Final Surgery in my DCIS Saga  (Fingers crossed.)

Two days after Christmas we dropped off all our kids of at Jim's house (the biggies) and Russ' house (the littles) and we headed into SLC to celebrate our anniversary.  We stayed in the middle of the city in FREEZING but clear weather.  We put on our layers and walked downtown to watch movies and eat dinner.  It was so cold but it felt good to be outside.

The next morning we checked in my for reconstruction surgery.  It was a lot longer of a surgery than I thought it would be.  They detached the Latissimus dorsi muscle on my back from the top, side and bottom, while keeping it attached to its blood vessel on the side of my body.  They then took that muscle, slid it under the skin on my side and flapped it over my left breast.  This muscle replaced the breast muscle that I had burned through with my radiation treatments.   They then gave me new, permanent breast implants.  

For some reason, the hardest thing I had to overcome in the hospital was this crazy dizziness I felt.  I'd get dizzy just looking around the room.  After adjusting medication and giving it an extra day, I was able to get through it.  After a few days in the hospital, I got back to Mom's house.  Robert got the big kids and headed back to Vegas.  During that first week I was by myself at Mom's house.  Besides being extremely uncomfortable with my back & front scars and three tubes draining fluid from my back and breast, I actually enjoyed the quiet.  Every day was a snow day and it was nice just watching the snow coming down.  We had three major storms, one after the other, roll in that week.  It was a perfect, staying-in week!

A wonderful neighbor and friend of Mom's, (also named Christianne :)  came every morning and evening for a couple of minutes to drain my tubes.  It was such a kind thing to do.   When Mom & Dad got back from Florida, they helped me through the next two weeks.  

When I left the Huntsman after my last visit, I had developed some fluid in my back.  In order to keep the fluid from continuing to grow, I got to wrap my rib cage in an ace bandage for two weeks.  It was just like wearing an ill-fitting, constantly rolling-up corset.  Totally Awesome.  But the good thing was that it worked and eventually I was able to get rid of it.

On the way home we picked up my little boys.  I had waited until my last tube was taken out so that I didn't have to worry about the boys accidentally pulling on them.  It was hard not to be with them all that time.  I knew they were having a great time with Russ and Kari.  Kari was so kind to keep sending me pictures, keeping me in the loop and letting us skype.  The boys love them so much.  

Mom kept them busy while I watched.  They didn't seem to mind so much that I couldn't pick them up or carry them places. ( Kari had taught them how to dress themselves so that they could be more independent when I got them.  What a great Auntie!!)  Here they are baking bread.

Mom drove me back to Vegas and the week we got there, Robert found out that he had a trip to Puerto Rico.  Poor guy.  I thought that I could maybe make it work.  Fortunately for me, Mom insisted on staying another week.  It was a good thing she did because I was still so exhausted all the time that I could hardly get through the day without having to take naps.  She helped me with feeding the kids and taking them to and fro from all their activities.

This kid cracks me up.

By the time that Robert got back I was starting to do better.  Now, I'm finally at about 90% and I am finally OK'd to start exercising.  I'll have to start really slow, but I'm anxious to get all my energy back.  My scars don't hurt anymore and my implants are settling fine.  (Sometimes they end up slipping and so I'm trying to be diligent in keeping a bra on at all times during the day.)  Overall, I'm very, very, very happy to have put this crazy year behind me.  I'm loving being a normal person instead of someone who is dealing with cancer treatments.  I love that my biggest headache these days is my 13-year-old's obnoxious behavior and the next appointments I am planning are for the dentist.  Being ordinary is rather enjoyable.

Here is to all of you out there having ordinary, normal, mundane days.  May we all be so lucky.  :)

Christmas day we barely got to church.  We were pretty much snowed in, and so Robert and the kids worked outside to dig us out.  I hung out with my little boys until we were ready to get outside.   Surprisingly, no one else was in the mood to take a picture with me.  Weird.  We did eventually get to church which was just one hour service and had some really lovely music selections.  

The next day we spent all day outside enjoying all of that Christmas snow.  We really love a white Christmas!!

This was me, trying out Rob's Jump.

This is Austin on the same Jump.  (notice any difference in grace?)

Handsome.

snow fight.

Merry Christmas!!!!

The big kids stayed up super late on Christmas Eve and so Robert and I, amazingly enough, woke up before any of the kids on Christmas morning.  The very first thing that met our eyes was our Christmas SNOW!  Yeah, for a white Christmas!!

As we sat gazing out at our lovely snow falling, these two sleepy head came up from the basement.

Emmett woke up, giggling all the way down the stairs.

And this guy went straight to the stockings and Santa gifts.  "I knew he'd come!" he laughed.

And Ethan went for his big Christmas gift pretty early in the game.  So early, in fact, that he'd already been wearing those shoes for two weeks.  I had agreed to get them for him as long as he realized that they would be his big gift.  (Those kicks are expensive!)

Here are some of the fun gift pics.

Austin's big gift was also a piece of paper.  He got a coding class on-line.  Those are kind of hard to wrap. 

Always a favorite gift, Grandma and Grandpa Jones gave out hard, cold cash!

...and the perfect shirt for Rob  :)

hugs

Ethan picked out these very sweet necklaces for me and Alaina.

The number of presents multiplies when these big kids start buying for each other.  This was from Ethan and Alaina.

surprise!

Notebooks from G-ma & G-pa Scribner.

Silly goose.

It was a wonderful, calm, sweet Christmas Day.  Lots of hugs and smiles.  And snow.  Don't forget the blanket of brand, new, magical Christmas snow.