Catching Up

After a month of fighting some strange bug that began as a sore throat, morphed into serious lack of voice (which, of course, my students loved), then transformed into coughing fits that wouldn't let me catch my breath, I recovered just in time to have my reconstruction surgery on the 18th. (By recovered, I mean stopped coughing enough that my gorgeous plastic surgeon wasn't worried that I'd rip out my stitches--I'm still having trouble breathing normally and get winded really fast, like one flight of stairs fast.)

All of that is my way of explaining why I have failed to keep my goal of posting at least every two weeks.

So, this will be a short, transitional post as I continue to mull on how to edit a topic rolling around in my brain that could easily become a chapter in a book rather than a 500-word blog entry.

Let's talk about my gorgeous plastic surgeon, Dr. G. Last spring we discovered that the lump in my left breast, which we had been monitoring for a couple of years, had metastasized. Given my past history with Hodgkin's Disease and radiation therapy, the likelihood of another tumor beginning in the right breast later on was quite high, so Hubs and I agreed to take the aggressive, preventative measure of a double mastectomy, with immediate reconstruction.

Now, if you've read any of my posts at all, you know I am currently obsessed with Darren Criss (of Glee! fame and People magazines' Sexiest Men issue). Imagine my amazement when Darren's doppelganger walked into the exam room and introduced himself as my plastic surgeon. He's a little bit taller, a little more refined than Darren, but the dark curls, amazing eyes, infectious smile--yup, they are all there. Hubs even has a bit of a man-crush on him. This is a man who can pull off a blue-and-white-striped seersucker suit (I didn't even think they still made them)! At my last appointment he was wearing corduroy pants and a tweed jacket--all perfectly color coordinated.  Sigh.

I remember briefly coming out of the anesthesia after the mastectomy. Dr G. had done the closing because, after the other surgeon removed the breast tissue, he placed the tissue expanders that would prepare the chest for permanent implants later on. I heard his voice before he left the room, then I heard the surgical nurses comment about how "dreamy" he always looked. I swear, they said "dreamy."

You can understand, then, that these doctor appointments are actually bright spots on my calendar. Because of complications and an infection that developed on the left side last spring, I had to have that expander taken out and spent the summer lopsided. Surgery two weeks ago was to put in a new expander and begin the process of stretching muscle to make room for an implant. I can now look forward to seeing Dr. G. every two weeks for a few months, and then again for the surgery to replace the expanders with the permanent implants.

Combine all that with actually seeing Darren Criss on Broadway in 44 days, and 2012 is already shaping up to be a fantastic year.

(Yes, this is a short entry. I might be constitutionally incapable of saying anything in fewer than 500 words.)