P.Y.T. (Perky Young Thing)

So, yesterday went far better than we had expected. D’s brother drove us to the hospital and we got to the registration desk at 6 o’ clock on the dot. I was sent with other patients to get changed and checked-in. My doctor came by and went over the plans with me and then marked me all up. I was so nervous that when a nurse came by to go over my medical history, I just started crying. She gave me a big hug and made me feel a lot better. Once she was done, D, his brother & my mom were all allowed back to see me. The OR nurse came by, as did the anesthesiologist, to ask more questions. Before we knew it we were walking me into surgery. I said my goodbyes and the nurse walked me the rest of the way to the OR. On the way we met up with my anesthesiologist, who was joking around with another guy who seemed to look like the friend-of-a-friend anesthesiologist who took my case last time. I couldn't tell for sure though and I didn't ask.


In the OR room I was freezing cold, which made it hard to find a vein for the IV. They used a combination of blankets, some kind of thermal plastic film and a heater blowing warm air on me, which only made me feel a little more comfortable but at least helped the doctor find my vein and get me set up with my anesthetics and anti-nausea drugs. My plastic surgeon made me feel really comfortable and safe. Before I knew what had happened I was coming to. I couldn't see anything but I could clearly hear my anesthesiologist saying "Diane, it's time to wake up for school!" (which is exactly what he warned me he would say). At this point, I think they were wheeling me to recovery. Or maybe he said that while they were taking out my ET tube and then wheeled me over. I was so foggy and just starting to wake up at that time that I really can't be sure.


As I started to regain consciousness in the recovery room, I remember feeling like I couldn't breathe all that well through my nasal tube, plus the smell of the plastic & oxygen were sickening, so I took big gulps of air through my mouth. The more oxygen I got in me the more I seemed to wake up. My vision was blurry but I made eye contact with a nurse so they could see I was already waking up. D, his brother & my mom all came by almost immediately. They were told to just say "hi" real quick because I needed my sleep, and I agreed. I felt so groggy still. They gave me some good news: my doctor didn't have to do the lift (mastopexy) on the right side (the part I was nervous about). He only put in the implant and that was enough to gain the symmetry we were looking for. Everyone went back to wait for me in the waiting room and I started getting better and better pretty quickly. Soon I was sitting up in bed, then they gave me cranberry juice and saltines, and finally I was moved over into a chair. Before I knew it I could shake my head "no" without feeling tipsy and they were bringing me my clothes and kicking me out. Around the time that they were feeding me snacks and getting me ready to move to the chair, I saw a man who I swore this time was the anesthiologist-friend from my last surgery. I confirmed his name with my nurse and she called him over. We had a nice talk and I got to thank him for taking my case last time. I told him my husband and I owed him big time. I got a wheelchair escort out to the waiting room where my mom said no one had warned them I was coming out, so she had to call the boys, who had gone for a walk, to go pick up the car from the parking lot.


After waiting awhile for the car we were finally on our way. Mom went back to work and the boys drove me home. Back at home D got us some mid-east and Egyptian food for lunch and I took my drugs. Later, in the bathroom, I took off my surgical bra (a weird white velcro-closure sports bra that they send you home in) for my first look at the results. The first thing I was happy to see was that I was not going to have an ugly scar on my right breast too. Since he only did the implant, and no lift, my doctor made a small cut along the lower curve of my areola, so the scar will blend right into that area. I now have two round perky boobs. The right one is huge compared to the left but I think it's due to swelling. As my doctor had warned us, the left breast has already been traumatized so I wasn't going to feel any pain there. For the right boob, however, this is all new stuff, so it's all painful and tender and swollen. Hopefully once the swelling goes down they'll look pretty much the same size. While perky and round, the boobs seem to be pretty close to my old size. They kind of look like how my old boobs used to look like in a push-up bra, the only difference is now they are permanently pushed up...and who can really complain about that? Last night I was able to sleep comfortably on my left side for the first time in a long time (Of course, now it hurts to lay on the right side. Beggars can't be choosy, I guess.).


Today, D went to our regular yoga class (I can't workout for a month) while I slept in a little bit before cleaning up the apartment and having a small snack so I could take my drugs (antibiotics and percocet). D came back and made us breakfast. Since the doctor told D yesterday that there was no reason for me to spend the whole two weeks on the couch, we decided to go out. We picked up our dry cleaning and headed to Barnes & Noble to research travel destinations for our next big trip. We had a sushi lunch at our favorite spot and now we're back home just relaxing, especially since I took my drugs at the start of lunch and by the end of lunch they had me feeling all tired and woozy. Tomorrow I get to shower and Monday I get to pull off the top layer of my dressing. I'll keep you all posted. Thanks for all the well wishes and for checking in on me!