B Day (Boobie Day) minus 5 days...and counting.

Five days until B Day which means I need to prepare in advance for the surgery.  I have to admit that I am not much of a "planner".  I consider myself an "organizer".  In other words, the planner anticipates what is needed in advance while the organizer establishes systems and reduces chaos.  My mother, sister, neice and brother were (or still are) teachers which means they are the ultimate planners.  I remember watching my mom write lesson plans for her classroom weeks in advance and create lists for grocery shopping.  I am definitely NOT that person.  I hate the thought of packing for a trip.  Seriously, I usually do it a few hours before I leave with the thought that I could always purchase something if I needed it at my destination.  I came to this realization on a home building trip in 1997 with my church to Tijuana.  I remember that I forgot something along the way and, even in an impoverished region, there is always a place to purchase whatever you need.  In fact, I think there may even have been a Walmart close by.  Truly globalization at its best!

There is a link that I placed on this blog to www.community.breastcancer.org which holds forums for all topics including diagnosis,what to do once diagnosed, surgery before and after, etc..  If I was a true "planner", I would arrive at that hospital with two suitcases in hand filled with all the essential items that have been recommended on this site.  It is a very comprehensive list.  However, I am NOT that person.  I am happy to say that I did purchase two items that I deemed necessary- white comfy fleece pants printed with pine trees (in celebration of the Christmas season) and a royal blue fleece vest since the drains will be located under my arms and I will need easy access.  I actually am pretty proud of myself for doing even that!

This past week, I had an appointment with one of the nurses from the plastic surgeon's office to go over what will occur on Monday.  It seems that both the breast surgeon and plastic surgeon have morning surgeries so I will be in the afternoon.  First thoughts? What if they get tired after lunch and don't do a good job?  I know I always morph into a "food-a-coma" after eating but my occupation did not wield a knife- only a measuring tape for carpet.  I was assured that this would not be the case.I cannot eat after midnight on Sunday so I may be a bit hungry but, hey, I was planning on losing at least five pounds, with the hope of ten, throughtout this ordeal.  I will need to drive to a different office where the plastic surgeon will be in the morning to get "marked" and then arrive at the hospital to get prepared for surgery.  The breast surgeon's part will take approximately two hours and then Dr. Bucky will step in and go further under the pectoral muscle to either 1) insert implants directly into place or 2) place the expanders into place.  The hope is that the implants will be used in lieu of the expanders.  This would alleviate a lot of future discomfort and reduce the amount of time that we will be driving back and forth from South Carolina in the future.  If the expanders must be used, saline is injected at different intervals to expand the muscle to accomodate the implants at a later date.  Kind of like blowing up a balloon.  However, I am not shooting for a  large "C" (to my husband's dismay) so I hope I can forgo this step.  My criteria for Dr. Bucky is to create breasts that are larger than what I have now but to look as natural as possible.