More expansions and stuff

Hey everyone, sorry I haven't been updating!

I had my last drain removed and my second expansion a while ago now, I already forget when it was.  I have it written down somewhere I think but I'm too lazy to look.  My mom couldn't come with me to that appointment, but I was lucky to have my friends Marissa and Vi go with me instead.  The drain removal/second expansion appointment was only a couple days after my first expansion, so my Plastic Surgeon was only able to get in 25 cc, bringing me up to 125.

Yesterday I had my third expansion with another 50 cc, so now I'm at 175!  Yay!  About halfway there or so.  I won't be able to have my exchange surgery until after classes are over, though, because my PS said I'll have to take 2 weeks off for recovery.  I was hoping it would be more like my lumpectomy where I could bounce back a couple of days later, but sadly no.  Also, the Plastic Surgery/Cosmetic Dermatology department moved to a different area, and I got a little confused trying to find it since there were no signs anywhere, but I found it eventually.  It's nice, the rooms are a lot bigger, so the next time I bring an entourage with me to an appointment there will be enough room for everyone.

After my expansion yesterday, I really noticed how much heavier that side is starting to feel.  Also I've been having really bad upper back pain all day today, and I think it might have to do with the expander.  I really hope that it doesn't get worse the more it gets filled because it's pretty uncomfortable and inconvenient.  I took a Motrin but that didn't really help, although it did help a little.  It may be about time to take another one.

In other news, the past week has been eventful.  I had a great time last weekend wine tasting with my mom and our friend Michele in Sonoma, and school started this week.  Originally I wanted to take an EMT class and a couple of other nursing pre-reqs, because being an EMT would be a great way to get some clinical experience (especially since it's virtually impossible to volunteer at a hospital and part of the class involves 72 hours of actual ER/Ambulance work), but I realized that would be too much for me right now.  They recommend taking the EMT class with no other classes because it is so intensive.  I think I might have been okay, but also the physical demands were worrisome to me.  We were going to be doing a lot of lifting in that class - as in, lifting other people - and I'm still not really supposed to lift more than 5 pounds.  (I even had to ask someone to carry my microscope to my desk for me in lab today, haha!)  I also got into the second part of the Anatomy and Physiology series I have to take, and I wanted to take them back to back, so I ended up dropping the EMT class for now.  Instead I'm taking A&P II, Microbio, and Psychology.  Three more pre-reqs down, and hopefully I can take the EMT class next semester; it seemed really fun.

Being back in the relatively normal world has been good, but it is reminding me that I am still recovering.  Having class every day has been draining more of my energy than I thought it would (possibly because of trouble sleeping with this beloved expander of mine), and having to ask people around me for help with seemingly little things is hard for my stubborn nature.  I'm trying to learn to carry my backpack on my left shoulder like my Breast Surgeon suggested, but my instinct is to carry it with the right, and the weight of that does feel like too much after a while.  To compensate I have been making sure to wear both straps so the weight is evenly distributed, but I think I might have to invest in a shoulder bag and force myself to wear it on the left side.  We shall see.

Okay that's all for now.  Adios amigos.