Tips!

I'm thinking I should log the things I learned from my first surgery (bilateral mastectomy w/placement of tissue expanders) so that I can remember them - and maybe even help someone else that stumbles on this little blog :)

1st and foremost - T-rex arms are a nuisance but they CAN be accommodated!  (I may or may not have walked around growling like a T-rex and waving my forearms maniacally, as my elbows were initially held close in to my rib cage due to lack of range of motion.)  So here are tips that will make round 2 much easier!

1.  Move the coffee cups down to the bottom shelf - or even the counter top!  Coffee is muy importante - for me and those around me.

2.  Keep a small, light weight stool in the kitchen.  I kept a small one around and just kicked/slid it throughout  the condo so that my tinyarms could grab things that were just out of reach.

3.  My rocking chair became my best friend.  It is fairly shallow so I didn't have to lean back so far.  (sitting on the deeper couch and trying to lean back seemed/was impossible for at least a week.)

4.  Keep the ground coffee where you can reach it!  (see #1)

5.  Comfy button front shirts are crucial!  Make sure they are long and baggy so they cover the ugly drains that you'll be toting around for a couple of weeks.

6.  I will have my honey shower with me before bed each night next time.  Showers wear you out - just like when you have the flu.  And no matter which fabulous relative agrees to help you shower - it's still awkward.  So M. gets the job this time.  And I'll be able to slip into bed and sleep as soon as my hair is dry.

7.  My motorized bed is magical and was worth every penny - no changes there, I'm just thankful I know I'll get decent sleep without having to resort to sleeping in a recliner as I've heard others are forced to do.

8.  It ALL passes.  The weird tingling that you get when your nerves grow back DOES go away.  As do all of the other odd pains and sensations.  In fact, immediately after surgery I was having improvements daily.  After a couple of weeks my improvements were more likely to be weekly.  And now I notice improvements every couple of weeks.  In fact, 4 months out, I think I'm almost normal.  I still don't have full nerve sensation in the general region of the incision - but I'll be having another surgery anyway, which will jack up the nerves all over again.  At least now I know they'll eventually heal, for the most part... :)

9.  Drains suck.  And while they seem to last forever - they really are gone in a couple of weeks or so.  You may not want to hear that they are horrible, but they are.  And then they're gone.  

10. Take your pain meds - the sleep is crucial to healing your body!  I tried to get off of them too quickly - and when I went back to taking them before bed, I noticed another big jump in my recovery.

11. Get massages!  They will be awkward - so find someone you know.  I still can't lie on my stomach, but massage therapists (even the ones that were strangers) are happy to work around it.  Just explain what you can't do - and they will do everything they can to accommodate.  

I have a feeling this list will get updates...

Quicky Update!

As much as I hate to announce this, I have officially deleted the Boobie Brigade. :(

I signed up for the 3 Days for the Cure, and received a couple of donations (THANKS LADIES!!!), but have not even begun to come close to the $2300 requirement. And I can't walk without that. So, looks like my registration fee will just have to be a donation - and I'm good with that. The whole point was to raise money for breast cancer.

Other news: seems to be calming down here, but I have a feeling it's the calm before the storm. (I like storms). Will try to update more regularly during this lull. What are you up to?

The Boobie Brigade is off and... walking?

And a Team is born...

I've officially created the Boobie Brigade for the 2011 Susan G. Komen 3 Days for the Cure walk/run in Atlanta in October. Wanna join? Come on! Wanna donate? PLEASE DO!

Here's the deal - I have until October 21st to raise $2300 AND train to walk 20 miles per day for 3 days. Yes. 60 miles in 3 days. You can join my team and/or donate to me by using the links in this post or visiting my page on Facebook (which will just take you right back to the Susan G Komen sight.) You can search for my name, Jennifer Prince, to make a donation. Or search for my team, Boobie Bridage, to join in the fun. Each team member will be responsible for raising $2300 before the walk.

Does 60 miles in 3 days sound like too much? Sounds like a lot to me as well. Good news! They have vans/buses/some sort of wheeled contraptions that can pick us up along the way if we just can't go any further.

So why do I plan to do this? Well, there's a lot of breast cancer out there. Several in my family have already been diagnosed and treated. And I have 4 sisters, a step daughter, and a niece. We need to cure this before it goes any further. Huge strides have already been made in early diagnosis and treatment. It's no longer a death sentence, and my family is, thankfully, living proof. Let's take it a step further. Help me raise the money - donate whatever you can afford, and we'll do all we can to cover ALL SIXTY MILES in THREE days!

Please help. There are several things you can do to make a difference. Share a link to this blog, my Facebook page, or the Susan G. Komen 3 Day site. Donate. Anything helps. Join the team and raise $2300 to contribute. Have any thoughts or ideas to share for fundraising, etc? Just let me know with a comment here!

Thanks again. Will update soon!

PS - be sure to click LIKE below to get updates on training, reaching our goals, team info, etc!

Lawdy, lawdy, lawd.

I did it. I signed up for the 3 Days for the Cure walk in Atlanta in October. That's SIXTY miles in THREE days. I'm starting a team, but still need a name. And a team... So far, it's just two or three of us, but I feel certain that others will decide to play along! Since the walk is in Atlanta, I'm thinking people from Birmingham and maybe even Chattanooga (not so subtle hint) can join me! There's a 24 week training program, so I'll be getting info on that before long. The goal is to both finish the 60 miles AND raise $2300 for Susan G. Komen.

For those of you that might not know, Mom was diagnosed several years ago, treated, and is now doing fabulously. Both of her sisters have since been diagnosed and treated, and are still being monitored. That's 3 for 3 in that family. I have 4 sisters. Can you see why I'm doing the walk? I think it's pretty clear. Gotta cure this mess so that it doesn't reach the next generation! I have nieces (and nephews - you boys aren't safe!) and a step-daughter that I want to save from the tedious, seemingly never-ending mammograms/ultrasounds/poking/proding, etc. that I started when I was 27. (that reminds me, I should probably go have another...)

So here's the deal - I need to train, train, train AND raise $2300 before October 21, 2011. I need HELP! I need a team, a team name, and Moolah. I'll put a widget, links, etc on the blog. I'll also update here for anyone following along.

Here's to a happy, healthy New Year to all of you!

PS. 1 person gets diagnosed with breast cancer every 3 minutes...