Part 6: 1 year Post-Operation Meeting (June 5th 2023)

The final post-op meeting took place at Sahlgrenska June 5^th at 13:30.
Usually that means I take the train from Malmö around 7am, which usually meant that I could relax for a bit before taking the train. But I had booked it wrong, so I had to take another train from Malmö to Lund where I jumped on the train 7:15 am.
 
This time my mom came with me, so she joined me on the train when we reached Helsingborg. She even brought breakfast with her, which was even greater.
I love you, mom <3
 
I must admit it was nice to have company on the train, we talked about everything and all things, so the time went by fast until we arrived in Göteborg at 9:45 am.
After jumping of the train, we then decided to lock our things in a rentable locker at the station so that we didn’t need to carry them around with us as we took the tram to Sandham, which is where you take the ferry out into the archipelago of Göteborg.
 
We were pretty disappointed to be honest to find that it wasn’t quite what we imagined it to be; we didn’t have the time to take the ferry because of my scheduled appointment so we didn’t really the full experience but what we saw looked pretty disappointing…
But we had ice-creams in the sun by the docks so over all 4/10 experience.
 
After finishing our ice-creams we took the tram back and changed line to Sahlgrenska. We did take it the wrong way at first as is tradition to happen once every time I go to Göteborg. We reached the hospital around 1pm.
My scheduled appointment was 1:30pm but I got to meet the doctor, who was pretty late around 2:30pm and that’s because I asked the nurse about the whole situation.
 
Once I got to see the doctor, we talked for a bit, and I got to ask some questions I been having. I got to take my shirt of so that the doctor could take a look at my nipples and scars.
I also got photographed again; in order to follow the progress and I told them that I wanted the pictures to which they responded that I could order the pictures to be sent home at the reception desk.
 
When the photographer left, the doctor quickly diagnosed med with Hypertrophic scarring, which explains why my nipples and scars looked so wonky and why they had been itching a whole lot. He told me that the cure for this is cortisone injection treatments; each cortisone injection treatment last around 3 months and that I have to keep the pressure on with silicon tape during that entire time. He the proceeded to inject my scars and nipples with my first cortisone treatment, which hurt a bit.
 
The doctor then told me “See you in 3 months” before he left the room, leaving me alone with the nurse, who patched me up by applying silicon tape on my nipples and scars. After thanking the nurse, I then walked back out to waiting room and over to the reception desk, where I ordered my pictures to be sent home and also bought a few sheets of tape to take home.
 
Now I didn’t get a time for the next cortisone treatment today, but they have taken noticed  that I got a time waiting to be booked and the doctor said that the only thing I need to do is call them in the starting weeks of august.  
 
Leaving Sahlgrenska mom and I took the tram back down to Central Göteborg, where we ate Kobe Wok, drank wine, and talked about Pride history.
We also found out that apparently, Göteborg pride had just started and was taking place that whole week, with the parade finale going off on June 11^th.
 
After finishing our food, we then walked on over the Göteborg central station. When we got there, we were shocked to find that the rentable locker had robbed us, simply by being more expensive than we expected it to be.
 
I had to go back home as I had to work the next day, while mom were going on to Stockholm, so sadly we had said goodbye and split up as both of our trains were leaving 5:24 pm. Both going different directions this time.
 
After arriving back home in Malmö, I walked the rest of the way home and fell asleep real fast.
 
 
That’s all the tea for now,
 
Lex

Part 5: Six-week Post-Operation Meeting (March 23rd 2022)

Once again, I took the train to Sahlgrenska Göteborg. I didn’t take the wrong Tram this time, which was a huge success at least for me. It’s important to celebrate the small things in life.
 
I meet Mary again, this time she had a colleague (who I will call Shelly) with her, who also said the healing was going nicely.
I was photographed again in order to follow the healing progress; honestly can’t wait to get my hands on those pictures in a about a year when its time for my next meeting.
 
Mary redressed my chest and gave me new dressings to use until following Tuesday, when I was to finally swim again. After which I only have to tape the scars and nipples.
 
I was going to meet up with a friend who lives in Göteborg but sadly my train was early, and she didn’t have time so no meeting up for the two of us this time.
 
No more tea,
 
- Lex

Part 4: One-week Post-Operation Meeting (February 17th 2022)

One week after my surgery, I jumped on the train and went back to Sahlgrenska Göteborg.

I took the Tram the wrong way, again. I also did this same mistake before my pre-surgery meeting back in 2020. Luckily, I was in super early which meant I had time to correct my mistake in the right direction.
 
I had my meeting with my contact nurse, who I will call Mary here for the sake of privacy since I do not have her consent to use her name publicly.
She was really great and use reverse psychology in order to make me less nervous. It hurt when she removed the bandages and the clammers that were holding them, but she said the healing of everything were going nicely. The stiches would disrepair by themselves.
I started to cry when I saw myself for the first time, my chest was all busied and stuff but it was amazing to finally have the body I always dreamt off.
 
It felt nice to be free from that damned compression thing, it felt like a binder but way tighter and so bloody itchy. Sadly, I had to have it on for at least another five weeks…
 
The best of the day was when the lady at the entrance of the train station bathroom area gave me a knowing smile and allowed me to use which ever restroom I wanted.
 
I also showered for the first time in a week when I got home, which is why Mary didn’t dress the wounds and only protected them in order for them not to scratch from the compression binding bandage.
 
 
No more tea for now,
 
- Lex

Part3: Surgery D-Day (February 8th 2022)

Mom and I woke up very early, I took a shower and then we took the tram over to the hospital. She followed me to the ward entrance where we had to say good bye. Mom she wished me good luck and told me to call her later. We hugged before she left, telling me to call her later.
 
A nurse took me to my wardroom; it was a room with more than one bed. Which is how I know it is normally used for more than one people but due to the covid pandemic I got to have the room all for myself. In said room I got a bed, a locker like wardrobe for my things and some hospital cloths.
 
The same nurse checked me in. she then left me to change into the hospital gown and put my things away. She then came back with some pills for me; took my blood pressure, a blood sample and did one final covid test just to make sure.
The test came back negative, which was such a relief because I had been terribly nervous to be sent back home up until that point.  
 
I called mom and told her the surgery would go ahead and we both sighed in relief.
We talked for a bit before this extra surgeon came by; he was going to assist Costas during the surgery and said he just wanted to say hello.
When he left the nurse from before came back with more pills for me, she also took another blood pressure test and my heart rate. The pills made me feel really nice and relaxed
 
Around 7:30 am, I was taken down to the surgery by some really nice bed drivers, which was so good at their job. I might have been a bit high at this point because I told them what a great job they were doing.
In the surgery area my surgeon and the extra one came and check in on me. The main one drew on me, where he was going to do the cuts; they then said goodbye and left again.
 
After that I just mellowed out for a moment until an anesthetic nurse came and took me over to the actual surgery room. I had walk over there but I got this super cozy heated blanket, which my drugged mellowed out mind absolutely loved. I remember asking where she got it and she pointed to this heated locker where they kept the blanked nice and warm, a laundry dryer in the form of a locker.
 
In the surgery room I meet more anesthetic nurses and got to lay down on the operating table. All my anesthetic nurses was so sweet and took such good care of me the whole time and asked me about my pronounce which is he/they.  I honestly couldn’t have asked for better.
 
The main nurse put a PVK on the back my hand which felt like being stung like giant mosquitos, which really heart but one of them held my hand the whole time.
The Main Anesthetic Nurse asked if I had been taken under before. When I said no, M.A.N then told me it was going to go, the whole time they told me every step they were doing before they did the thing.  They put EKG on my chest and asked me what my weight was which was 77 kilograms the last time I checked.
 
The M.A.N then asked me to just relax and put my full weight on the operation table, which I finally did. I then got lust gas, which made feel on cloud nine before I was put under.  The very last thing I remember before I went out was this one nurse soothingly patting my cheek telling me how good I was doing and that everything was going to be alright.
 
I think I went under approximately at 8 am.
 
***
When I woke up after surgery, about 2,5 hours later, it was 11 am and I was laying in my hospital bed back in the wake-up area. A nurse saw that I was awake, she gave me a Piggelin (a real good Swedish ice cream). She also gave me morphine, which made me fall sleep again for another hour.
 
I woke up for real at 12 am and about fourteen minutes later I was taken back to my hospital room by the same bed drivers as before. Some water and lemonade were waiting for me. I only drank the water though.
 
The nurse from before surgery came, she took my blood pressure and heartbeat again which was the same as before. She then left again.
I was served breakfast around 1 pm; since I wasn’t allowed to have any this morning.
 
When I was done the nurse came back. This time she looked at the incisions, which she said looked very nice, I was so happy that I didn’t need drains. The nurse removed the PVKs, walked me though aftercare and booked time for my first post-surgery appointment in about a week.
 
For some reason, it took a long time for my bladder to start working again after surgery, which is completely normal according to the nurses that kept giving me more to drink and diuretics in order to help me pee. I spent the hours between 1pm and 4 pm walking up and down the corridors trying to start my bladder.
 
My surgeon and extra came to check in on my, this time they had a Medicine student with them. Costas told me everything had gone really well. I asked why I didn’t have drains and he told me that Sahlgrenska doesn’t use drains, which is why they are the best hospital, and I can only agree. The assistant surgeon fixed me a doctors note, which allowed me to be off sick for 4 weeks until I had healed.
 
When Costas left, the nurses told me I would be checked out when I managed to actually pee, which wouldn’t happened yet for 2 hours. I kept trying and trying, a nurse even did an ultrasound which actually showed that my bladder was quite full and gave me more diuretics. I wanted to pee so bad and go home so I kept walking the corridors before a evening nurse told me I could actually change to my own cloths, which I did.
 
She then came with a tray of glasses for me to drink, along with towels because she told me that showering could apparently help with restarting a bladder, enabling me to finally pee.
I didn’t get time to shower or drink because the moment the nurse left I had to go. When I was finished, I called the nurse, returning the towels and soap.
 
I was finally checked out and called my mom who was already on her way, having had a feeling that it was time. While I waited for her, I got changed and packed my stuff. I also drank the whole tray of drinks because I didn’t want it all to go to waste, before I said thanks and goodbye to the nurses as mom came and picked me up.
 
We had a delicious dinner at Göteborg’s saluhall, conveniently located next to our hotel. We also picked up my subscribed medicine stuff before we spent the rest of the evening chilling in our hotel room. I still felt really good when we left the hospital and had dinner, I only started hurt when we got into our beds, so I took one of my strong painkillers and slept like a baby.
 
The next morning after a fantastic hotel breakfast, we jumped on the train back home.
 
And that’s the tea about how my top mastectomy surgery went down,
- Lex

Part2: the Plan for Surgery Day

The surgery takes place February 8^th at Sahlagrenska Hospital in Göteborg, it’s going to be a day-surgery thanks to Covid Pandemic still going on.

Mom is coming with me to Göteborg, in order to drop me off at the hospital, pick me up at the hospital and to take care of me afterwards. 

As she puts it: “This is too big for me to allow you to do on your own.”  Which makes me incredibly happy because there are so many people out there who go through this life changing surgery on all alone for whatever reason.
 
We’re taking the train to Göteborg and staying at a hotel the day before because My check in time on surgery day is 7am. The hospital want me to stay in town a day extra incase of complications, which is why we are staying at our hotel before, during and after surgery day. My Dad is staying home to look after my cat.

 

Because of Covid they want me to self-test negative for at least two days before or the surgery will be pushed forward. Which makes me really nervous because that means that they can cancel the surgery last minute if I test positive on the final test.

 

That’s all I got for now; Stay tuned for tea,
 
- Lex

Part1: Pre-surgery meeting with my Surgeon (November 9th 2020)

I went to Göteborg and met the surgeon that was going to do my surgery.

The surgeon was nice, he asked me if I was sure I really wanted this, something I believe they are obligated to ask everyone who is going to go through this kind of surgery because it’s irreversible. 

My answer was a big yes.

He then asked me to take of my shirt, so that he could get an idea of what he would be working with and what kind of incision he would make.  It felt intimate being half naked in front of a complete stranger; I liked being looked at like that… Such a Confidence boost.
He told me that we would do a double incision because of the size of my pretty uneven chest.
 
The last thing that happened was that I got my chest photographed by the Hospital Photographer, who took before-pictures to look back on and compare with the final result.
 
Stay tuned tea,
 
- Lex

Back on Top Again

 Hello Everyone,

In honor of PRIDE season, which started in July and takes place in my home town this week.

The next updates is going to be about my Surgery; I will do one update for every day. 

Before Surgery.

the surgery (very detailed so if you dont want to know then don't read!)

After Surgery

where I have been 

and how long I have come since (more than a year later.)

So stay tuned for tea,

- Lex