Post Op Palooza! ...and a Baylor kind of weekend

Sorry again for the week long break in updates but it has been a great and very busy week. A brief summation:

Last Saturday hubby and I got to go see the Michael Jackson Cirque de Soleil show. It was so.cool. #AnnieAreYouOkFlyingUpInTheAirLikeThat?

Then This.Week.Was.Full.Of.Appointments

Like woah - and usually MDACC is REALLY good about putting appointments all on the same day but not this week. This week I had to follow up with 3 different clinics that are unfortunately all run on different days so I went and spent way too much on parking was a very good patient and made all my 30 day post op appointments!

Anybody else feel like follow up appointments are just some crazy alternate universe where life's purpose becomes to wait in the waiting room longer than you actually see a physician AND THEN YOU PAY THEM FOR IT? Don't get me wrong - I get it. Follow up are necessary. It's way important and I'm there no doubt. But still...

Monday: 30 day Post op with breast surgery. Dr. Mittendorf was my breast surgeon there at MDACC. For those that might be confused - recall that there are two surgeons in this procedure - the breast surgeon who performs the actual mastectomy (removal of the breast tissue) and then the plastic/reconstructive surgeon who puts it all back together. She (and some visiting surgeon from Spain...read: "welcome foreign man to this room of white ...here are my boobs...what do you think?") checked me out and said:  everything looks good (yay!), gave me an awkward'ish hand shake/side hug/high five because we all went for something different at the same time because I assumed a topless hug was just not something we were doing at that point (you gotta buy me dinner or something first right?!? What is that even - like 2nd base-and-a-half?...I digress), and discharged me from her service. So that was good. And awkward. But so is my life. C'est La Vie. One down - two to go.

Wednesday: Deja valet vu. 30 day post op with plastics. They are super pleased with my progress. We did the true last final fill (woot!) to bring me to 485 mls in my expander (this gets me to a full C/small D with a more projecting expander so I'll likely be much closer to a full C once I get implants as implants are softer - thank you jesus - and a little flatter than the expander). This last fill was definitely a harder one (no pun intended...sorta). I feel like I have two base balls surrounded by an elastic belt around my chest and the tight sore cramps feeling didn't really dissipate for like 4 days unlike the other fills where I felt fine after a days or so. Nothing a little ibuprofen can't fix though.

I got a full unrestricted release to go back to work, am now on a 15-20 lb limit (for occasional non strenuous lifting...still out of the weight room at the gym) and was cleared to start working out more on the elliptical or stair master and to start easing back into spin class! I don't have to follow up with them for a month now and next month I should be cleared to return to the pool and go back to yoga. I.am.pumped. to get to start working out again (although I have yet to get back...). We also started talking about scheduling my stage 2 implant surgery. Fingers crossed for sometime in the last 2 weeks of October! They typically want the expanders in for 8-12 weeks after the final fill so those weeks put me at either 10 or 11 weeks after final fill. This would really help with getting most things done before the holiday season and get me back to working out faster so I can start my true ironman training!

Thursday: 6 month follow up with Breast Oncology. This is the office my genetic counselor and physician are housed out of. This was an easy in and out appointment and I now will only check in with them every two years or so which is great news!

So now I'm pretty much down to just following up with plastics which is awesome. If all goes to plan I'll just have my follow up in September then another set of followup/preop appointments in October then implants! I am already on a no-more-barbie-boobs countdown!

I put in a full week's worth of hours at work this week too which was awesomely exhausting. So tired. So thankful to be back in the swing of things.

THEN to top off a super amazing week my sister, niece and I decided to go to the best college around hands down our alma mater BAYLOR this weekend for a last minute girls trip! We had such a blast reminiscing about great old times, walking campus, taking tons of pictures, dressing her sweet little one up in more Baylor gear than one girl can even handle, seeing our amazing new stadium that we will be cleaning house in all season and eating and eating and eating at all our favorite places. It was great. I am so thankful for my sister. She's the best. And she makes pretty amazingly precious babies. It was a really sweet time.

So between all that and hanging out with the hubs and trying to get some sleep it's been a busy and awesome and crazy and super duper week (alternate note - I'm sleeping better but still not much at all. It's just really hard to get comfortable. If anyone has any tips on finding more sound sleep when on your back or side'ish I'm all ears).

So that's all folks! No appointments again until next month but I'll still be updating at least weekly to keep ya'll updated on the fun going on around here.

Hope you have an awesome blessed amazing week! Remember - only 20 more Fridays (or 10 more paychecks) until Christmas! Yep...I'm starting already.

Happy Monday!