The Journey Continues…

It’s been a while since I’ve updated everyone…mostly because I’ve just been super busy. Work is a lot busier and I recently started Real Estate classes, which I take online every Tuesday and Thursday from 6 PM to 10 PM. Talk about long days! I don’t know WHAT I was thinking when I decided to add that to my already overflowing plate.

A few updates…

I recently had to go in for my regularly scheduled pap smear. Talk about extreme dysphoria. Though I love my doctor and she’s very understanding and conscious of how it makes me feel…the dysphoria was definitely at an all-time high. Thank goodness I don’t have to do that again for 5 years!

Update on my chest: the scars are looking a lot better, and I’ve certainly come a very long way in a short amount of time, considering two surgeries and open wounds that had to close and heal.

Now…it still looks horrible to me, but my wife and my surgeon both think it’s a far cry from where I started in an extremely short amount of time.

I am confident that (unless there are significant changes) I will require more surgery to “reconstruct” my chest to look more like a normal male chest, but that won’t happen until at least 6–8 months from now.

The biggest issues for me right now that really need to resolve are:

• Scar tissue
• Edema

I’ve been seeing a Physical Therapist once or twice a week for some time, but it really doesn’t seem to be helping the edema much at all. We have reduced and removed some of the scar tissue, but a lot still remains.

The edema is the absolute worst. It makes me look like I’m about 9 months pregnant (not a good look on a man). I’ve tried:

• Physical Therapy
• Increasing my water intake
• Rebounding trampoline
• Walking
• Massaging
• Brushing (Lymphatic Drainage Massage)
• Oral drops
• Stretching

While I seem to get some temporary relief at times, nothing is permanent. I am now waiting for Advanced Medical to provide me with a second opinion on the overall prognosis and recommended treatment. Thanks again to Cisco for this amazing benefit that is free to employees. Hoping and praying that they come back with some kind of suggestion that will help to get rid of this edema. Not only does it look bad, but it’s also very painful — especially when I first wake up in the morning, or if I’ve been sitting for a bit. This is one of the reasons why I turned my desk into a standing-only desk before Christmas.

To add to this…I was diagnosed with anemia at my last doctor’s appointment. My iron was extremely low. No wonder I’ve been feeling exhausted and weak for a while now. So I’m now taking iron supplements twice a day. Once I retest after a month or two on supplements, my doctor will determine if I need iron infusions. I’ve been experiencing all of these symptoms for a while now:

• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Paleness (as if I’m not already pale enough)
• Shortness of breath
• Dizziness or lightheadedness
• Cold hands and feet
• Dry skin
• Restless legs
• Strange cravings — I’m eating ice like crazy; never cared for it before

I’ve never had any issues with my iron in the past. Never had any health issues at all prior to having top surgery. Now I feel like I’m falling apart — little by little, and it’s not a good feeling.

Lying in bed last night, I asked my wife, “What if this edema never goes away?”. I feel like I’m never going to look normal again. When I have on clothes, I look like a normal man. When I have my shirt off, I honestly feel like a freak.

Please keep your 🤞that I get some positive news from the second opinion. If positive thoughts will help to reduce and eliminate this edema, please keep sending them my way. I need all I can get right now. And of course, hope and pray that my iron levels increase back to the normal levels, so I don’t have to get iron infusions.

☮ and💖to you, my friends.

Liam