Things have gone remarkably well these past few weeks (as far as my recovery - more stuff to follow on everything else.....)

 

I started off with my walks, and when I got the drains out, I started going into the gym.  I started everything really slow then began building up.  It's only been 6 weeks since my second surgery, and I am now able to push-ups, pull-ups, workout with heavier weights, and yesterday I used my 40lb vest and did 70 floors on the stairmill.  I honestly don't even feel like I have mad major surgery anymore.  The only residual effect I feel is some tightness in the chest (which I've had before from my other surgeries and radiation), and if I sit just right, I feel the butt incisions. 

 

I have been spending too much money on new bras, but it's been fun.  I had not anticipated needing all new ones.  I do feel the need to use the enhancer on the left side because of the size difference.  I talked more with the nurse in my plastic surgeon's office about that, and she said he probably took MORE tissue out of the left side, but with the aggressive surgery and radiation, there is just a lot more of a deficit to make up for.  She said the surgeon was just doing a good job by ensuring she got ALL of the breast tissue last year as she was trying to cure me of my cancer.  She said breast tissue can go all the way up to the clavicle!  So, I pop the booster seat under lefty and away we go. 

 

Brian loves them just the way they are, so that's really what matters.  He told me he was surprised by my reaction - he never thought they would end up totally symmetrical.

 

I have gone back to work on modified duty.  The Monday-Friday grind is though because I am trying to get really good workouts in top of that to get ready to go back to full duty.  And I have a pretty long commute.  But I can't complain.  It's only for 3 weeks, and for being in treatment off and on for nearly a year, this is really nothing.  I am doing a stint in our training division and my friend, Laurie is the Admin person there, so it's been fun.

 

We had a pretty rough first week of the year.  Brian came home from work one night REALLY sick.  There is a virus that runs rampant in nursing homes called Norwalk, and we think he got that.  Without going into details, he lost a lot of fluid.  One of our paramedic friends even came over and gave him some fluids through an IV. 

 

The day after he came home sick, we had a scary event with Delphi.  She all of the sudden could barely walk.  It looked like her back legs were giving out and she was stumbling.  Then when I picked her up, her head flopped around and she "screamed" and was pawing at the air.  I think she had a vertigo sensation because once she settled she was calm again.  When I put her back down, the same thing happened.  I really thought this was the beginning of the end and I was hysterical.  Brian was too sick to go the vet with me, and I was too upset to drive, so our dear friend Heather came over and took us.  She was working graves so she gave up sleep to help us out.  Then, I tell the vet all about her symptoms and put her on the floor to show her, and Delphi ran across the room like nothing was wrong.  The symptoms just disappeared.  So, the conclusion is that she may have thrown a clot and had a little mini-stroke that resolved.  She is doing great now, and I am grateful.  She's our sweet little old lady.

 

The next day I was loading up my car, and I heard a banging side on what I thought was the other side of our neighbors fence.  Our truck was parked right by that.  Then the truck alarm started going off, so I assumed it was the motion sensor, so I went inside to the get the key so I could disable it.  I started walking towards it, and all of the sudden, a guy jumped out of it and ran away.  He was in the process of trying to steal it. He'd broken in through the back, and had knocked the keyed part of the ignition off.  He was pretty close to hotwiring it and driving off with it.  I learned a big lesson - sometimes car alarms actually mean there is a problem. 

 

So, now that we have that out of the way, the rest of the year should hold only good things. 

 

Gotta go get ready - I'm meeting Brian and another friend to go scuba diving.  Brrrrrr......  It's been cold outside these days.