5.31.23

I’ve decided to go to PRMA in Texas for my reconstruction. I went round and round with this decision. It is where I really wanted to go, but it involves plane tickets and hotel costs (verses doing something closer to home that we could probably drive back and forth for). I found out about them when I was researching mastectomies and what that was going to be like. Cancer is bad enough, it was a huge blow to find out that with a mastectomy comes loss of sensation. PRMA does what they call TruSense (where they reconnect nerve endings to give you the best chance at regaining sensation or not losing it) and that gave me hope that I might have some sort of normalcy again. We seriously considered going there from the beginning but we weren’t sure how long it would take to get the approval from our insurance company and a surgery date scheduled. We didn’t want to wait an extra month to get the cancer out just in case that meant the difference between needing chemo or not. Little did we know I would need chemo either way. They specialize in breast reconstruction and since they are in network with our insurance I just can’t pass that up. I don’t have a date yet but I’m hoping to have it scheduled for sometime this summer. It would be nice to get it all behind me this year. I really appreciate the prayers for wisdom and discernment as we’ve been faced with tough decisions. It’s so hard making choices for the future that will permanently affect the rest of your life when you don’t know what the future holds. I know I can’t make a “wrong” decision. But I do have to be able to live with the decision I make. Without going into details: I have to look at my options and figure out the worse case scenario. Am I ok with that if that happens? It’s hard.

I had my CT scan last Wednesday. That was an experience! She said that I would feel it going in, have a funny feeling in my throat, my body would get hot, and then I would feel like I wet my pants. 😳 After she told me what to expect I wasn’t sure I wanted to do it! But, the point of the CT scan was to make sure the flap they will use for reconstruction has good blood flow and there aren’t any surprises during surgery. I definitely felt it going in. My arm burned. My whole body got warm and then I felt light headed. 😬 I’m glad to have that behind me. Hopefully they’ll get my results sooner than later and we can move forward with getting a surgery date scheduled.

I had another follow up with my oncologist yesterday too. I just want to say we’ve been so blessed with him as my oncologist. He takes the time to listen, he presents the facts, and then he sits back and lets me process it all. He isn’t pushy about what decisions he thinks I should make. In fact he’s quite insistent that I need to have a peace about the decision I make. He even said they (as in oncologists/doctors) tend to get caught up in how to get rid of the cancer, they don’t always look at the patient’s well being. And the patient’s well being is just as important as getting rid of the cancer. I’m just so thankful that this is the type of doctor I have for my cancer treatment. This time the follow up was to talk about how I was doing on Tamoxifen and then to talk about the shot that I will have to get once a month. And honestly I don’t feel like I have too many side effects. A huge answer to prayers ❤️ He didn’t think that my achiness was from the Tamoxifen. He said it could be the residual side effects of chemo. I have noticed a few hot flashes, but to be fair I have no idea if it’s truly that or the fact that it is finally getting hot out! ☀️ They also ran some kind of test on my cancer from the biopsy they took back in August. It was to determined how long I should be on Tamoxifen. My results: 10 years (the full time recommended). Not what I really wanted to hear, but it is what it is. I go in on Friday to get my first shot. I would really appreciate prayer for that that to go well. Hopefully I won’t have any horrible side effects from that either!! It will bring on full menopausal symptoms though. 😬 If I heard right they will set up a consult with his PA to go over some of those side effects and how to handle them if I would like. I can really appreciate they are trying to set me up for success as I navigate all of this. The nice thing about this step in my journey is if I feel like this shot is too much for me then I don’t have to get another one. 🙂

I’ve officially hit the 5 o’clock shadow stage!! And my eyelashes and eyebrows are more noticeable every day!! ❤️ Both dad and one of my sisters said they thought my hair had grown just in the time I was in Iowa over the weekend! 😀🤣❤️

CT time!

Grandpa needs a bigger bike! 🏍️❤️🙂

I can not tell you what a blessing it has been to have someone my age, that I know, who has walked the same path as me. This journey can feel so lonely sometimes. Unless you’ve actually gone through it you can only empathize so much. And honestly, I hope you will never fully know what it is like. It is definitely not how we would have liked to reconnect! However, we have decided at least a yearly trip to the Dariette would be in order. ❤️😉🍦🙂

I think it’s safe to say like father like daughter?? 🤣

Two more kiddos are done with school!! 😀