Today I had several appointments for my pre-op clearance for my surgery next Monday - the 24th. First stop of the day was to see Dr. L. She was out of the office,but I spoke with her nurse instead, who gave me the run-down of when surgery starts, what they'll do, recovery time, etc. She also showed me the LOVELY drains I have to take care of for the next several weeks. Ugh. In case many of you don't know, the drains are hooked into my breast tissue and are connected by a tube into a hollow bulb - and as the incision/tissues drain of blood/pus/excess whatever, they drain out into these bulbs. Then I have to empty these things every day and measure how much comes out. Ew. This may be the worst part about this whole thing....
Next stop was to see Dr. A., who is the plastic surgeon giving me my boobs back. He discussed some of the incisions they'll make and told me where scars may be. Then he talked about how I'll need to come back once a week for a check up and get the expanders filled. This should take about 5-6 weeks. As long as no further treatment is necessary, I could have my permanent implants as early as Christmas! lol But I told him I'd want to wait until after the holidays, so we're shooting for next Spring. He kept reassuring me I was in good hands with him and Dr. L. and that they've done a lot of these before. Gee thanks.
My next stop was to pre-admissions. I had to sign a ton of paperwork, submit my insurance information - again, and then sent for pre-admission testing. They took another whole medical history and showed me where to check in and where I'll be transported to for the surgery. She told me what floor I'll go to once I'm admitted to the hospital, but of course I won't know what room yet.
My last stop for the day was to see the gastro doctor, Dr. R. He's been checking me since chemo wreaked such havoc on my gastric system and made me really sick. The problems have lessened, but they haven't stopped like they should have, so he wants to run a number of tests. Of course they'll have to wait until after my surgery, but we have them scheduled anyway. So one more thing to look forward to.
So with surgery only days away, everything is finally lining up. Which doesn't make me any less nervous of course. This is one surgery I don't know how to handle. I'm anxious about losing a part of my body - and looking and feeling different. Yes my husband loves me, but will he look at me different? Will people see that something is wrong with me? Will they think I'm not as strong as I say I am?
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