My BRCA Journey

This surgery I decided to post as much as possible on my Facebook. I wanted anyone who had questions to know I am and was an open book. I had people reach out to me and tell me that my story struck a chord with them and they were being test or recently had been. My breast reconstruction had prepared me for this and I just wanted to get it over with.

To my dear friends, thank you. I kept most of you up the night before. I love you more than I will ever be able to express.

Surgery check in time was at 6am and I am shocked my phone still had a charge with all my anxious messages to my friends, colleagues, family, and my doom scrolling from fear. I checked in and was pretty quickly taken back to prep. My nurses cracked me up and I settled down fast. Initially, I had been told surgery could be up to 9 hours but they let me and Mike know that I should be done by 1pm. 

Both surgeons came by and the anaesthesiologist and we all had a nice banter for a bit. My main surgeon said, “So lets do this and be done?” I was so game. I wanted to be wheeled in and be done already. I waited another 30 minutes or so and it was go time. The last thing I remember hearing was my plastic surgeon saying, “Richard will be in assisting,” smiling and then knocking out. 

I woke up and immediately told my nurse she was absolutely gorgeous and made sure to tell her I though Serena Williams is beautiful and she she blew her out of the water. Haha. She called Mike back and showed me my drains. Immediately, I felt my mouth water, felt dizzy and like I was going to vomit. She got me an ice pack for my neck and some aromatherapy stick-ons for my shirt and I was back to normal. What a freakin’ MVP. Nurses deserve SO much praise and never get enough. She handed me my phone and I checked in on my mom and toddler and let them know we were headed home. 

The absolute relief of walking in the door, drains swinging around my medical sports bra, and all is something I can’t begin to describe. I promised my dad before he went on hospice I would take care of these preventative surgeries. It had all weighed heavily on me for a while. I had a friend pass from colon-rectal cancer that I had also told I would do have surgery for him. Shortly after Emily was born my dear friend Calvin passed after an extremely courageous battle with cancer. I had so many people around me that I admired pass away and I would lay awake in bed missing them and telling myself I could handle surgery. Finally, those promises were fulfilled.