Friday, May 31, 2013

Bonnie's Pre-Op updates

Hi Everyone,

It has been a busy, informative week. Most importantly, Bonnie has been focused on getting prepared for upcoming surgery on Monday by getting a mani-pedi, haircut and color. After all, we can't have Dr. McDreamy (see pic below) working on her unless she's having a good hair day.

Dr. Apostolides

On Wednesday, we met with her surgeon, Mary Wild to review Bonnie's surgery plan, and today with Dr. Apostolides (aka Dr. McDreamy). She will be having a bi-lateral double mastectomy. We will arrive at the hospital at about 7am and she will go in for surgery around 9am. Once Dr Wild is finished, she will report to Tom and me to let us know how her part of the surgery went.
Immediately following,  Dr. McDreamy will being his portion of the surgery and installation of the expanders. Once he is done, he will report to us on her status.

We expect the surgery to last about 5 hours. Bonnie will spend about 1 hour in recovery and will then be transferred to her room. I will stay with Bonnie her entire time at the hospital so Tom can take care of the girls. Actually, I'm really staying with her so I can take embarrassing pictures of her and post them here:)

We expect to be released from the hospital Wednesday, late afternoon after visiting with both doctors. We hope to have word from Dr Wild at that point as to any need for Chemo and/or Radiation. We have to wait for the pathology reports to come in, but we understand she has a way to get the results faster than others (be afraid lab techs - be very afraid).
Once released, I will take her home, prop her up in bed, and load her up on meds so I can continue my photo shoot.

We will visit Dr. McDreamy on Friday to check on her progress. At that point, he will give us time frames on future visits, etc.

Bonnie will be in a better position to receive visitors the week following her surgery, as I do expect her to be quite uncomfortable. She is not supposed to move around much, so if you do stop by, don't be surprised to see her drooling and strapped to the bed. It pays off to be married to a shrink who works at a psychiatric hospital and has access to these things.

I will post updates on Monday once we hear from the doctors, and will continue to do so during the week. I'm sure there will be many hilarious topics to cover: Bonnie passing gas in the recovery room, Dr. McDreamy checking her chest while we checkout his butt, etc.

Bonnie is feeling very happy with her medical team and the decisions she has made. Now - we just need to do this! We decided today it's like the week before your overdue haircut. The appointment can't get here soon enough!

Stay tuned and thank you all again for your thoughts and prayers! I keep Bonnie informed of your feedback and she is very, very appreciative of all of you.

Talk to you soon!
Nurse Rached (aka: Heather - the younger, less wrinkled sister)

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Bonnie's formal Diagnosis

Hi Everyone,
 
I thought it would be helpful for all of you to know Bonnie's formal diagnosis. She has "Ductal Carcinoma invasive/DCIS". Huh? What's that? It's basically good news, as far as bad new goes. She has one tumor in her right breast. It is invasive and contained in the duct. The tumor was discovered early and the prognosis is really good. All of her doctors have really positive thoughts about her recovery. This week continues to be a fact finding mission, with more information being provided in regards to the surgery. Her surgery is scheduled for the morning of June 3rd.
 
What we won't know until after the surgery is if she will need chemo and/or radiation. That will depend on what the pathology report reveals. We will not get those results until possibly a week or so after the surgery. That will be a long week, but she will be focused on recovering from the surgery, eating delicious home cooked meals by some of you, and reading my witty posts on this blog.
 
Bonnie would like to remind all of you of the importance of getting your yearly mammogram (remember - she's the oldest sister and has to remind people of things).



For now, Bonnie is busy getting the kids ready for birthday parties, end of school, keeping Charlie from chewing up the house, and will hopefully find time to bake Nurse Ratched (that's me) some of her yummy chocolate chip cookies:)

Talk to ya'll soon!
Heather

Friday, May 24, 2013

Blogger Introduction

Hi Everyone,

I am Heather Gregory, Bonnie's much younger and less wrinkled sister. I will be responsible for posting sensitive, heartfelt, embarrassing, humerous blogs about my sister's cancer treatment and progress. It is my hope that my blogs will bring you all comfort and laughter during this stressful time. I will thank you all in advance for caring so much for Bonnie. She is very fortunate to be surrounded by so many loving and thoughtful friends. I will also thank you for your anticipated appreciation of my sarcastic sense of humor, a valuable trait that helped secure me this position.

I look forward to meeting all of you and thanking you personally for your love, patience and support for my sister.

Just to give you an idea of the important, serious information that is about to be posted on this site, I thought I would start by introducing you to her young, very attractive Plastic Surgeon. He is a genius!

 
 
 
Looking forward to keeping you all updated.
 
Heather