three weeks post-op or is anyone tired of foob pics yet? as lorenzo would say (loudly, in public): tough titties <--see what i did there?

so, it has been a week of ups and downs. one moment i'm thrilled with free new bras (one in particular that fits just perfectly), the next moment my incisions are sore and all i want to do is ace bandage myself and sleep. overall i'd say i'm more aesthetically pleased than i was last week. at this very moment, looking at pictures, i'm *so* content with the size. more projection would have been too much and less would have made me mourn my expanders (weird, i know). and i knew these foobs, as with all breasts, would be sisters, not twins. they most certainly are not twins.

i've been feeling emotional about this whole step, so much more so than i expected. it wasn't until i was talking to mara earlier in the week that i realized why. there was so much anticipation in the first (bmx) stage. there were weekly appointments for expansions and countdowns to exchange time. and now the exchange is done and they're lovely (but not perfect) and it feels over. and i don't know how to transition into someone who just loves her new foobs and isn't constantly medicalizing them. the truth is, i'm so much more comfortable in a doctor's office than i am in a salon. i remember the last day in clinic D when i finished my hodgkins treatment. it felt to me like being dumped. there was something so anticlimactic and devastating about spending all time/energy on one task and then having my oncologists say, yeah, we don't need to see you for six months. this feels similar, but not nearly so severe. to be honest, i am someone who has a very difficult time just living in the present. i am always leaning forward with my arms outstretched towards something in the not too distant future. i carry an actual paper date book in my purse and love flipping forward to see what's coming up (even though i also have an iphone). i have countdown clocks for things spectacular and mundane alike. i've worked to beat back over-planning and worry, to surrender control in the past five years. but certainly, this mastectomy was a huge act of control wasn't it? in this case, it's to help me stay healthy, but boy is it easy to fall back into old emotional habits.

starting to calm down a bit (well, not the veins. they get all excitable when anyone even *thinks* about my foobs.) i think the right side (my right side) is dropping a bit faster than the left. ah, go with the flow right foob. always just trying to do what's best.  not even particularly smug anymore. ALB will not sink into its pocket quite yet. trouble. i didn't intend this ALB scar picture to be artsy, i'm just bad at self photography (danny is worse though). i'm curious to see where the scars are at once they've softened... see, like lots of other women with foobs, i can go braless in a dress with zero support. and since i have no nipples, i can even choose a flimsy fabric. to demonstrate the closer positioning and *slightly* more natural look of these foobs here i am in a bra that i wore during expansions. overall, prettttty satisfied. ;)

dear blue cross, bend over. again. love, me

i saw dr. bates yesterday and he finally took my tape off (oh sweet sweet relief). scars look pretty amazing considering how recent my surgery was. he says i'm still fairly swollen and bruised in the upper poles and very tender under the pits. that is expected to last another six weeks or so. i'm settling into these foobs physically and emotionally. i can't believe what a transition this has been from the expanders. ANYWAY, i went to nordstroms after my appointment in search of a regular bra without an underwire (in other words, not a fricking sports bra that gives me uniboob and makes me feel completely unfeminine. i explained my situation to the group of women standing around (one said 'oh my god. those are the nicest looking reconstructed breasts i've seen in the 15 years i've worked here.' :D ). someone went and got a woman who specializes in reconstruction and insurance billing. wait, what!? yeah, bras are totally considered prosthetic devices after bmx/reconstruction. holler. i called my insurance right then and there and a series of miracles occurred. first, i only waited on hold for 15 minutes. i know, right? next, i got a guy who wasn't an asshole to me when i asked him to confirm that bras are 100% covered after a prophylactic mastectomy. 'you know what? i haven't gotten that question. let me put you on hold and check.' and he checked and came back and said 'you were right! it's covered. you just have to go to an in network provider. would you like me to look them up?' i said yes. he explained that the list was huge and offered to CALL EVERYONE ON THE LIST TO FIND SOMEONE IN MY AREA WHO COULD BEST SERVE MY NEEDS. a half an hour later he called me back (from los angeles) and said 'i spoke with tammy at the next step boutique in los gatos. you will be fully covered. she was very nice and will bill us for you. do you need directions?' OH. MY. GOD. ohmygod. seriously. so today i went to the next step. and i walked in and said 'is tammy here.' and she said 'you're celeste!' and i seriously left with four bras (plus one from yesterday at nordstrom) and prosthetic nipples (i fucking love these things!). uh-mazing. so yeah, they aren't the most amazingly sexy bras in the world but they are SO comfortable and they were free (and all expensive ones made by natori, wacoal, and amoena!) (oh, and i totally got rid of my fugly walmart bras, remember them?)

wherein some asshole from highschool mansplains

  • Celeste Flores okay, i took a deep breath. i'm sure you didn't intend that the way it sounded Josh but as grateful as i am for all the joys in my life some days i don't feel like i got such a great deal when i get these statements in the mail. i got cancer at 16 (through no fault of my own) and the treatment that was used to *cure* me put me at very high risk for lots of other cancers (among other costly things like heart disease, thyroid problems, cognitive issues among others). the way i see it i have two shitty choices: have NO health coverage (and pay thousands and thousand out of pocket for my annual healthcare) or pay a rate that is significantly higher than most everyone else's so that i can STILL pay thousands and thousands for healthcare. of COURSE my life is worth $750 dollars a month. my insurance company got an $68,000 discount on that bill. you know what i would have paid? $92,115.57. there has GOT to be a better way.
  • Michael James Clark Pro-tip: don't tell people with absurd insurance rates because they had the misfortune of getting cancer by no fault of their own that they "got a deal". Unless you mean a "shitty" deal. Then go for it.
  • 11 hours ago via mobile · Like
  • Josh Nudelman Don't split hairs: your unlucky to have had cancer. No doubt about it. But you're very very lucky to be alive! ...and for $750/month!? Most people pay double that for a mortgage! A mortgage is worth less than a life... I see that, in respect from the value that you are getting from your money, as getting a great deal.
  • 7 hours ago via mobile · Like
  • Josh Nudelman You're unlucky that this happened to you. That's one thing. You're lucky to have gotten treatment. And I think you got a lot of bang for your buck. Your a smart crafty individual and you will be able to pay this $ back. It's the best investment in term of return on investment. From that perspective, you are lucky to have the opportunity to get treatment for services rendered.
  • 7 hours ago via mobile · Like
  • Erin Brennan Outrageous - I wonder why the operating room cost is so much? (Or any of it, really.)
  • Trying to put money and the value of life together in one sentence is like trying to mix oil and water with a fork.
  • I'm glad you're here and I'm all for you staying a good, long time. :)
  • Josh Nudelman When you have the opportunity to pay money for something that is priceless, you have something special.
  • 4 hours ago via mobile · Like
  • Josh Nudelman You've been blessed with so many people who love you and opportunities like this that so many others go without. Don't look at this price tag as a curse: it's a blessing. I believe you are the strong role model your friends see in you.
  • 3 hours ago via mobile · Like
  • Josh Nudelman Please believe this is a blessing and let it empower you to not be a victim but to be the true captain of your destiny because that is the true reflection of the strength and determination in your heart that we all see.
  • 3 hours ago via mobile · Like
  • Josh Nudelman If you accept the premise that your life is not worth $750/month and you're being financially victimized, you take power away from yourself and I can not bear that. I am not your close friend and I don't know the intimate details of your life, but I see your love and strength and am in awe of it. And I don't want to see you any other way.
  • 3 hours ago via mobile · Like
  • Josh Nudelman You're justified either way you want to look at it, but when you refuse to be a victim, you exceed the expectations of the victim, and that is your true identity in my eyes.
  • 2 hours ago via mobile · Like
  • Celeste Flores I appreciate the sentiment of your statements and understand better what you were trying to say. I don't consider this heroism and I'm certainly not playing the victim card. My whole point in posting this isn't to whine about how this is affecting me financially. I can survive the financial burden. But not everyone can. And nobody should be forced to put a monetary value on their life. There is something very very wrong with the system. My point was political not personal.
  • about an hour ago via mobile · Like
  • Josh Nudelman You are an example of how the system can work. Ordinary people can do extra ordinary things if they are empowered to.
  • 23 minutes ago via mobile · Like
  • Josh Nudelman It is only logical to conclude that people need not be forced to do good things.

the one where i have new foobs. again. or: only the good die young.

so yeah, my surgery apparently went well. i had it done at menlo surgical hospital instead of stanford this time and the place was like a fucking hotel. amazing. danny and dad came with me and the whole thing was mellow and relaxed. we got there at 8:30, surgery started at 9:45 (early!) and i think i was at home in bed by 2:30 or so. i am feeling MUCH less affected by the anesthesia (not surprising, i was out for about 2 hours instead of 6 this time) which is nice. that said, since i wasn't completely knocked on my ass i completely overdid it the first five days. i took myself off of pain medication (narcotics after two days and then ibuprofin/tylenol three days ago) so that i self-limit my activity because i actually am sore. more sore in many ways than after the mastectomy which is surprising, or maybe it's just that i forgot that the other surgery hurt. there are apparently three internal layers of stitches under my armpits to create the foob pocket, hopefully preventing them from wandering outward from the downward, and outward, pressure of my chest muscles. i'm feeling soreness/burning under there and at the incision sites, with occasional stabby or spasmy pains. took a valium the last two nights for that.

so yeah, i apparently spent a shit-ton of time researching what taking boobs out would be like and almost no time researching what having perma-foobs put back in would be like. i woke up from my surgery and was absolutely homicidal because i looked down and thought i had small B cups. apparently reconstructed-cohesive-gel-sub-muscular implants change over time. i expected to come out looking like a barbie doll. or like someone who had just had a boob job. derp. i can already see changes since earlier in the week. i guess the muscles will relax and give me a more natural look. i never thought i'd be excited to see my breasts sag a bit but on tuesday i was seriously mourning the loss of my expanders. 

why the hell are my pec muscles so veiny? seriously, i have terrible circulation from chemo. did all my veins reroute to my foob skin? ANYway. see how much closer they are? way better. fyi, these are one week post op. having some of that lovely swelling in the armpits again - buttpits?teardrop foobs are apparently pretty round to start. but note that the top 'pole' is a lot less full and sticky-outy? scar is almost identical but even cleaner than before on the right foob. only glue and tape on on the incision. aaaand ALB is angrier as always. i'm hoping that crinkly part on the outer edge is just from the tape not being smooth. dr. mcswoony fixed the incision on this side since as you'll recall the right side was beautiful and the this side was um, done by edward scissorhands or something. in any case i can feel there is improvement. here is the lovely surgical bra (vest?!)  i've been wearing for the past 8 days. i still am not sure of the purpose but it is the BANE OF MY EXISTENCE. i fucking hate this thing. mainly because the band along the bottom has some elastic in it that i'm allergic to and it sticks to the tape on my sutures. fuck this bra. that said, it forces my foobs together and creates a bit of cleavage. :)