B- Day @@

I am up with T minus two hours to go before surgery.  I think I am ready.  I still have to take a shower but no food or water since 8 pm last night.  I am not anxious or nervous which is good.  I have to say I now know what a pregnant woman goes through before she gives birth and readies her house before the baby arrives.  Yesterday, I vaccuumed and cleaned till I was exhausted!  I folded the duvet covers and needlepoint rugs and packed those away neatly into the moving boxes so that they wouldn't just be thrown in at a later date. Afterwards, I went to community.breastcancer.org and read up on my December mastectomy "buddies" and got an idea of how they are recovering days after surgery.  What a wonderful website as well as an inofrmative virtual community.  So helpful!  And then finally, I spent the rest of the day on the phone with my friends and family.  That was the most comforting of all!  It is so nice to have people call and wish you well before surgery.


I was a little disturbed on Saturday when I received a letter from the insurance carrier stating that they denied coverage..at the last minute!  Can you believe that?  Luckily, I saved the letter that arrived on Friday that stated the procedure was covered.  I looked at both dates and drew a sigh of relief.  The acceptance letter was dated two days after the denial letter so I assumed my doctor got involved and helped to over ride the denial.  Note to others......make sure all paperwork is in order before the operation or heart attack may ensue.


During my "almost" meltdown, I started thinking about the new healthcare plan if it ever gets enacted.  I wonder if a preventative mastectomy would have even been covered for an LCIS patient.  Would they have covered the mastectomy and denied the reconstructive aspect of the surgery since that would be considered cosmetic?  These are definitely things to think about if you are putting off this procedure in the near future.  Who knows what will occur if this government program goes fully into effect?  This is not an inexpensive operation.


Okay....so I am going to wear comfortable, loose pants with a button up shirt to get easily in and out of after surgery.  All I am going to bring is my healthcare card.  My next stop is to the plastic surgeon at 9 to get marked up like they do on "Extreme Makeover" and then over to the hospital for pre-op at 9:30.  The surgery should start at 11:30 and end about four hours later.  I will do my best to remember everything for you and hopefully will be back to you on Wednesday to report the experience.  Bye bye boobies :)