"Work" and Work

After having just driven the seven hours home to Ashcroft on Thursday, it was difficult to get back in the car and head to Kamloops on Friday.  However, if I didn't get a note from Dr. M stating I was medically sound to return to work, I would not be welcome in my classroom on Monday morning. Even though the red area had diminished since Maureen first documented it's borders allowing my infection fears to dwindle to the back burner, Dr. M noted that there was still considerable redness. He attributed it to inflammation, NOT infection, which was an immense relief. Using phrases like, "lots of digging around", "fair bit of excavation was necessary", he explained why my body would be sending lots of extra blood flow to the area trying to make things "right" again. All in all, he was extremely pleased with his "work", thought I was looking great, and issued me permission to get back in the saddle. My official "After" photo will be taken on March 10 when I go back to have my final viewing with Dr. M and learn the massage methods I will need to practice to avoid scar tissue build-up around the implant. ... Why is it, just when I think all this is going to END, that there is yet still another item on the infinite list of "What Yvonne needs to do next" ?!? ... I honestly NEVER thought "self-breast-massage" would be on my list :)

Only two of my steri-strips (NO stitches!!) had lifted and rubbed their way off by the time I saw Dr. M.  Surprisingly, the final steri-strip was removed (with just a wee little bit of my help) on Thursday -- 16 days after surgery. It was only then that I could truly see 100% of Dr. M's fantastic handiwork, examine my "lollipop incision" (which has a very appropriate name), and realize how little of my mastectomy scar Dr. M opened up (~50%!). Now, a full week after having my check-up, about 98% of the redness has disappeared, no open spots -- all is well!!

Expecting to find a messy room and an over-flowing marking tub, I headed off to school early last Saturday morning. The building was still standing and, much to my amazement, my room looked quite "normal". The only thing missing was work in my hand-in tub.  Like, I'm talking nothing -- it was empty!  What !?!?! Oh well, in the big scheme of things, it was only 2 weeks in my students' education life, and we would make large strides now that I was back to crack the whip.

When Monday morning arrived, I couldn't wait to see my students' faces and hear all about their two weeks. After some huge bear hugs (yup, I'm healed up enough already that bear hugs work again), all the ups and downs of the two weeks was laid out before me in great detail. Well, there were many, many more "downs" than "ups", but they survived to tell the story. It took the majority of the week for me to work my magic (ha! ha!) and get my precious students used to working again. My prediction is that next week we'll be humming along  like a well-oiled machine -- just in time for a two-week Spring Break, after which I'll be starting from scratch again.