Update- doing well!

I haven't updated in a while, so I wanted everyone to know that I'm doing great!  My energy has definitely been creeping back up to the point where yesterday I worked all day, jogged/walked 1.5 miles, played 18 holes of putt-putt, and then mowed the lawn.  Not too shabby!  My two fingernails that were giving me trouble with nail bed infections have cleared up after two weeks of antibiotics.  My eyes are still watering but I have hope after the oncology nurse told me that Dr. Birhiray said it will get better.  I am putting any further eye procedures on hold for now and seeing if some time will help.  My hair is between 1/2 inch and 1 inch long and definitely getting thicker.  On a few of these really warm days above 85, I have gone wig-less G.I. Jane style to Brady's Little League games.  I guess my vanity has an 85 degree maximum!  I've gotten brave and gone to get frozen yogurt and played putt-putt that way too.  I give my boys a  lot of credit for not being embarrassed of their mom.  I figure between a bald mom and a one-legged dad, they have had their character education in acceptance!

Addendum to my last post

Thank you also to my parents who drove over two hours, got up at 5:30 am, and stood out in the cold to watch me walk in the pink parade.  I was so glad to have you there with me!!!!

Pink Parade!

Thank you girls for waking up early to walk the Race with me!  It was such a fun day of celebration!  My favorite part was walking in the pink parade- 2,500 survivors lined up by how long they have been a survivor.  The longest was 58 years!  It definitely gives those of us at the end of the parade behind the 1 year sign hope for the future.  I loved all of the t-shirts, tutus, and crazy pink hair.  Even the elephant in the zoo was decorated with pink ribbons!  My boys and husband did amazing making it over 3 miles.  Thank you all again for so much love and support!

It's going to be an early morning!

Tomorrow is the Race for the Cure!  I am very excited and a little apprehensive.  Anytime a large group of people come together for a single cause I find it very moving and inspiring.  I just know the last time I went a few years ago it made me cry and that was way before my own breast cancer story started!  I am also a little nervous how my boys are going to respond--I'm not sure if they will focus on the happiness of celebrating survivors or notice all of the shirts mentioning people who have lost their battles with breast cancer and set them worrying...I guess we will see!  It will be surreal to walk as a survivor.  I always thought I would be walking to support someone else.  I will blog all about my day tomorrow and hopefully post some pictures! 

Update

I am feeling much better since my last blog thank goodness!  It has been two weeks since my reconstructive surgery.  Everything seems to be healing well with minimal discomfort.  I am very happy with the lift results on the left side, and fairly happy with the right.  The plastic surgeon said it would be about six weeks before all of the swelling is completely gone before I should judge the results.  I had a follow up eye appointment on Monday.  I was a little irritated after that one.  I told him my tearing was back, and he said, well, if it is at least 50% better, we call that successful.  Really?!  I am supposed to try a few different kinds of eye drops to see if it helps.  I am not in any hurry to have any more procedures done after my last one, so I think I'll put up with the tearing for a while.  I also had a follow up visit with my oncologist today.  I had to wait almost two hours to see him.  Ugh....Everything is going well, so I don't have to see him for three months.  The bad news is that I have to get this huge shot in my abdomen to keep me in medical menopause every time.
Four week countdown until I can start getting in shape!!!!

Post-op check up

I had my special sutured-on bandage removed today, and luckily everything is pretty numb after surgery, so I didn't feel much.  My skin graft looks good but mentally I am just having a bad day today.  I could really use a vacation off my road to recovery, even for just a day.  I'd get hair back, my boobs back, my nails back, my classes back... Sounds like the punch line from the "What do you get if you play a sad country song backwards?"

Healing

My bruising is getting better and I have definitely been able to do more during the last few days.  I have been off all pain medicine for three days now, so I have been able to drive already.  I went downtown today, walked on the Canal walk and went to lunch.  My biggest complaint has been major hot flashes yesterday and today.  I am not sure why they have gotten worse all of a sudden.  My eyes had some tearing again today- I really hope that doesn't start up again.  My plastic surgery follow-up appointment is tomorrow at 2:15 pm.  Hopefully she is happy with how everything is healing!