Posts Tagged ‘family’

  1. Feeling more human

    March 1, 2012 by Julie Moon

    Monday morning one of my besties volunteered to drive me to Charleston to see the doctor and to get my last two drains pulled.  If you don’t know what drains are, consider yourself blessed.  Having them for a month has been a drag.  I was so excited for this day to come.  We drove straight there…nearly running out of gas because evidently noone thought it was a good idea to put a gas station on I-20 for what felt like 100 miles.  Thankfully we made it to our hotel without having to walk to any gas stations.

    We relaxed for a bit and decided to go out to dinner in downtown Charleston at a great little place  called Blossom.  It’s wonderful to have friends who have lived there because they always give us the best restaurant recommendations.  I love being in Charleston!  We turned in early and watched some crazy tv until it was time to fall asleep.  Isn’t hotel tv the best…you watch things you never would have watched at home.  We watched some TLC show where a child had a parasitic twin removed from his body…wha?

    Tuesday morning we went to my favorite breakfast spot…Hominy Grill.  I have yet to have dinner or lunch there but I have plenty more Charleston trips planned this year.  It was delicious as always. It reminds me of our very own Athens restaurant, Mama’s Boy just with more seafood.   We killed some time shopping at TJMaxx and Homegoods and found a dress that might work for the baby girl to wear as flowergirl in May.

    Finally it was time for a visit and I was so excited.  In the waiting room we met another BRCA 1 family.  A young girl from Atlanta.  It was great to share stories and realize that we were going through much of the same journey.  She had a failed flap in her first surgery….such a small percentage of women have this happen.  So she was there having her second reconstruction.

    At last it was my turn to see Dr. Craigie.  He came in and sat down like an old friend ready to hear how I was doing.  We discussed my recovery and then he got to work.  I had nipple sparing surgery which means we attempted to save the nipple to be part of the reconstruction.  This is difficult because the nipple has the weakest blood supply after mastectomy.  One side has healed beautifully and managed to get a very good blood supply.  The other side has not been so lucky.  We have been using silvadene cream for the past 3 weeks trying to help it heal.  Dr. Craigie cleaned the wound and cut away the dead tissue and now we are working on my protein and letting the skin continue to grow to heal the wound.  Please pray for this to heal.  It is by far the scariest part to me…looking at my body with an open wound.  There still is a chance that there is enough healthy tissue for part of my nipple to survive.  The second stage of surgery we will be able to repair/construct anything that we need to though.  I have full confidence in my surgeon and his ability to make me whole again.  I have seen AMAZING pictures and I believe I will be one of those too.  THEN HE PULLED MY DRAINS!! Woo hoo! It was glorious to be free of those darn tagalongs.  They did a great job but I’m glad to let them go!

    After my wonderful appointment we celebrated with frozen yogurt and then headed on our journey home.  I got to see my baby girl before she went to bed on her birthday! What a wonderful trip!

    Look what my family had on the door waiting for me!

     

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  2. Times of Healing

    February 20, 2012 by Julie Moon


    February 20th…getting so close to being a month out of surgery.  It feels so strange.  Time passes so slowly while I sit at home but yet I look at the calendar and 20 days have passed since that early morning before my surgery.

    Yesterday I was blessed to have a friend pay for a massage therapist to come to my home.  She spent over an hour doing healing work with her hands on my body.  She mentioned more than once the word “trauma” in reference to my surgery.  I hadn’t ever really thought of it as trauma because that word conjures up thoughts of a terrible accident or something that is done to you without your permission.  I had given consent for my body to be sliced and diced and rearranged.  But if my body has a viewpoint I could see my body feeling like it had a “trauma” done to itself.   She helped my body to relax.  My muscles are constantly tense and spasming.  I don’t know what is “normal tightness” and what is just my body being tense.  It’s a new normal completely.

    The best part about the day was that after the massage I felt my heart take a turn.  I felt positive for the first time in a while.  I gave myself permission to be happy that my donor site wounds seem to be healing nicely.  I fixed myself some lunch while my mom was massaged (thank you to my friend for including her as well).  I was independant for an hour…all by myself and I felt “normal” somewhat.  I haven’t really needed many pain meds and last night I found an entirely different way to sleep with many pillows that didn’t encourage swelling in my chest.   I would call these times of healing.  It really gives me hope for what another week of recovery will hold.  I can only imagine how great I will feel when THESE DRAINS COME OUT!!!!! I’m planning a return trip to Charleston with a friend for the grand removal.

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  3. ignorance to empowerment

    February 12, 2012 by Julie Moon

    I have had a very hard day.   I’ve been having adverse reactions to the pain medications that I have been taking.  I feel so overstimulated and prickly and uneasy from the inside out.   Thankfully we have decided to quit taking these meds and try something different tomorrow.  It is an awful feeling…like when you have a limb fall asleep…that prickly feeling as it’s waking up…that’s what I feel all over my body when I take those medications.  So goodbye Percocet and Lortab.  May I never need you again in this lifetime.

    In the middle of the day was a special treat.  My sister paid for a local woman to come over and give mom and I pedicures here at the house.  It was so sweet and relaxing for the most part.  My pain meds caused the end to get a little weird because my senses were overstimulated and I could hardly breathe…everything smelled so chemically strong even though it wasn’t.  I did sleep this afternoon and though that was good I still feel awful and can’t wait for these meds to be GONE from my body.

    I felt as though the whole day was ending on such a sad and sour note.  I was feeling down and very sorry for myself.  It’s in these moments that I feel regret for choosing this path.  I feel sad that I don’t have to be feeling this way but put myself in this situation.  Let’s just put it this way…it’s not a good place.

    And then tonight around 9 pm.  I got a message in my facebook inbox.  The person is my friend but not someone I regularly see or speak to.  We had been more involved in each other’s lives before there were 6 children between us.   Our paths have crossed from time to time but I did not know her story.  Tonight she shared her story with me.  She wrote about her mother’s breast cancer at age 45 and losing her father just a few years before that.  Her mother survived that battle but has now been faced with another area they will biopsy.  She had been talking to her mother about me and her mother decided to get the BRCA testing done.  They are still waiting on results and then will decide on their path after those results are in.   It was an amazing story but the line that really struck my heart was this.

    “Following your story of empowerment has made me choose a path of empowerment over the path of ignorance that I have been on.”

    I will sleep well tonight because my heart is full.  Two women are DOING SOMETHING because I did something and wrote about it.  Her sharing that with me today is helping me to keep on keeping on! It’s the sunrise on this dark day I’ve had today.

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  4. Day 7

    February 8, 2012 by Julie Moon

    My Recovery Home

    Day 7…finishing up the first week of this new life. What a journey it has been already.   Last night was a very hard night.  Neither I or my mom slept very well at all.  We both had some crazy dreams and I was hot and uncomfortable most of the night.  My body feels so tight and swollen and I’m just so ready to be done with these drains.

    I saw Dr. Craigie, the plastic surgeon, first today.  He greeted my mom and I with hugs and a smile.  He prescribed silvadene for my nipple that I may lose.  If I do lose it he will be able to recreate something that looks similar…we knew this was one of the risks.  That side was the side that got the radioactive dye for the sentinel node biopsy so I think it was harder to see during surgery and not damage.  He also shorted my drain tubes for me so that I don’t have as long of tubes that can potentially get pulled on something.   I will go back Friday to see the PA and she will remove my two breast drains.  That will be great!  We will head home to Athens after those are pulled on Friday.

    After we left Dr. Craigie we filled our prescription and then drove over to see Dr. Baron, the breast surgeon.  I had taken my pain meds as well as a zofran before I left Dr. Craigie’s office and the two of those combined really get me loopy.  I feel like I’m floating all over the room and feel like I lose feeling in my legs.  It was relaxing but definitely a strange feeling.  He is so warm and compassionate and greeted my mom and I with hugs as well.  I feel so taken care of by this team of doctors.  He examined me and seemed a bit disappointed with the left nipple’s healing as well.  I know he was hoping that they both would survive and look as they always have.  He did feel great about everything else so far.

    I am happy with my recovery so far.  It’s not pretty for sure…but I know that’s all part of the journey.

    We grabbed a late lunch and headed back to our recovery home.  It’s so peaceful and quiet here.  I need to gear myself up for heading back to my house which is full of loud children.  I love them but it will be a big change for sure.  I was out from 10-4 today and I’m very sore and tired now. I hope I sleep well tonight and really am able to relax and rest.

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  5. Day 6

    February 6, 2012 by Julie Moon

    Yesterday I was discharged from the hospital.  I was crying all morning because I was so scared to be away from all the “experts”.  Noone checking my flaps hourly, monitoring my blood pressure, temp and having whatever drug I needed right on hand.  My mom is an awesome caregiver but there was a certain comfort about being at the hospital.

    But the best thing happened yesterday.  Three of my best friends drove 5 hours just to come and visit with me for a while.  They lifted my spirits when they were rock bottom.  They helped my mom and I get moved over to our temporary Charleston house…a beautiful home on the marsh. Our friends have generously offered to let us stay here while I’m recovering and can’t leave Charleston.  It was so great to have a distraction and have friends here to make me laugh and give my mom a little respite from having to do everything for me.   Mrs. B, whose house we are at, cooked us a delicious dinner last night.  She’s been such a wonderful hostess and made us feel so welcome.  Mr. B and all the girls sat on the sofa and watched golf…I think it was the first time he had ever paid that much attention to what the golfers were wearing.  Ha!

    Last night, at bedtime, mom and I went into my bedroom and emptied my drains, changed my bra and put on fresh pajamas. I just cried and cried.  I felt so broken and so disfunctional.  My breasts are certainly bigger than what I wanted them to be and that made me feel disappointed.  I have four drains coming out of my body which just makes you feel gross and weird.  Around my breasts are so very bruised and sore.  One of my nipples is probably going to blister and scab over…hopefully it will fully survive.  But for now it’s all gross and blue from the radioactive dye I had injected to do the sentinel lymph node biopsy.  My backside is crazy looking.  You can still see all the sharpie on my skin from getting marked before surgery and then I have two long incision scars….LONG.  And I had a little over a pound of fat removed from each upper gluteal area…so for now there is a bit of a divot.  This is why there is a second and third stage to the surgery.  It’s definitely not over and this is in no way the “finished” product.  But no matter how many times you tell yourself that…you still feel mournful.

    I tried to skype with my children last night and they were screaming and being loud and it was all too overwhelming for me.  I had to close down the chat pretty quickly.  Hopefully I can have a moment with the Mister soon to video chat just he and I.  I miss him and just want to snuggle into his neck and have him stroke my hair.  It’s good for me to be away from the kids because I think they would be more than I could handle this week.  But my heart longs for him.

    I think I’m going to have my mom take some progress pictures starting today.  I think that will help me feel like I’m healing even when I don’t feel like it.

    Oh….one more thing!  Yesterday Dr. Craigie told me my pathology came back all clear…no cancer anywhere!

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  6. Day 5

    February 5, 2012 by Julie Moon

    Hard day today.  I feel scared to leave the hospital.  I feel like I’m in pieces.  I am sore all over. All I want to do is curl up on my side and sleep but drains keep me from being able to do so. My back aches and I know it won’t just be better tomorrow.

    My friends are coming. I don’t think they will get the response they expect. I don’t want to talk I just want to sleep through the next week. I am sad.  I am so glad they are coming.  I know I can just cry and let it all go…it makes me so sad to think that women have to go through things like this without a huge support of people.  If I feel like this and I have all the best friends in the world then what in the world must they feel like?

    I won’t lie…being cut on both sides of your body is painful.  My breasts feel engorged…like they don’t belong to me but that someone  hung some sandbags on my chest.  They are warm and look great though.  They are connecting to my body.  My back side hurts.  I’m scared about riding in the car.  It’s gonna hurt.  I want to triple my pain meds and just be knocked out.

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  7. Day 3

    February 4, 2012 by Julie Moon

    I’m feeling extra sappy tonight. I am so happy I did this. Even when it hurts. I couldn’t have done this without my village. Thank you everyone. I finally have a pain med that is working. Yesterday was SO HARD. Friday was a much better day. Though mom keeps saying she doesn’t know where we’d put more flowers I am so encouraged. They sit at the foot of my bed and remind me that I’m being thought of. I can’t wait to see my family and friends again. I worry about the Mister. He doesn’t always recognize what he is feeling.  We watched Grey’s Anatomy tonight and that made me feel normal.  I have eaten some of my yummy snacks.  Tomorrow is shower day and I’m nervous about that.  Here’s me giving all my friends and family big hugs and kisses.

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  8. Day 1

    February 2, 2012 by Julie Moon

    Wow! This is the most surreal feeling I can imagine right now. I actually did it. The doctors said it went great. I’m sleeping well despite my awesome nurse checking in on me. The hospital is beautiful and my room is large. I do miss my babies and the Mister.  I called my big girl around 8:30and had my best friend wake her up.  It was good for both of us.  I am so grateful my mom is here.  I am so grateful I am so healthy that this makes it such an easier procedure.  I have gotten sooooo many compliments on my beautiful quilt my friends made me.  Life is good.  My heart is full.

    My surgery took 12 hours. Can you believe that? I am sore. Morphine And Valium to the rescue.

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  9. My Village Is Amazing

    January 30, 2012 by Julie Moon

     

    I cannot begin to express the support I have received this week in preparation for my trip.  Last night we had an amazing circle of friends that showered me with love, encouragment, prayers and gifts.  First of all if you are a mother you know how hard it is to get out of your house in the evening.  The fact that so many of my friends were able to be there was just awesome!  Not to mention one of my beloved friends suprised me by driving in all the way from Nashville, TN.  I  was truly suprised and I do love a good surprise.  We had all my favorite foods and drinks and the room was so full of love and cheer.  We circled up and friends prayed for me, my healing, my family, my emotions and everything in between.  My friends suprised me with an envelope of cash to help while we are out of town and my mom and I are feeding ourselves on the road….or whatever else we need it for!  They gave me seven wrapped gifts for me to leave for my children…three small gifts in each bag so that my children have something fun to look forward to while I am gone and they know that I love them and I’m still thinking about them.  8, 6 and 3 still is very young to remember that your mom is coming home soon and time just still can slip into that “forever” feeling for them.  Many of my friends sent one very talented friend pieces of fabric and she created the most amazingly beautiful quilt for me.  I will literally be wrapped in their love while I am healing.  It was an amazing night as sisters!

    Another friend has created an intricate meal plan for my family while I am gone.  That was one thing I really felt worried about and she has done an A+ job managing it.  My family will be well fed and taken care of while I am away.  That same friend and a few others put together a HUGE basket of snacks for my mom and I while we are gone.  Such a blessing!!

    And of course my best friend and my sister are prepared to fully take over and fill in for me…ready to step in at a moment’s notice to take care of everything else at my house.

    THIS is the village you want to live in.  THIS is the village I live in and I am Grateful. Moved. Inspired. Strong. Humbled. Blessed.

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  10. Jan 1…one month away

    January 2, 2012 by Julie Moon

    January 2012…it’s go time!   It’s the new year and that means the ball has dropped and it’s officially rolling.  This week I get the kids back in school and I head out to Tennessee to do a little organizing work.  Getting a client all settled into her new home in Nashville.  I’m looking forward to some immersion in my work and also testing out the waters of me being gone and others taking care of my three little moons while I’m away.  That is definitely the part of this journey that has me the most nervous.  Next week is a big week.  Monday and probably Wednesday too I have all my preop to get done.  I have orders for bloodwork, metabolic profile, urinalysis, chest xray and EKG.  I then have an MRI on Friday in Atlanta.  I need all the prayers one can muster for all of these tests to come back perfect.   I’m a little stressed about all the finances of this beginning.  *deep cleansing breath*  I think while I’m in Nashville I’m going to ask my friend if we can do a little yoga in the morning each day…hoping that I can add that to my daily routine this year and that it can center me the way it did when I was preparing for childbirth.

    I don’t FEEL scared but every time I write about this stuff I start crying.  I can’t pinpoint exactly what it is that I’m feeling.  I feel a little detached from everything right now….my friendships, my relationship with God, the Mister.  It’s funny the person I feel the most connected to right now is the big girl.  She’s growing up so much right now and I think I’m really just enjoying her company so much…it’s uncomplicated and just so easy with her these days.  I am going to REALLY miss her while I’m gone.

    One month…

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