What a Difference a Week Makes

A week ago today, at this very hour, a talented surgeon named Dr. Green was stepping back to admire his handiwork on my formerly floppy DDs. In the three hours since he first sliced through my breast tissue, he had transformed them into much smaller, rounder, more transportable little bundles of joy, removing three pounds of excess boobage in the process.

I cannot believe it's been a week. This has truly been a remarkable journey for me, moreso than I expected it to be, even with my careful and thorough (read: obsessive) preparation. The emotional transformation has begun and I'm certain will be as significant as the physical. I just need to sit down and collect my thoughts on what has been my own version of a fantastic voyage.

I’m doing better each day. I am exceedingly lucky to have had the best of care following my overnight stay in the hospital. Few people are fortunate enough to have such loving care (and for so long!), which I'm positively certain has made all the difference in my recovery. (Being waited on hand and foot is never a bad thing. If you can arrange it for yourself, I highly recommend it.)

Yesterday I was able to drive my car, looking ridiculous driving around town with a pillow stuffed between my seatbelt and my tender new boobs, but feeling great about being mobile again. Don't worry, I was off the pain meds by then, otherwise you'd have heard about my jaunt on the evening news, something to the effect of "Doped dope dodges dog, drives into ditch".

It has been an extraordinary transformation and it’s only the beginning. I've learned a ton about my own capacity for pain, my heretofore untapped bravery and my willingness to face enormous changes head-on. I've learned it's OK to feel faint at the sight of my own blood. I've learned more about myself in the past week than I could have possibly imagined.

Best of all, I'm still learning. Every damn day, I'm learning more. And I’m so very glad I did it.

Posted by ayelet at September 14, 2005 07:12 PM