Yet Another Visit I Never Thought I'd Have

Today I went to Plastic, Reconstructive Microsurgical Associates (PRMA) with Mom and Dad. This was a tough visit. It is not easy coming to terms with such a large surgery as a bi-lateral mastectomy with reconstruction. At first we sat and watched a movie about all the different options. Mom wanted to know if I was willing to forgo the reconstruction, but that is just not an option for me. I was surprised at how long the recovery period was going to be, 4-6 weeks if everything goes right. I was expecting 2-3 weeks. Now it looks like I'll have to go through all my leave and take FMLA time. That on top of furlough this should pretty much wipe out my bank account. I'm also not sure what type of situation I'm going to be returning to at work, things are a bit unstable to say the least these days. We will be transferring from Army to Air Force on the first of October and that's the easy change going on.

Dr A was not the most personable of the doctors I've been dealing with, but he is very knowledgeable and experienced and that's what counts. He took his time to go over all the options, risks, and possible outcomes. I will be doing a DIEP flap surgery which uses excess skin and fat from the abdomen (rather like a tummy tuck) to construct a more natural breast without the need for implants or the sacrifice of abdominal muscle. Finally I get something out of this experience but surprisingly the surgeon said I actually don't have enough tummy to rebuild my breasts to the same size. I guess I'll have to start padding my bras or eat a lot of cheesecake between now and then. Hm an excuse to eat.

This is probably the closest I've come to tears since this whole process began. It's just a bit overwhelming. I'm also not sure what all of this is going to mean as far as being able to go to Gainesville to defend my dissertation and attend graduation. I am getting responses back for the third round and will start doing the final analysis soon. Maybe I can use the recovery time to finish my dissertation. Now back to waiting for surgery to be scheduled, I just love waiting.