42. Fill #4 - 11 weeks post-op

it seems like yesterday that i did a photo blog and here i am again with another. i had my fourth fill today and am very pleased with my size. i don't know if you can tell the difference in size compared to last weeks photos. i can really see the difference now in my profile.


here are the stats of my 4rd fill:

going in
LEFT - 230 cc's
RIGHT - 240 cc's

cc's added this visit
LEFT - 50 cc's
RIGHT - 60 cc's

where i'm at now
LEFT - 280 cc's
RIGHT - 300 cc's

i am working on a time line photo blog which should be really cool so look out for that really soon!

41. Fill #3 - 10 weeks post-op

finally. updated pictures. and yes. it is 2:45am. i should be sleeping but i am a natural night owl and since surgery my system has reverted to what it wants to do. but for now, this is not a problem because i usually babysit in the afternoon/evenings so i can sleep in till 1pm if i choose.

here are the stats of my 3rd fill:

going in
LEFT - 170 cc's
RIGHT - 200 cc's

cc's added this visit
LEFT - 60 cc's
RIGHT - 40 cc's

where i'm at now
LEFT - 230 cc's
RIGHT - 240 cc's

i think i could have added more this visit but i was playing it safe because i felt pretty tight on the left side. however, with in 10 minutes of me leaving the p.s. i was fine and already wishing i had added more.

lol. because i am so small, these foobs look humongous on me. however, i am still lacking the desired projection so we have 4 more appointments scheduled for fills. i think i will be pretty happy with my size over the next 2 appointments and the last 2 fills will be for the over-fills that my plastic surgeon likes to do.

so based on those appointment dates, i am thinking my exchange will be around november...i hope...and this is pending that there are no complications. my minor complication now that i mentioned yesterday is pretty much the same...but not visible in the pictures below.

also, here is a list of my upcoming fills:
june 29th
july 27th
august 24th
september 7th

i liked when they were every 2 weeks. i don't know why the appointments after june 29th are spread so far apart. i am going to ask about that. i am getting anxious to be done so hopefully i can get on a cancellation list to have one or two of those done sooner. i have a deadline as i start college january 2011...for nursing!

also, i don't know if you can notice...but as i am being expanded, unfortunately my scars are stretching out too and becoming quite large. this has been a bit of an issue with me and a little difficult to deal with. it makes me sad and i have my moments of despair. i really wanted perfection here. i also know my results are stellar at this point too and that hopefully with the final surgery they will be minimized. i also know over time they will fade to white and that i am blessed to have a choice in reconstruction with an optimal outcome.

with out further ado...here are the pics...please pay no mind to the bra impressions in my skin. and you can click for close ups.

40. life is getting back to normal

i had full intentions of doing a blog update this week but life has gotten away on me and i find myself busy and enjoying life. i apologize because i do have a lengthy update to post but it involves taking pictures of my most recent fill. i admit i have not taken the pictures yet because i was away for a few days, then returned and had company for a few days, and now i am cramming to finish my english and biology courses in time for spring college application.

i am having the teeniest most minor complication at the moment which i hope proves to be nothing at all. on saturday after i got out of the shower i noticed that my incision on my right breast/nipple looked "fresh". it looked like a 1/4 inch paper cut. i called my p.s. immediately but he was unable to get back to me until the next day due to being in surgery. either way, i mentioned that it looks for the most part superficial but he did suggest to continue keeping the area clean and to additionally apply polysporin to prevent any sort of infection. the "paper cut" has gotten a little bigger and is now almost a 1/2 inch but again, superficial looking.

i still have a concern of course that it could completely open up. the p.s. suggested that it could be happening if a suture is trying to work it's way out. i wonder if it has happened because maybe my last fill was too much for the incision to handle...or i am wondering if it is because i wake up on my stomach and being in that position is possibility causing the skin to stretch and compromise the incision. with way, i am making an effort not to sleep on my stomach right now.

i have another busy day tomorrow, but i will try and do my best to get an up-to-date photo blog posted tomorrow.

39. Please Vote!

(from Teri's Blip)

If you had a chance to easily help Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered (FORCE) win $250,000, would you do it?

If like me, your answer is yes, then here is your chance. It won’t cost you a dime. All it takes is being a member of Facebook, and a vote for Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered as your favorite charity.

A campaign on Facebook called Chase Community Giving is going to be giving away a total of $5 million dollars to be split between 200 charities. The charity with the most votes will receive $250K, 4 runner-ups will receive $100K, and 195 charities will receive $20K.

FORCE is the only national nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the needs of and improving the lives of individuals and families affected by hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. They provide lifesaving information on the latest medical treatment and risk management, resources, and awareness.

Voting on Facebook starts todfay June 15, 2010 and the lucky 200 winning charities will be announced on July 13, 2010

What would FORCE do with the money if they won?

For starters:
$1,000 delivers the latest in BRCA research and information to 500 families.
$500 gives 60,000 visitors access to their website for one month.
$300 provides a scholarship to FORCE’s annual conference to one person that could not otherwise attend.
$200 provides life-saving information to 100 people through their newsletter.
$100 provides phone-based support and resources via the Helpline for one month.
$50 provides a package of informational brochures to doctor’s offices and hospitals.

Just think – if $2250 can do all of that – how much good could be done even if we only place among the bottom 195, and win the lowest amount of $20,000! That’s a whole lot of help, to a whole lot of people!

You may be asking yourself, “Why is this important?” Forsomeone who has a BRCA genetic mutation or HBOC, having an organization like FORCE on my side is invaluable. Without information and knowledge of what these genetic mutations mean, people can and DO die from hereditary breast and ovarian cancer.

Spreading information saves lives, and provides much needed peace of mind, education, and emotional support for those of us afflicted with this mutation.

If you are on Facebook then it’s very simple to vote. The first thing you do is go here:
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving

The next step is to join the movement by scrolling down just a little bit on the page and clicking the ‘Like’ button.

Next step: Click the big green ‘Search’ button and copy this text: Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered and paste it in the box that says ‘Charity Name.’

Click the big blue ‘Search’ button to the right of that.

After you click that, you’ll see Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered in blue lettering. Click it.

Scroll down and check the box that says: “Please display my name and profile picture below so this charity knows it can contact me to get more involved.”

Click ‘submit’. A ‘Request for Permission’ box will pop up. Click ‘Allow’.

Vote – and share (and share and share and share again) with your friends, and ask them to share with their friends, and so on. This is the key to getting the word out there, especially as we are only allowed one vote per person per charity.

* Reminder: While voting doesn’t begin until June 15th, you can go to the Chase Community Givingpage on Facebook and ‘like’ them at any time- just to give yourself a head-start.*

38. 8 weeks post op

not much to say. things haven't changed much. i do notice with the damp weather that my chest seems tighter. this is probably due to being less active on gloomy days so i start to "seize up".

i am looking forward to next wednesday when i go for my 3rd fill.

i can massage my foobs and really manipulate the expanders. i guess this means that the muscles have loosened with time which is good. i think the next fill will definitely tighten things up again and i won't be able to so easily manipulate the expanders. let me just tell you, it does feel really weird and it is so obvious that there are foreign objects in my chest.

since i am mostly recovered i am on to tackling the whole court stuff of last septembers assault. i really don't want to deal with it because i was happy being stress free for a while. but life is inevitable and things need to be dealt with. i just hate feeling the butterflies and anxiety again like when i did leading up to surgery.

look forward to a pictorial post some time next week when i get my third fill. oh, i am excited.

37. bikini top pics

I can not believe how good my expanders look in a bikini top. This is the first time I have ever been able to pull off this style of bikini top. I got this cute bikini with matching bottoms at Wal-Mart for only $10.00. Looks like I need to return and get one in every colour!







I have been back to work doing child-care quite a bit this week. I have logged 22.0 hours already this week and must say I have been doing pretty good energy wise. I do notice a little bit of tiredness but it is not unbearable. In fact, I had way more fatigue and tiredness before the surgery due to the amount of stress I was under. I am now 7 1/2 weeks post op from PBM with expanders.