It’s becoming a thing.
Last week, after Annie’s first and not-so-wonderful expanders fill, she was excited for an ice cream cone the way a five year-old is thrilled when a banker hands her a lollipop across the teller window (remember those?) I think she got a taste of the possibilities, as yesterday, following her second fill, she innocently asked, “Ummm…what do you think about going to Little Man after lunch? It’s such a beautiful day and the walk would do me good, right?” Ha. As if I could deny her.
Earlier, while we were waiting for Sara, her PA and Expander Fill Meister, to arrive in the treatment room, Annie lamented the extended time required to type any message on her various electronic devices given the drugs’ fog-inducing effect. As if to illustrate her point, she silently stared straight ahead in concentration, trying to release the word plainly visible on the tip of her tongue. She laughed about the possibility of just writing an inadvertently cryptic missive and posting it without proofreading. But I think she’ll still read through everything when she posts here from her own perspective later this weekend. Be patient! Writing with Valium at your side’s um…interesting.
After the PA fielded a brief series of prepared questions, she declared, “You guys sure are rule followers!” Well, she nailed at least one of us (hint: not Bill). From that Q&A came some pretty darn exciting news: The prior requirement for Annie to sleep on her back no longer applies! This is a huge development. She’s an avowed side sleeper and had to construct a massive fort of big and small and stiff and soft pillows that’d beat an Anthropologie window display. All in a mostly-unsuccessful effort to stay comfortable doing the opposite of Downward Dog…Upward Cat?
But alas, given her pain from the last fill, the PA at first thought she should skip yesterday’s fill. Annie, thinking it was a one off, urged injecting only 25ml instead of the usual 50ml to see if that helped. If last night’s any indication, the Discomfort Index was still in a heightened state, so next time it’ll be back to 50ml, but maybe every other week. So said pillow fort remains, but now new and improved for deeper sleep.
While she may have claimed to be a medical scaredy cat in her first post, I’m sensing she’s eager to get rid of the rock-hard expanders (give her an oh-so-gentle hug to see for yourself) as soon as possible. Coincidentally, yesterday her surgeon urged her to schedule her exchange surgery ASAP. The hospital OR is popular and gets booked faster than a Katy Perry concert, or so I’ve heard. A set date will drive the fill schedule, and give her a goal to work toward, after which she should be done with breast surgeries for another ten years or so, a great relief to us both.
Given her creativity, though, I’m pretty sure she’s going to quickly find alternate, yet somehow equally compelling, reasons to return to Little Man Ice Cream. In fact, I think I hear that subtle hint now…car keys a-jingling. Excuse me…gotta run as my sweet little rule-follower can’t drive while she’s on these pain meds. While she’s just fine being chauffeured around, she’d be pretty happy not to “wear” a pillow in between her chest and the seat belt. Soon, love. Soon.