I am writing today with all kinds of nervous excitement! On Monday Travis and I will board our flight with the rest of the Carrollton Wind Ensemble to head to Italy for our concert tour. This trip is a wonderful once-in-a-lifetime trip for many reasons. First and foremost, the proceeds from our performances will benefit refugees from war torn countries, and we will also hold a music workshop for the children of those refugees. Using music for service is one of the main purposes of our volunteer group, so we are all very excited! Some other reasons this trip is special are: It is my first time overseas, I feel like it is the light at the end (maybe middle) of the tunnel for my cancer journey, and I get to have my 20yo Travis with me, so we will be able to experience this together just as he is coming of age and beginning to contemplate making his own way in this world. I plan to take a ton of pictures and videos, so be on the lookout for those!
The reason that I stated it might be more like the light in the middle of the tunnel for my cancer journey, is because I still have the reconstructive surgery to go. I finally got a the date for it, and it will be on August 5th. I may have already explained how the reconstruction is going to be done, but I’ll give a quick run down in case I didn’t.
The type of reconstruction that I am having done is called DIEP flap reconstruction. In this procedure, the plastic surgeon will be removing the lobes of fat tissue from below my belly button down to my pubic bone. He will then use that fat tissue to reconstruct my breasts. Currently I have breast tissue expanders in place where you would normally find breast tissue. These were placed during the bilateral mastectomy procedure. They are basically a placeholder until the actual reconstruction is done, so the doctor will now be removing those and replacing them with the fat tissue from my abdomen. He will also be connecting the blood vessels in the fat tissue to the existing ones in my chest so that it will remain living tissue that can grow and shrink as I gain and lose weight just like natural breasts do. I chose to do this reconstruction over breast implants for a number of reasons; I really don’t like the idea of living with foreign objects in my body if I don’t have to, with flap reconstruction the chances of rejection and infection drop a good bit, and as far as I can tell this type of reconstruction is the one that will get me the closest to a natural look and feel. On the flip side, this reconstruction also comes with the most difficult/lengthy recovery. Because the process used for the DIEP flap is somewhat similar to a partial tummy tuck, the incision site for the abdominal part of the surgery will be super tight after the doctor is finished. It will take a good while for me to get loosened back up and to be able to walk completely upright. The doctor told me to expect to be using a walker to get around for the first 6-8 weeks of the recovery. Also, I will end up being away from home for up to a month’s time after the procedure. I will be spending 5 days in the ICU, and then anywhere from 2-3 weeks in the hotel onsite. All of that to say, while the cancer part of my cancer journey looks to be finished, I still am only about halfway through the actual physical part of the journey.
The recovery is going to take a village, so much more so than the recovery for the bilateral mastectomies. I have some amazing family and friends who have already thrown their names in as support for me while I am in the hospital/hotel, support for my family at home while I can’t be there, and even just as an ear to listen or shoulder to cry on. This year has truly shown me what wonderful people I have in my life, and I could not be more thankful for all of you ❤
Now, if anyone has traveled overseas or even to Italy itself, please hit me up in the comments with your tips, tricks, and recommendations!
-Rachel
