August 1, 2015 Wardrobes you don't even own

One benefit of rationale thoughts this go round is you are able to think of some really practical things you can do in advance of surgery to make post-op less stressful for your spouse (and yourself!) Ron and I spent the morning working on some landscaping at a local school with our church. What a treat to see so many people come together to better school environments for the upcoming year. I love that this group of believers feel so passionate about local missions. And it was a perfectly timed reminder of service for other people. Well, after an exhausting few hours in the heat, i found some A/C and sat down to make the to do list of all that needs to happen in the next four days. Laundry, cleaning, etc. But high on that list was tackling the waredrobe...all with my spouse in mind.
One very frustrating thing post-op is what you can and can't wear. For the first 48 hours you are stuck in a vecroed surgical "bra" stuffed full of "gauze stuffing". It's hysterical (and sad) to look down and see this stuffing oozing out of your cotton contraption meant to hold everything in place. Well this "bra" is pretty bulky and cumbersome, so only certain shirts are going to fit over and contain this masterpiece. Plus, there are two drains bubbling out from the underside. Oversized and soft is the only suitable option for shirts, and also old because inevitably you will ink iodine, left over from surgery, onto them. After 48 hours in this delightful set up, you score the big win and "get" to transition to a normal sports bra. One you've cut little notches into to keep the elastic from pressuring into the drain tubes.  The sports bras are suitable for about a month, then you get to graduate to adorable little flimsy brassieres minus the adorable and absent of the necessary under wire you've learned to embrace since adolescence. These are your wardrobe partners for about two months. Perfect for an evening on the town! ; )
Then there are pajamas and pants -yoga style is the ONLY way to go because your overwhelmed spouse, or sister, or mother, or dearest friend ever have to help you get all of this on you with little to no assistance from yourself. You can't raise your arms, lift any weight, or "pull" or tug with the affected side(s) for many weeks. So you get to rely on your life savers to somehow get you from one days wear to another, all without yelling because he can't find the blue tshirt with a grey sportsbra, underwear, and grey yoga capris, while you sit back trying to explain which drawer each can be found in and in which laundry basket in which bedroom, then remembering in your medication induced stupor that everything you just described you don't even own but are what you saw your friend wearing at the landscaping project at the local school with your church group. Yes, there is high probability of chaos and shed tears simply trying to navigate with your life saver the need to get something on your body, in a reasonable time, that actually fits.
So while Ron is in the backyard finishing up a yard project we started weeks ago, I'm inside creating a post surgery corner in my closet of sortable wardrobe items that can be grabbed at any time by my sweet Ron. Bras laid out in stages of when each can be worn. And yoga pants, and shirts, and undies. He's going to be so grateful when i show him because we certainly didn't have this mastered in the five times previous. Old dog, amazing new functional tricks that save your sanity when you are walking the thin line in mastectomy surgery, or any surgery for that matter.
Next, spaghetti sauce frozen in baggies for thawing. Then freshly cleaned bathtubs so we can take our pick of which will be easiest to navigate for shampooing and pouring a cup of water over my hair.
Oh the things you learn and wish you had known the first few times around. Now it's here for you.


Click  www.tradinginthetatas.blogspot.com to access other posts.