Disclaimer: the second half of this post is written on a coctail of pain killers and muscle relaxers….

The 3am alarm was alarming to say the least. Surpisingly I slept like a baby, I was in a deep slumber and supposedly snoring. I hop in the shower and disinfect myself with Hibicleanse. Groggy but without anxiety or fear. We head to the hospital. I check in with a smile and have pleasant small talk to the nurses in pre-op as they start my IV. My surgeons shake my hand and tickle me with their sharpie markings. A nurse injects my IV with something to “soothe my nerves”…

….poof I’m in the recovery room. Wait, what? 8.5 hours over? My husband greets me with a kiss on the forehead and sweet Meredith gives me a “marshmallow hug” they are rushed out of the room and I am left with my own OR nurse who does not leave my side. A vigilant watchman ready for any signs to rush me back to the OR.

I chose natural breast reconstruction. A more complex procedure but one that better fit my lifestyle and my mastectomy. Flap reconstruction takes skin from the abdomen or inner thigh and grafts to the remaining tissue left from the mastectomy. Microsurgery reconnects the vessels. For the first 24 hours I have my skin checked for rejection or necrosis. They check me every 30 minutes. Needless to say I did not get any sleep. It took some time to get my pain under control. Not until we added muscle relaxers. I’m hoping to get some better sleep tonight since I wont be woken up as often.

Today they want me to stand up and walk. It sounds like the impossible but I do it…partly because I want to stretch my Cramped legs and partly because they are forcing me to. I stand up bend way low and shuffle….they say I won’t be able to stand straight for two weeks…Ha, I’ll show them! I’m hurting a bit now, I think it’s time to get another dose…

Mom and the boys are visiting tonight. I hope to be coherent. I am sure they are excited about the cafeteria…..they love to eat.

Thanks to everyone for all their well-wishes. I read every single one. I absolutely love seeing the comment notifications. love to you all!