Surgery No. 13: Recalled implants and maintenance

Jenny can write more about this surgery in the future if she chooses, but it is certainly worth an update that Jenny had another surgery related to her ongoing recovery/maintenance.

She feels good and is in the best shape of her, life. This surgery was ‘elective,’ but only in its timing. It was necessary at some point and probably could have been done years ago.

But today was the day. It’s done, and she is home.

She goes back in December for the second half of this work.

Surgery No. 12: The final ovary (and no Bob Seger)

Jenny turned 40 in Oct. 2018. This is what she looked like on her first full day of being 40.

We don’t post often anymore.

Not that cancer isn’t a part of weekly thoughts or conversation. It’s just that cancer is not the center of our schedule like is was at the end of 2012, much of 2013 and parts of 2014.

But I posted about the ovary last June. I suppose the ovary is not directly related to her breast-cancer diagnosis from 2012, but Jenny’s body is complicated and definitely compromised since that day. Every decision — from the non-oophorectomy in 2014 to the hysterectomy in late 2016 to the scope in 2018 — is related to the original diagnosis in 2012. It’s been a long road.

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Surgery No. 11: The scope and the good news

I didn’t get a photo of Jenny waiting for surgery today like I normally do. But this is how she looked … just like she looked on April 13 at the Tenaciously Teal fund-raiser. She looked graceful and strong, like always.

Jenny posted this weekend about the ovary and the cyst and the pain and the scope. So here we are at OU Medical Center early on Monday morning to find out what’s going on.

As Jenny wrote, we are praying for a good outcome in this scope — whatever that means today. There are varying degrees of good outcomes in this case. It means no cancer. It means keeping the ovary. It means finding the source of the pain she’s been dealing with every few months for the last 8 months.

Most of all, it means no cancer. 

Any other outcome would be just another thing for Jenny to deal with.

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The weird feeling on the ‘other side’ of this fight

Jenny at the Tenaciously Teal event in Oklahoma City on April 28, 2017. PHOTO: Charlie Neuenschwander Instagram: @charlien.photo

Jenny is always beautiful. But she, along with 12 other women, shined especially bright on April 28.

Jenny participated in a fund-raising fashion show event for Tenaciously Teal — Carepacks and Cocktails. It was an outstanding event, and we were blessed to be joined by family and friends there to support one of the stars.

Jenny doesn’t like the spotlight, so she was uncomfortable with all the attention, but I think she had fun (see the professional photo — please click to enlarge that photo!).

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Surgery No. 9 — a new surgeon, but a familiar process

We are in Houston for another surgery. This one is elective for Jenny and strategically planned in time to recover before our summer vacation plans.

Why the surgery? It’s a revision to her reconstruction. Jenny will post in more detail in the days to come. I (and others) are encouraging her to post some of her thoughts and reconstruction details.

So she will, she says.

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Surgery No. 8 — this one was not planned

It’s 9:22 a.m. as I start this post. We are waiting for surgery.

We’re in a common area on the third floor of the main MD Anderson building. Jenny is trying not think about food, but she’s already planned for us to order Pappasito’s takeout to the hotel this evening. Her appetite is currently much larger than the one she’ll have this evening, I think.

Pappasito’s is attached to the nice hotel we are staying at in downtown Houston, so it’s in her head. Priceline gave us a very good deal at that hotel much better than the prices for much lesser hotels in the medical district area.

Why are we waiting for surgery today? Especially after Jenny declared 2015 a surgery-free year?

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