So Sore...

This last Monday, I had my final "fill" in the expanders. My sis, Kristin, took me to get the fill - mostly because I'm such a baby when I see those needles headed for my chest. The port in the left expander is on the top - easy to get to and not too painful to fill. The port in the right expander has shifted to almost in my armpit. It's always more painful to fill. This time was excruciating. I'm not sure what happened - maybe the needle hit a nerve or went through a sore spot in a muscle - but when Doc stuck the needle in, pain shot through my whole side. It hurt like hell. I'm so glad I don't have to go back for more fills. I don't think I could face another needle.

I think I've reached the limit of how far the muscles and skin in my chest can possibly stretch. I have 900 CCs of saline in each expander! I can hardly move. I am in so much pain. I'm really happy that I don't have to wait for 6 months for the reconstructive surgery (like we originally thought I would), because there is no way I could handle this stretched chest for that long. If I was really brave, I'd post a picture of my chest here. It looks quite amazing - HUGE and hard as rocks. But, I'm not that brave. :-)

One month - May 1st. I can't wait. I know this surgery will be painful and not easy to recover from, but ANYTHING is better than these expanders. I think it will be such a relief to have these out and have soft silicone put in. I hope the next 30 days fly by.