Well another thrilling day at the doctors yesterday. This was the plastic surgeon and she was able to take out lots of stitches and put in 200cc of saline into my skin expander! It was sort of like pumping up a flat tire...but just putting in enough air to get a little lift. I could not figure out why I felt like I had broken ribs..but it turns out that there is a little valve near my ribs that they use to put in the saline. Tom of course was very interested in how the valve worked. since alot of the swelling has gone down I can now feel the valve.The doctor assured me that the pain will definitely subside .Fascinating stuff! My good friend Billie is coming down from Santa Monica today to stay with me while Tom goes and works on the boat. Tomorrow we see the radiologist who will set up the next step which is the 7 weeks of radiation.
I think that Tom and I are both feeling less anxious about the stage 3 diagnosis...and  we are gearing up for a good fight. I have beaten the odds more than once in my life..and I really feel I will this time too. I really appreciate all of the support from so many of you and I know that that will make a huge difference in terms of winning this fight.