New Boobs!!! and stuff...

It has been a while since our last post.  Dale had been off and we have been doing lots of research on ways we can disease-proof our bodies.  We started off with the book The Cancer Killers, which gave us a lot of good information but not a plan yet.  Then we watched the movie Forks over Knives and our eyes were opened.  Whole food plant sources were the way to go!  That lead us to Dr. Fuhrman's Eat for Life and we had a plan.  Since they say breast cancer never goes away, I need to make changes in my life, concrete changes so I never have to go through this again.  Changes like avoiding animal-based foods and sticking with plant-based.  So Veganism, here I come.  What has helped a whole lot is the Vitamix Dale got me for Christmas.  We just put apples, bananas, carrots, squash, cale, ice and rice milk and drink up a whole day's worth of whole foods.  The boys are loving their smoothies, kinda hit or miss, and we all work together to come up with recipes they like.  Dale and I are not going to make everyone stick to our diet, we don't want to change the boys lives too much right away, but every little bit helps.  Dale has been doing an actual "diet" diet with the Eat for Life and has lost 10 pounds in a little more than a week.  And we feel great!

So I got new boobs Monday!  We went in and met with the surgeon and told him that since he has much more experience at this then we do, we will just trust his judgement.  I went into the surgery fully expecting only the huge depressions in my chest to be filled.  I really never believed I'd have boobs again, since I didn't want to have to go through the hassle of expanders, so when I woke up with boobs I was shocked!  And ouch!  I guess putting that large of an implant underneath my chest muscle wall puts a huge strain on it, and it hurts like a bit*#!!!  Wednesday was the worst, where I almost felt like getting rid of them, but it got a little better.  I'm not taking any pain meds, just the muscle relaxant.  And I have to take it very easy, which sucks because I cannot lift much at all.  But I feel...  pretty, which after the mastectomy and the frankenboobs, not so much.  I still have monster scars, but I think I will end up a full B, which is pretty miraculous to me.

Dale leaves tomorrow to go to California for 10 days and I'm going to take this opportunity to go up with him for a few days. Since I cannot carry anything heavy like a suitcase, I will just pack all my stuff in his.  But that stressed me out about what to pack, so I had to go shopping at the Domain and I feel much better ;-)  I'm looking forward to getting away for a little time, and maybe sightsee in San Francisco.

Life is good right now.  It is hard not being at work, but my body needs this time to heal, so resting I am (purposefully yoda-ish).  My office sent me the most beautiful orchids to cheer me up.  It is an actual plant I can try and grow.  With a note they are "rooting" for me; how cute is that! And our close friends brought us an incredible arrangement with beautiful roses and unique foliage.  I get cards and notes that warm my heart.  This has been a journey I hope I never, ever forget. I feel like I have grown so much emotionally and spiritually, and have even gotten closer to some people I love.  I hope I can help others the way you all have helped me so much.   Love you all!