Thanks so much to everyone who checked in after my last post about the possible tissue damage saga.  To catch you up on the details, check out my last post. My reconstructive surgeon is incredible and had me text her pictures of how the possible damage was progressing. It was clear that it got worse pretty quickly (looking like a bruise on Thursday to a blister with a ton of bruising around it on Saturday night). When I sent her an updated picture on Sunday, she asked me to meet her in her office so she could take a look. She thought I could wait until Monday to be seen, but wanted to be safe (again, what an awesome surgeon).

She believes I accidentally hit my expander somehow and didn’t notice because my breasts are still numb. Normally, a bruise will heal, but because my blood flow is compromised because of the mastectomy, it led to tissue damage and created a blister over the top layer. This is actually good news, because my body provided a sterile cover for the tissue. She taped it up and I am going to see her again later next week for her to see how it is looking. She also removed 200 CCs of saline from that side so my skin could relax and heal more quickly. I also asked her to remove 100 CCs from the right side so I wouldn’t look completely uneven 🙂

Luckily, I don’t have any restrictions right now except cardio, so I can still go to school and clinicals. My surgeon is hoping it heals on its own and then she can slowly re-expand it. She’s also pretty certain I won’t have to delay my exchange surgery (swapping out expanders for implants) which I am really happy about since I am on such a tight timeline doing this all while in school. Also, a mastectomy is an extremely complex surgery, so complications are not uncommon and I’m relieved she thinks it can heal naturally. When I went into the appointment in her office, I was hoping for the best but preparing for the worst, thinking I might have to go into surgery to remove the tissue – so I am very relieved. It is still touch and go though so I am laying low except for school stuff right now. Sadly, we were supposed to go to our good friends’ wedding in DC this weekend and had to cancel our trip, which is a huge bummer.

I’m also doing hyperbaric oxygen chamber treatments again to hopefully promote healing. I’ll keep everyone posted on how I’m doing, but this could have been a lot worse. Please send good healing vibes/thoughts/prayers that I heal naturally.