BRCA: 3 Weeks Post Double Mastectomy & Reconstruction

I had a battle going on in my head this weekend, which actually shows signs that I'm improving. It means that my pain meds are decreasing and my thought process is increasing. For the first 2 weeks after surgery, I took strong pain meds to help me rest. Before this surgery, I had not taken narcotic pain meds for more than a few days after another major surgery. I didn't even take them after giving birth three times so this was a new experience for me. I don't like pain meds and I don't like feeling loopy, but they were necessary. During week three, I decreased the pain meds and increased the Tylenol since I was starting to feel better. Let's be honest, pain meds put your brain in a relaxed state to where you know what's going on, but you can't quite remember the day to day things, and you sleep a lot. I needed this time of rest, I still do, but I was more than happy to start eliminating the pain meds.

So, back to my battle. Because I was coming out of the 'medicine fog,' I was starting to miss my girls, a lot! Not that I didn't miss them before, but it finally sunk in that they had already stayed with my parents for three weeks and I would need my parents help to watch them another two weeks until I could see the doctor again and get cleared to do more activity. Five weeks. That's a long time. I'm extremely grateful that my parents are willing to help us and I know, without a doubt, that the girls are having a blast at Camp Pops & Weasey, but I'm so glad I didn't know how many weeks this would take before surgery or I may have changed my mind. I'm their mom so I'm suppose to take care of them. It's my job. All of that sunk in this weekend while we were playing with the girls (we joke that weekends are our visitation times because they stay with us), so when my husband took them back to my parents house last night, I cried. Hard. It was the first time I cried since surgery and it wasn't even about the surgery. It was about the fact that I can't enjoy this time with my kids. I needed that time to cry. So, I posted a little something on Facebook and was encouraged by my friends responses. This too shall pass.

These are some other encouraging quotes that were sent to me this weekend or that just happened to be in my Facebook newsfeed. Coincidence? Nope.

I still hesitate to call myself a runner, but I did run my first half marathon last November (just 6 weeks before finding out about my BRCA2 gene) so I know that God had a plan when he had me set out for that goal last year, knowing what my journey would look like this year, and also knowing that I've already committed to run a full marathon once I'm healed. Oh goodness, I just put that in writing. I hope no one read that because once I state it, I'm doing it!

So, here is where I'm at three weeks after surgery:

• The pain is considerably better. It's still there, but much much less. I feel more tightness and discomfort from the expanders than anything.
• Occasionally, as my pec muscles stretch, they feel like they have Charlie horses in them, which isn't pleasant.
• Speaking of the expanders, they feel like deflated basketballs shoved under my skin. Seriously. I'm certain that they're 5,000 times too big for my body. I know that this will improve as time goes on, but it's weird.
• Women will get this one - the expanders feel like the most uncomfortable under wire bra you've ever worn. You know, the one that digs into your sternum all day and you can't wait to get home and take it off?!
• Another one for the women - ever so often I feel as if my milk is coming in. I'm not sure if these are phantom feelings or the nerves trying to revive themselves, but both breasts are numb so it's an odd sensation.
• I still can't move my arms much until I see the doctor in early August so I'm slowly working on my range of motion without doing too much extra movement. I don't want my muscles to tighten up so I have a few exercises to work on each day.
• I was able to shower 4 days ago and it was glorious ... and gross all in one. I had a lot of dead skin to clean off, which doesn't happen in just one shower. In fact, I still had skin peeling off when I stepped out of the shower today. Glorious and gross!
• Speaking of shower, it's strange to not be able to feel the water hit my chest. I pray that the sensation comes back so I don't always have that feeling of nothing. It's hard for my head to grasp that I'm healing, yet I'm unable to feel parts of my body that were fine before surgery.
• Like I said before, my chest is numb, but I can still feel the muscles stretching over the expanders underneath the skin, which is unlike anything that can be explained. 
• I was told that I can sleep on my side at night, with lots of pillow support, but I haven't tried it yet. The thought of it kind of grosses me out because it will more than likely be painful and there's no need in causing more pain than necessary. I'll stay on my back for now.
• Per the doctor, I started putting all natural Arbonne lotion on my incision scabs today to help them slowly fall off because I got a wiff of them yesterday and they smell like the skin under a newly removed cast. Pure stank.
• My 'dying' nipple is healed. It made a full recover. Yay! 

To get out of my slump this weekend, I listened to the song 'Blessed Be Your Name' by Matt Redman quite a few times. This song reminded me to praise God on the good days and to praise Him on the bad days, knowing that He will never leave me or forsake me. How blessed I am to know this truth! Here are some of the song lyrics.

Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful 
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

Blessed Be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name

Every blessing You pour out 
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be'
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering 
Though there's pain in the offering 
Blessed be Your name

Whatever you're facing, simply know that you're not alone. You have a God that loves you, that knows every detail of your story, that knows every detail of your future, and that knows that this too shall pass. Continue to speak life into your situation and allow God to work through you for His greater purpose.

BRCA: Drain FREE!

I got my last 2 drains out yesterday and what a glorious day it was! While my sweet friend (who drove me to both visits and treated me to Rocket Brothers afterwards) and I were walking to the car I told her that I was so happy that I could do a cartwheel ... better yet, a back hand spring. However, I lacked two very necessary things to pull off a back hand spring: 1) the energy 2) the skill. But, nonetheless, I was doing back hand springs all the way to the car in my mind! The drains were out! I made it through the hardest part!

Yesterday took encouragement, not courage, encouragement. I never let the fear of the drain removal take over, but having gone through the painful process the week before I couldn't lean on the "ignorance is bliss" mentality. I remembered it well, and it hurt like ... the dickens. I knew the pain was coming so I had to pump myself up for the visit. By pump myself up, I mean listen to words of encouragement from my friends and load up on pain meds and Valium. Here are just a few of the sweet messages I received yesterday, along with many, many prayers. 

So, now what...

• I can finally take a shower once the drain holes have scabbed over - I'm aiming for Friday morning. That's exactly 18 days from my last shower. I already warned my husband that I will be in there until the water turns cold. 
• For those wondering, I have taken makeshift baths and washed up everyday so I wasn't totally gross. I've also had sweet friends / family washing my hair at the kitchen sink. And, I've learned that rubbing alcohol soaked pads on my armpits really helps with the stink of not showering. Too bad it took me a few weeks to figure that one out. 
• If that brought up another question for you, my scars were to close to my armpits to wear deodorant. 
• My next check up is in early August.
• Until that time, I'm still on restricted arm movement and lifting. Basically, minimal activity except a few light arm exercises to keep things from tightening up.
• To much arm movement can start to form fluid and since my drains are gone, that fluid will have nowhere to go so it will pool near the bottom of my expanders and I'll have to go in to have it drained. No thank you!
• No swimming until my next check-up.
• At this point, I would normally be advised to wear a tight fitting sports bra until my next visit to keep the fluid from building up, but I still have this nipple issue to deal with. Thankfully, it's doing really well (so thank you to anyone that took the time to pray for my 'dying' nipple). Because it's doing so well, and will definitely survive, the Dr doesn't want me wearing the sports bra because it will restrict the blood flow that is necessary to continue the healing process. Goodness, so many things to consider.
• I can start sleeping on my side in a few days. I will need to use extra pillows for support and it will probably hurt on one side when I wake up so switching sides throughout the night will be best. So, just like when I have a sinus infection and I have to switch sides to give one nostril a chance to breathe? Got it.
• I can start driving 48 hours after I've taken my last pain medication; however, I'm still restricted on movement so driving should be minimal until my next appointment. 
• At my next visit in August the Dr will evaluate my progress and see if we can start filling the expanders at that point. 

BRCA: Dealing with the Struggles

If I'm 100% honest, this journey has been hard. I'm strong in my faith and I've never once wavered from that, but the day to day things I go through after having the double mastectomy are tough. I don't want to have a pity party, but I also want to be true to what I'm going through if I'm going to help the next person walk this journey. So, if I were given 5 minutes to complain, here's what I would say. 

I want to...

• Hold my kids
• Hug someone without fear of them touching my drains
• Take out my last two drains
• Open a bottle of water without help
• Get out of bed and off the couch without wincing in pain because I can't use my arms
• Be pain free for just 5 minutes
• Lift my elbows higher than my shoulders
• Take a shower
• Wash my own hair
• Blow my nose, take a deep breath, and laugh without feeling the weight of a ton of bricks on my chest
• Take off the scarf that's tied around my waist that my drains are pinned to and throw it away
• Sleep on my side, not my back
• Stop having to clean my drains and incisions twice a day because it takes forever
• Stop writing down how much fluid I get from each drain, twice a day
• Stop taking medicine, 13-15 pills a day
• Drive my car
• Close the lid on my contact solution because its too hard to snap shut right now
• Wear deodorant because my incisions are to close to risk it right now
• Take out my expanders for just a few minutes so that my chest muscles won't feel so tight
• Bend over to kiss my kids without feeling like my chest will explode
• Stop complaining because I am blessed

I want to thank God for this journey. All of these complaints have Saved. My. Life. I'm sitting here without any fear of getting breast or ovarian cancer. My journey is far from over and I will still have follow up visits and screenings in the years to come, but my chances have gone from 87% to less than 4%. That's worth all the pain in the world. 

So, instead of complaining, I choose to focus on Gods promises to his children...

• Matthew 11:28-30 - “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
• Ephesians 6:10-13 - "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand."
• 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 - "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."

I will leave you with this exert from the book Undaunted by Christine Caine. I was blessed to hear her speak at my best friends church in Broken Arrow last year and this woman is amazing. 

• "Anything meant in this world for evil, God can use for good. God is able to take the mess of our lives and turn it into a message. He takes our trials and tests and turns them into a testimony... This is God's nature. The very thing that the enemy uses to destroy your life is the very thing God uses to help others. God can heal every hurt and can turn your scars into signs of strength for his glory. Your mistakes, hurt, and pain can help give someone else a future. Whatever we have gone through enables us to help others. God doesn't waste one experience in our lives. He uses everything to help someone else. He doesn't want us to remain crippled, stuck, or paralyzed by what has happened to us. Instead, he sent us Jesus to show us how to step into the future. I have always known that I was not the only one carrying around such pain. We are all broken in some way. We all have wounds. Some of us use that as an excuse to do nothing, to serve no one, but rather to sit and nurse our misery. That's not what God wants, and not the model we see over and over again in the Bible. The biblical model is that God deliberately chooses imperfect vessels - those who have been wounded, those with physical or emotional limitations. Then he prepares them to serve and sends them out with their weakness still in evidence, so that his strength can be made perfect in that weakness. In fact, more often than not, it's our weakness that makes us capable of serving, because those who we serve identify with our pain. As always: God works in us so that he can work through us. And so he did with me."

BRCA: Limitations & Asking for Help

Five pounds may not seem like a lot, but that's my weight restriction right now. I laughed at first because I workout on a regular basis, but I'm fairly certain that I can't even lift three pounds right now. It's humbling, and I'm ok with this reality. Healing takes time.

Thursday (July 17th) - We met with the Breast Specialist for my follow up visit. She said that NO cancer was found in the removed breast tissue so that was a huge relief. We beat it before it could even get to me. We win! Woohoo! She said that I'm healing really well and that my scars look great, and that she'll see me in 6 months. We discussed the brick like feeling in my chest (they feel like two cinder blocks are always resting there because of the tightness of the expanders stretching the skin and muscle to make room for the implants), and she said that I would feel that way until the expansion was complete and the implants were put in place. I'm not going to lie, I don't look forward to these next few months of pain, but at least I know what to expect and I've accepted it.

We also discussed another issue that I haven't mentioned on here yet. Upon removing my bandages at the Plastic Surgeons office three days after surgery we noticed that my left nipple was black. Not blue, not purple, but black. We kept a close eye on it, and after three doctor visits, we think it will survive. I might lose part of it, but most of it should be ok. After all the debate of keeping my nipples or not, I certainly didn't want to lose one after surgery. Not one of the doctors verbally said "your nipple might die," but it didn't have to be said. So we prayed for my nipple to survive. A prayer I never thought I would say, but I've said many prayers this year that I thought I would never say so nothing surprises me anymore. I know that God hears us whether it be a big request or a small request.

Before the visit yesterday, my husband and I discussed the possibility of losing the nipple and if so, would I have the other one removed as well. I decided that I would keep the good one and he could call me Uno the rest of my life. By golly, if I can save one then I'll take one! But, thankfully we found out that both should survive just fine.

I chose to show this picture to let you visually see what I'm dealing with. Not for pity, but because I don't know that others would be this open on a journey such as this so I'm showing you the good and the bad. It's not easy, but if you look closely you will see something magical in this picture. Only one drain! Whoop! My last post mentioned getting a drain removed from both sides so only two are left to come out next week (I started with two on each side). The drains are painful. They hurt my ribs and they're uncomfortable all day long, but they are there for a purpose so I will deal with them. The scars aren't so bad, but that's because they're numb and I can't feel them. Both sides of my body look like this so both of my scars are at least 3" long, which is huge to me, but small to my doctor. These are the places that he will open back up at my final surgery to exchange the expanders for the implants. I've decided that since implants are called "fake" boobs then my expanders must be called "fake-fake" boobs since they're the step before getting my "fake" boobs. Seriously, if you can't laugh about this process then the pain will take over and you'll go downhill fast. I choose to rise above the ashes and make the most of this journey. Isaiah 61:3 says "to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair."

There's one other thing that I would like for you to notice in this picture. My tattoo. This is a tattoo of a fish hook and it's colored orange. We lost my father in law to Leukemia 4 years ago this month and I got this tattoo soon after his passing to remind me of the brave fight that he put up against cancer. He loved to fish and orange is the color that represents Leukemia. Darrell is a part of the strength that I pull from to get through these hard days. I feel like my journey is minimal in comparison to what he went through and for that reason I fight for him, and all of the other brave fighters that have gone before me. These are the true hero's.

On a lighter note, I wanted to show my hair picture this morning. I have to sleep on my back so this is what I usually look like when I get up. I'm pretty impressed with that kind of volume since my hair is usually flat. Oh, it's the little things my friends. Laughter is the best medicine. 

BRCA: Milestones - One Day at a Time

Tuesday (July 15th) - If you've ever had a conversation with me that revolves around poop then you're in my inner circle. If not, then you are now being welcomed in. Yesterday was a horrible day. It was day 8 after surgery and the constipation was in full force. I knew a problem was brewing on day 5 so I started to add more "laxative" options to what I was already taking. TMI, but by the grace of God and a high metabolism I poop 3-4 times a day so I knew that the pain meds in combination with no physical activity would catch up to me. By day 8 (yesterday) I was already taking (or had already tried) Senokot laxatives, stool softeners, Miralax, 3 suppositories, 2 enemas, prune juice, blueberries, apples, pineapple, grapes, 2 cappuchino's, lots of Arbonne detox tea, lots of water, Fiber one bars, an Arbonne protein smoothie for breakfast and lunch to give my system a break, and two warm baths. So, believe me, when I say I tried it all, I tried it all. Through the course of yesterday, I got advice from my doctor, the pharmacist, three nurses, a Registered Dietitian (who was consulting with 3 GI doctors on my behalf), and my closest friends. We were down to 2 option before I was going to the ER. The second to last option worked: mineral oil. Thank God for mineral oil! My husband might disown me if I go into to much more detail so I'll leave you with this. I was literally in the bathroom for 9 hours. I'm ranking this day worst than the 5 hours it took me to push Bailey out face up (with 18 totals hours of labor). Here is a lovely poop belly picture from yesterday. I had to take it up close so that you wouldn't see the wreckage of everything else I've been through. Believe me, it's not pretty. I'm lucky that I didn't bust that hysterectomy scar shown to the left of the picture.

Wednesday (July 16th) - It's 9 days after surgery and I had an appointment this morning to get 2 of my 4 drains removed. I can't tell you how excited I was for this visit because the drains are the cause of 95% of my pain. Here is a picture of the drains on one side of my rib cage.

 My sweet friend Dee offered to drive me to the appointment, take notes to relay back to Greg, and to just be a source of comfort for me. Her friendship means the world to me, but she may regret taking me after what she saw. The below picture was me in the elevator trying to hide my 4 drains. Let's be honest, everyone coming in and out of this building is hurting in some way or another so I'm sure I looked normal, but I hated to have my 4 blood filled drains hanging around my waist for all to see so I went for the preggo look, which was much funnier today since I wasn't filled with poop. So funny in fact that while Dee took the picture, we both forgot to hit the floor number that we needed to get to so when the doors opened we got right back off on the 1st floor. One thing I love about this girl is that we were both rocking the 'no makeup-who cares what we look like' attire, and I think we looked great!

Once the nurse came in, she looked over the fluid output numbers that I had been writing down twice a day and agreed that 2 of the 4 could come out. Praise the Lord! She removed the stitches from one of the drains on the right side (not the side that Dee was sitting on) and told me to take a deep breath and then breathe out as hard as I could. When I exhaled, she pulled out the drain. Holy moly! If I was a cussing girl, it would have spilled out like a sailor, but instead I closed my eyes and clinched my mouth shut. She showed us the drain and it was around 12" long and 1/2" thick. I can't even imagine how that fit in there (and there's still another one coming out next week)! The same process was done on the left side and Dee actually watched. I couldn't do it because the left side hurt even worse than the right side. But you know what, it's done. Two hard days in a row, and two hard days closer to the end of this journey. 

Endurance is defined as: 

• the fact or power of enduring or bearing pain, hardships
• the ability or strength to continue or last, especially despite fatigue, stress, or other adverse conditions; stamina
• lasting quality; duration
• something endured, as a hardship; trial

1 Chronicles 16:34 - "Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his love endures forever."

You can read about my entire BRCA journey here.

BRCA: Double Mastectomy - Week 1

I'm officially on the other side and what a week it's been...

Monday (July 7th) - My husband and I checked in at the Natalie Building at 6am for my double mastectomy and the first stages of reconstruction. Meaning, both breasts would be fully removed (sparring the nipples), and expanders and alloderm would be put in place under my chest muscles to be filled once the surgery healing was complete in 4-6 weeks. I was calm and ready to get started. 

The only part that made me a little nervous was when the nurse said that the IV had to go in my foot. Really?! I fully understand that my breasts are being removed, but put an IV in my foot and I get completely grossed out. Not to mention, the first try was painful and it didn't work so the nurse was sweet enough to get someone else for the second attempt. Thankfully my blue pedicure came in handy. Around 7am, Uncle John, our pastor, and a sweet friend from church came up to pray with me, and the nurse joined in as well. My best friend was there the whole time, but she just missed seeing me before I was taken back to the Operating Room around 7:20am (earlier than expected).

Once in the OR, I had to sit up while the Plastic Surgeon played Pictionary on my chest. Well, not exactly, but it felt like it with all of the markings he was doing. I was then laid down, given gas to breathe, and out like a light. To say I was in a lot of pain when I woke up would be an understatement. I'm not one to complain and I have a high tolerance for pain, but on a scale of 0-10, I was a 9-10. The pain was horrible and the nausea was worse. It took 4-5 hours of pain meds, morphine, and Valium to get me at a comfortable level. After that was reached, I was ok. I was still in pain, but at least I could think straight and deal with the situation much better than before. While at the height of my pain, I couldn't even play it off to make my husband feel better. I'm so thankful for him and his support, because in that moment he had to be strong for both of us. After admitting my weakness (2 Cor 12:8-10 -- 'Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.'), I turned the corner and started doing better. 

Tuesday (July 8th) - The Breast Specialist sent me flowers which was very sweet. I ate a little breakfast and we were told that we could go home anytime. I waited for my next round of pain meds and we headed home. 

The next pictures are graphic, but if you know us well then you know that we joked about leaving the hospital with bombs strapped to my chest. There's really no discreet way to hide that contraption. I got to wear that "bra" cover-up until I went to the doctor on Thursday to have it removed. I slept most of the day at home, but I didn't eat much since I was so out of it.

Wednesday (July 9th) - I woke up with a migraine. It was terrible, I mean terrible, and it lasted most of the day. I spent 3/4 of the day in bed trying to figure out if I was allergic to one of my meds or what was going on. At one moment I couldn't figure out what side of the bed to get into so I lost it. I was crying, shaking, breaking down. Thankfully, my awesome husband was there to let me run through the emotions and then I was fine. After talking with the doctor and my best friend, the conclusion we came up with was that my sugar level was off (I'm hypoglycemic) because I felt almost instant relief after throwing up that evening. A few hours later a friend came over to wash my hair in the sink so Greg could spend some time with the girls at my parents house. If you haven't caught on, I can't take a shower until the drains are removed. Thank goodness I naturally smell like roses so don't let me think otherwise if you stop by to say hello. In my spare time, I've fashioned this nice little scarf to pin my drains to. I'm thinking that this might take the fashion industry by storm. 

Thursday (July 10th) - I had my first follow-up appointment with the Plastic Surgeon and my dressings were removed. I thought I would cry when I saw the wreckage, but it wasn't that bad. The stitches were gross and I'm pretty bruised, but the icing on the cake was that my doctor had already given me my first fill, so I wasn't completely flat. That was a nice surprise since one of my fears was coming home flat chested and my three daughters wondering if everyone that goes to the hospital comes home with no boobs. I was given detailed instructions as to how to 'milk' the drains, measure the output, thoroughly clean everything, and re-bandage twice a day. It's quite the process and it all has to be very sterile to keep out any infection.

Friday (July 11th) - We got to see the girls! I can't even begin to explain how much I miss them, but I know they're loving their stay at Camp Pops & Weasey so that gives me great comfort! While they were over, my mom washed my hair again. Never take for granted the ability to wash your own hair.

Saturday (July 12th) - TMI, but my only goal this day was to poop. This simple, yet very important task, had alluded me since Sunday and my body does not take well to that kind of abuse. If you answered one of my desperate phone calls, ran to the store for me after dark, or prayed harder than you've ever prayed before that I would poop then God bless you. You saw me at my worst and I hope that we can still be friends.  

Psalm 100:1-5 - Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his;  we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving  and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever his faithfulness continues through all generations.

God Moments: 

If we choose to look, we each have a chance to see these God moments throughout our day, but the catch is ... you have to look. These moments can easily be mistaken as a coincidence, but to us they bring peace. These simple moments where reminders that I was on the right path to a healthy future.

• My surgery was in the Natalie building which is right next door to the main hospital where I would be moved to stay the night; our daughters have a sweet friend named Natalie.
• On her way to prep for my surgery, the Breast Specialist stopped to pray with me. At that time, I was able to introduce her to my uncle. She had performed a successful breast surgery on his wife years prior. She is also my moms breast specialist doctor.
• My Natalie building surgery nurse was the same nurse that I had one year ago with my random finger surgery. She remembered me and my famous finger (ok, it wasn't that famous, but she remembered how gross it was). Her name was Jennifer. I have a good friend named Jennifer (whose daughter just happens to be the Natalie mentioned above).
• Upon being moved to the hospital room where I would stay the night, I was greeted with the same nurse that I had exactly 11 weeks ago after my Hysterectomy. She remembered me as well. She's amazing!
• My night nurse was named Charlotte (remember my friend Jennifer mentioned above with the daughter named Natalie? Her other daughter is named Charlotte).
• My Plastic Surgeon was David Craig. My best friends husbands name is Craig.
• I didn't meet Dr. Bailey, but I heard his name mentioned during my Pre-Op so he did something with my case. My maiden name and our oldest daughter's name is Bailey.
• The number 7 is one of the most significant numbers in the Holy Bible:
• My surgery date was 7-7-14
• I was in Pre-Op room 7
• Surgery was suppose to start at 8am, but it started early at 7:30am
• The hospital room where is stayed the night was Rm 2121 (21 divided by 3 = 7). I did this for my 3 girls.
• After each of my daughters was born and after my Hysterectomy 11 weeks ago, I had Pei Wei for dinner. So, my husband got us Pei Wei. The total was exactly $21 (divided by 3 = 7). I asked him to grab a handful of fortune cookies in case I was still to sick to eat much. He grabbed a handful. Back in the room, we counted, he grabbed 7 cookies.