I went to the spa today, to sweat out toxins from surgery and the filthy, filthy air we Seattleites have been living with for the last week or so (a downside to the gorgeous, heavy-frost pink and gold dawns we’ve been having, and the windless sunny days, is the pressure inversion that’s keeping all our copious exhaust here on the ground where we can really get to know it), and I have to say, it was a bit strange to see all these women with two boobs each. I have yet to see anyone with a mastectomy at the spa, so I’m not sure why I was surprised to not see anyone else today, but there you have it. I made it a point to not stare at women who might be in a position to look at me, so that they would be comfortable checking out my scar if they wanted to.
I’m definitely feeling the effects of my surgery physically. I want to go rock climbing, but can’t stretch that easily over my head yet. I’ve stayed off the treadmill for the last three weeks to not put any undue stress on my lymph system, and to not sweat until my scar was healed over completely, but I think I’m going to give it a go tomorrow. I’ve unconsciously started using my left hand and arm more for lifting, so I’m bulking up on that side and atrophying on the other side, and in general I’m a bit soft—like I’ve spent the last three weeks recovering from surgery or something. I can even feel the slightly different weight of the left side of my chest (con-boob) compared to the right side of my chest (sans-boob). My sacrum and hips keep bumping out of alignment and sending twinges all up the right side of my back and over the top of my head, but in another couple weeks I’ll be able to wear the prosthesis regularly, which should help balance things out a bit.
It looks like my adjustment to the new me is psychological rather than physical at this point—but the mind’s generally the bigger battle, so I’m doing fine.
No comments:
Post a Comment