Expanding My Chest & Rebuilding My Decorum

Talk about short; it was a short night after a very long hard day yesterday. I wasn't shining in this video I made to bring you up to date after yesterday's emotional wringer and last night's sob-athon.

I don't shine before noon in any case, but today I needed to at least be functional before eight to see my reconstructive surgeon Dr Chang at GW University Hospital. I'm won't lie and tell you that the injections he does to expand the reconstruction area in my chest wall aren't painful at all but overall they are mild by comparison.

Let's face it I look haggard so he asked how I was.

Being straightforward about my meeting with the oncologist was difficult. Somehow I was though, letting him know that those numbers that looked pretty much like a 50/50 shot that cancer would recur sometime in the next ten years if I wasn't in the nineteen percent in my age/health bracket that died of something else before that were pretty upsetting.

He nodded and said it was understandable - didn't pooh pooh the numbers. I respect that about him. He's not a touchy feely guy but he wasn't dismissing my concern.

He's a genuinely good guy.

If he wasn't so good at what he does I'd complain that Dr Chang is way too cheerful at 9AM. One of his other plusses it that he's so totally un-geek. Today he talked about being so behind the time that he can't send a text message. This is amazing to me because he can't be a day over 35 or so.

He knows that there are things such as blogs because he told today's assistant who hadn't met me that I was "famous" for blogging about breast cancer and frozen peas "that her husband came up with for her" nodding in my husband's direction.

Men. Ya gotta love em. Even the non-texters. It was nice being in the same room with two that clearly care about me.

Comments

[Lynette Radio]

Susan, you are amazing. You are allowed to have shitty days. Shitty weeks. I share your updates with my 6 year old daughter because I *know* it's important to show her all the sides of life.

PS - She still won't eat her peas now, because now they are for filling bras and not for dinner. ;)

[ChazFrench]

Susan I think you are so AWESOME, you are just an amazing being, thank you for sharing your journey with us.

When we eventually meet I've got the biggest hug for you.