Ugh

Well it happened.. We had a very nice day here. Figaro showed up and ate. He/she quickly ran off when Maddie banged on the window. We danced around to Disney tunes on Pandora and we even did some yoga today. All in all a good day until about 20 mins ago. After hearing a song Maddie wanted to watch the princess and the frog. As we came downstairs from her bath she yelled for Jack. "a-mon, we watch the frogs". I said to her remember Jacks in heaven with Jessie, oh was her response. She thought we should pick him up, I said we can't. She then thought for a moment and asked he was all better. I quickly replied that he feels better than ever!! Maddie said good. I am sure we will have this conversation a few more times..

Observation..

This is just an observation that I found funny.  I had some left over dry dog food.  I know that our shelter will not accept open food.  I decided to toss it over our fence for the stray cat that Maddie named Figaro (The same name as Minnie's cat).  We watch Figaro try to hunt often and he us unsuccessful most days.  As he pounces and comes up with out anything Maddie says "He didnt get it".  Im glad she understands the food chain and cycle of life at such a young age.  Anyway, we have not seen Figaro today but the birds are all over the food.  There are two piles, one of a premium food called Happy Hips The other was a really cheap food that was chewy.  The birds have almost finished the Happy Hips and have hardly touched the cheap food. 

Borrowed time..

A greyhounds life span is 12-14 years. Most greys we have known passed around 12 however we always said 12-14 at meet and greets. Jack turned 14 this past August. So we have "borrowed" 6 months on him. It was time it was crazy to see how quickly he turned for the worse.
He came to us a little over 5.5 years ago as a skinny foster who had bad teeth and was in much need of a bath. He got all he needed and was such a happy boy. When we put a collar on with his full name he hung his head high. Jack had a rough life before he found us. He was abused and neglected. He was only a foster at first however when he jumped up on the couch Jessie moved over to share with him that when we knew. Though jack had his issues. He like variety in his feeding however could not talk to tell me what he wanted. He hated thunder and loud noises and had a standing order for xanex to help with his anxiety issues. He was very routined, which was great for me :). He loved watching football and would get on the couch early on a Sunday morning so he would get the second best seat in our house. (Jeff has the first). I am glad he got to see his Giants win again. Maddie will miss you buddy!! I don't think we will ever find a dog a patient as you had been with her. We will miss you old man.

Good news and some that could be better

I went in for a follow up yesterday with David. It went well. I have been cleared to wear a supportive non underwire bra I no loner have to wear a sports bra 24/7 which was very nice to sleep lastnight. I can also exercise again. He did sag nothing crazy like crossfit or a bootcamp (which I have been looking into). However he is fine with "normal" people exercise. I do have to wear a sports bra. It's funny because they David and his nurse keep reminding me of the importance of wearing a bra. I was much bigger on top before this. I always wore a bra. If you are top heavy you know what I mean, it is uncomfortable to go with out.
So now to the coils be better.... One of the incisions on the reduction side is not healing as cleanly as they would like so at some point later they will probably have to cut it and re-stitch i. Now to the implant side. That is healing nicely however I have this extra skin that is swollen near my armpit and looks like another very small boob when I close my arm. I do not have it on the right side. We will give it some time to see if it is fluid or scar
Tissue. I may have to have Lypo-suction on it to clear it up. So all and all it was a good check up with some stuff to watch. I think I may order some Zumba DVDs today!! And call the gym about a new membership. :). I need to loose weight! Well more than I have. Still no decision on a "thank god this I over" trip.....

Checking in

I am not sure why I do not update this more often. Last week was nice. Jeff kept dropping hints that he wanted to celebrate valentines day. Something we have not done since the first one that we spent together. Jeff worked from home last Monday and we (the three of us) went out to a very nice lunch. We did wander around a couple of jewelry stores but I didn't pull the trigger on anything. Tuesday which really was valentines day. He was home in time for dinner which was very nice. And Maddie and I knocked one out of the park on our gift. We got him a limited edition signed book by an author that we like.
The rest of the week was uneventful. I did manage to hurt myself on Friday. I was doing laundry and the basket was too heavy and I could feel the pulling on the reduction side. I did not put the basket down I just kept going. I know I know but the thought of bringing it in to our room so I could fold and iron in multiple trips just seemed silly.

The shape (of my new boobs) is coming along and I am looking forward to my check up tomorrow. I am hoping they "snip" a couple of the dissolvable stitches that have not dissolved. I don't know why my body does not dissolve them. I am looking forward to getting back to the gym. I need to exercise. I am feeling rather like a blimp and I just think it would be good for me.

On the home front. Maddie has transitioned into sleeping most nights all night Long in her bed. We still need to work on her bed time. Jack is ok. He has been having accidents. He actually had two the other night. I don't get why he isn't waking us. I am a very light sleeper so much that I can hear him peeing. So I would have brought him down stairs I he wanted to. I guess he enjoys watching clean the carpet at 1 am.
I have been pricing out Disney cruises since Maddie said she would love to see Mickey again. I need to run everything byJeff I don't think he realizes how much I would like to go away. This time last year we where away and we really had a nice time. I would recommend the break to anyone who is facing what I did last year. Thinking about the beach and playing with Maddie has really gotten me through this past year.

So long to the Kid

Gary Carter is/was one of my all time favorite Mets. I was sad when I heard of his aggressive diagnosis and was sad today when I heard of his passing.

I feel a bit more upset now when I hear of people that pass from their cancers. I guess it makes me think of my own mortality. When will I get my next pet scan, will it be clean again. I do a ton of reading on research and what I should be eating, not eating, should I be taking supplements or aspirin. Who is doing the research are they reputable, and so on. It is exhausting to think about it all. I read to see if there is something I should be doing so that I can prevent Maddie from having to worry about this disease. I wish we knew to root of my cancer. Meaning if it was hormone driven it would be easier to pin point why I had it. However being triple negative leaves it out there for guessing. I am very happy that I am BRACA negative meaning to do not carry or posses the breast cancer genes, however that doesn't mean there are not more breast cancer genes to be identified. We watched a special either 20/20 or 60 minutes the other night and they where complaint that the lab that discovered the genes have pattoned them there for they own them the testing and research. Most of the women in the segment complained of the cost of the test, since there is no way for another lab to do the testing. I wonder how this hinders more research.

One year ago.....

One year ago today we helped our first baby to the bridge. We still miss her tons. We know what we did was right we just miss that silly greyhound of ours. Sadly I think we will be helping Jack soon as well. I know it is just a cycle of life, I just don't know how to explain it to Maddie. I tell her that Jack might have to go and keep Jess company soon in heaven. Maddie's response is that she will go find her. :(.

Two weeks post-op

And I am feeling well. I am still sore but it is from bruising. The area on the implant side that they removed a lot of scar tissue is still sore but i am not complaining. I had almost all of my stitches removed yesterday and That felt much better. A lot of the swelling has gone down and the shape is coming right along. I am "off" next week but I go back the following week for a check up.
They still do not want me to exercise or do anything that really raises my blood pressure. Though I have been taking care of Maddie. There are things I can not do, lifting Maddie carriage being one of them, however I have. T tried it in a few days.
I am very excited to try on clothes once I can with a real bra. I am excited to buy a bathing suit off a rack and not out if a specialty catalog for top heavy women. I am looking forward to owning matching underwear!! I am so happy I will never have Togo to a plus size store to find a bra that is supportive enough. I love that I do not have back pain. For those of you that are top heavy as well you know what I am talking about, that pulling back pain. It is gone!! It happened almost immediately after the surgery. I can not explain how great that feels.
Not too much is really new here. Maddie keeps us laughing all the time today for instance she decided to flick tomato sauce and laugh. I corrected her and she did it again. Jeff was in the kitchen and was trying to figure out the mess. He was looking for tossed pasta not knowing she was flicking it. So as she did it the second time I corrected her as did Jeff as he turned away Maddie in her bossy voice yelled at me and said "stop, getting me in trouble with daddy". I said I am not getting you in trouble you did it by making a mess... Of course this all ended in laughs. She is such a boss. We are in trouble.
I have gotten a couple of emails. I did cancel our cruise. I was not comfortable cruising on carnival, we had an issue in the past and after the Italian boat disaster that was owned by carnival I cancelled. We have not booked another trip. I have been looking though. So I will take suggestions. My requirements are: nice beach and sand must have pool. I would love a kids club or activities for Maddie too. Any thoughts??

Clean

I showered today. It felt great!! I don't know why I could not shower with this drain but could with the other one. Oh well. Both drains are out not and I am feeling so much better. I am still sore but honestly it is nothing. I feel week the few times I have picked Maddie up so I guess I will have to let that heal a bit more. Other than that I am doing good today :)