Then more surgery will be scheduled to remove the expander and place my implant in their and as I put it create a boob...Hey I gotta stay light hearted and attempt to find humor where I can. The seriousness of this diagnosis can really get you down if you aren't careful. 
   I am not looking forward to more procedures. As each time they place the saline in is very painful to me...and it makes me start to hurt all over again.  Sleeping is difficult as I can no longer sleep in my normal position. I feel like I am in a sea of pillows all around me.  But overall I am doing very well. The plastic surgeon says I am healing very well and am ahead of schedule. So things are looking up.... No sewing & no  crafting is happening around here these days and I am several days behind on reading blogs. And I am going into withdrawal over both of them.

  Until next time keep on sewing & quilting

                                    Tammy