Breast news yet!

Today I met w/ Dr. W in Louisville. I have been really worried for the past week about my right side. I was also not looking forward to meeting w/ him again b/c the 1st time I found him a bit abrupt. However, this time one of the first things he did was put his hand on my shoulder & ask me if I was ok. This was after he shook my hand & asked the same question. I told him that last time I was freaked out by the news & such. Then he examined me. He was actually quite happy w/ the progress my right side has made. He's pretty sure we've reached the good side of the fence as far as that goes.

One downer is that the right expander has rotated in my chest a bit. I don't really understand, but he indicated that the expanders are designed to fill on the bottom side away from the port where he fills it. Since mine has rotated some its going to expand tissue a little more toward my arm. However, as it sits right now he doesn't think it's going to be a problem.

He is just a little bit concerned about my incision line on the right side. There's a large spot that looks like the stitch popped out and gaped a bit. Its got a scab in it, so its fine now, but if the scab falls off too soon & exposes the expander, the expander will have to be taken out. So my orders are to keep that area dry and not put much strain on it. The skin on the right also has a decided pull toward my arm-pit. I'm supposed to do some stretching/massaging exercises with that skin to make everything more anatomically correct.

He's not concerned about the left at all, even though I thought it had moved (he doesn't). He went ahead & gave me another 100cc's today. Immediately afterwards he tested the capillary refill time on the 'bad' tissue & its fine, so my job is to keep pressure off it and let it continue to heal. He even sort of lifted my restrictions. I can drive when/if I feel like I can 'defensively' drive. I can pick Rachel up from her swing or anywhere but from the floor. Simon is still a big no-no, but I expected that. I tried out the driving on the way home b/c I knew we'd have some straight stretches that wouldn't challenge my muscles too much. However, I'm pretty sore now (I only drove for 30-40 minutes). The main trouble for me was the on/off ramp curves. So I guess that means I'm not really ready for defensive driving.

Overall, I'm very pleased w/ my meeting w/ him today. I'm encouraged that things are progressing as I'd hoped they would from the very beginning. In about 4 months - if all goes well - I should be having my exchange operation!