yesterday i had an appointment with the plastic surgeon that did my breast cancer reconstruction. i was under the impression that he would release me, as my general surgeon had done when i saw him last month. my plastic surgeon used to have a small practice with a very friendly, homey type atmosphere. whenever i had an appointment i would bring some cookies that i had made for the plastic surgeon and his staff. i found out that he liked my macadamia nut/white chocolate chunk cookies the best, so for the past several times i have seen him, those are the ones that i made and took to his office. my doctor has since moved into a larger practice, with several other practitioners. it is a nice practice, but not quite as friendly as the old place used to be. still, i made the cookies and gave them to the doctor and his nurse- the only people that i knew in this new practice. as i said, i thought that this was going to be my last appointment with the plastic surgeon. as it turned out, i have to see him again in a year, which is not too bad. i do not have to get tests, blood work,etc, when i go see him.so really no stress anxiety associated with these visits. basically, the doctor just wants to check with me to make sure that i am not having any problems.
my doctor was very pleased with my areola/nipple tattoos. he had been encouraging me to get them for the past year and a half. i was only too happy to relate to him how much they had changed my life in a very positive way. instead of seeing just the two large scars on my chest, i now see something that looks closer to what i used to look like. he was so impressed with the appearance of my tattoos, that he asked my permission to take photographs. you can not tell that it is me, by the way, as the photos are only of my chest area.
so i got dressed and was checking out when a new staff member approached me. she told me that her sister had also had bilateral mastectomies, and had been debating about getting the tattoos. her sister had seen the program about 3D areola/nipple tattoos on the today show. she wanted to go to vinnie myers ( the person in the today show segment, and the person who did my tattoos). the staff member said " i would like to ask you something unusual and feel free to say no if it would make you feel uncomfortable." what she asked me was would i consider showing her sister ( turns out she worked in this office,too) my tattoos? without even thinking about it too much, i said " why, sure!".after i checked out, i was to meet the staff member and her sister in the room where my photos were taken.
i followed her to the room, and her sister was already there waiting. we said a quick hello, and then i unbuttoned my shirt and showed her my chest. now, i am not in the habit of flashing people. in fact, only a very few people ( mostly doctors) have seen my beautiful tattoos, but this felt like the right thing to do. i talked to her and told her how much getting those tattoos had helped me . having that procedure has been a huge part of my healing process. i happened to have one of vinnie's cards in my purse. i gave the business card to her and after we talked for a little while longer, i told her to go ahead and call for her appointment. i could tell that she just needed a little nudge in the right direction. the proof is in the pudding, or in my case, under my shirt. every woman is different, though. what is right for me, may not be right for someone else. but i feel that i helped someone out and it felt good. as i walked by the receptionist's desk, several of the staff stopped what they were doing and smiled at me. one woman waved and another gave me the thumbs up. perhaps it was not such a strange thing for me to do after all.
i also realized that i never made cookies for my general surgeon. coincidence? i think not.
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