I have a skin infection.  It’s a skinfection.  I just finished a round of antibiotics, and my doctor put me on TWO more.  At the same time.  I didn’t know you could do that.  My skin may be compromised.  As in they may have to pull my implant.  I’ve had it for a  little over a week, and I don’t want to give it up.  I have a red mole on my chest, and prior to the mastectomy, I had asked my plastic surgeon if it was going to be in a different spot after the surgery.  He replied, “No, just at a different angle.”  Boy, was he right!  It’s sitting on a shelf right now, and I like it.  I don’t want to give it up.  But if my skin is failing, there’s not much else they can do but to remove the implant.

        Because of all my issues with my incision, I can’t start chemo yet.  I was supposed to start chemo on July 9th.  My oncologist pushed it to July 23rd.  Now my tentative date is August 13th.  But if he has to go back in and remove the implant, that date will be pushed once again.  

        They always say, “you better be careful what you wish for,” so I’ve been very careful not to frame any wishes or prayers towards not getting chemo.  I mean, I was worried about having to get chemo because I’m worried about the sickness that comes along with it, but I’ve always been careful not to wish that I don’t get it.  And here I am, not getting it.  Not able to get it.

        I just really need my skin to heal.  It needs to cooperate.  Thankfully, the infection seems superficial (as in it’s on the surface, not deep underneath), but the surrounding skin isn’t playing nice.  It’s funny because when I went for my last surgery (when the nurse kept blowing my veins), she mentioned that my skin is really thick.  I wish someone would tell my breast skin that!

        When I went to my appointment on Monday, the doctor removed the steri-strips and stitched me up a little more right below the compromised skin.  He had me lay on the chair (and let me tell you–plastic surgeon exam rooms have the MOST comfortable “chairs” that lay flat into an exam chair), and he had his nurse hand him the needle and “thread.”  I asked him, “Is this going to hurt?”  I was a little flabbergasted that he was going to literally stitch me up right then and there.  He replied, “Oh it won’t hurt me at all.”  Ha ha.  

        He’s got my sense of humor.  When I had my original mastectomy, he handed me a prescription for muscle relaxers.  I told him, “I’ve never had muscle relaxers before.  I don’t know what they’ll do to me.”  He replied, “Well, you have 84 to try out.”  Then he got super serious and said, “I’m just kidding.”  I think he realized how that could have been interpreted, and he didn’t want me to take it the wrong way.  Don’t need a doctor handing a patient 84 muscle relaxers and telling them, “Go play.”

        I keep pulling my plastic surgeon from vacation.  He was supposed to be vacationing the day after Fourth of July, but he was operating on me instead.  On Monday, he was supposed to be vacationing, but he put his travel plans on hold to inspect my infected incision.  His nurse swore to me that his office staff is not lying to me, telling me that he’s off work and then he suddenly shows up to save the day.  He told me that his wife has gotten used to it–it reminds me of a homicide detective thinking he’ll get time to spend with his family or sleep and then he gets called in to investigate yet another murder.  Except this is my plastic surgeon cleaning up issues with his own work.  Don’t get me wrong–I don’t blame my plastic surgeon–he’s awesome.  But I’m sure he feels obligated to make it right since it’s his work.  He can’t have a patient of his going septic because of a skin infection.  I’m sure that wouldn’t be good for business.

        I’ve had to reschedule my radiology consultation FIVE times now.  Radiation won’t start until after chemo, so it’s okay that it keeps getting pushed, but literally every week I’ve had to reschedule.  Apparently the radiologist is only at my local hospital on Fridays.  Fridays are also the day that my surgeries occur.  Plus, Fridays are also a week after surgeries that happen on Fridays, so post-op follow-up appointments are also scheduled on Fridays.  We’ll see if I actually get to meet the radiologist this Friday, or if I’ll be in surgery (yet again) to fix this incision (aka pull the implant).  Hopefully it’s the former.