Healing Nicely

I saw the wound care nurse today and she was pleased at how well the wound is healing! I now have a "peninsula" of good tissue, starting from the top and extending down to almost the bottom part of the wound. This peninsula kinda cuts the whole wound in half. The total area is about 8 cm by 2 to 2.5cm, but the edges are encroaching on both sides and then there's a 2x2cm peninsula right in the middle. Yay, oompa loompas!

This makes me realize the extent to which the cancer in the skin was keeping the original wound from healing. By the time I started radiation, I'd had the wound for about 2 1/2 months with no real improvement. Then, radiation kept the wound from healing. Then, there was the whole episode with the loss of the tissue expander and the open cavity (the Bat Cave). The wound pump came off on Aug 22. Now, about five weeks later, there is already much improvement. Maybe in another month or six weeks, I won't have to wear a dressing anymore.

How cool would that be?

I bumped into another survivor today and she is undergoing reconstruction. She mentioned that she just started the tattooing process (on the nipple area) and she reported just how different it was making her feel. She spent some time a few weeks ago wondering why she was undergoing this whole process - all the appointments taking time out of her day. Now, she knows. She says it's totally worth it.

Now, I'm more determined than ever to do all of that myself. Soon enough. Time to think about that later. For now, I'm happy just healing and regaining my strength and energy.

Please send some of that healing energy to my friend and fellow blogger, Teri, the Cheeky Librarian. She's doing what she calls the "scan dance" and may soon have a biopsy on her liver. Another fellow blogger, Liz Kreger, has just finished radiation for a tumor on her brain stem. She seems in good spirits. NYC Jeanne, at "Rock the Bald", will soon start radiation and I believe her hair is growing back post-chemo. She needs some healing energy, too.

Thank you to everyone who is helping me. I do appreciate it. I am buoyed by all of your support!