One more day!

Breakfast at Sqirl

Just a little bit more than a day to go and I am pumped up!  I have had a fabulous week full of wonderful treats, including: my brother flying into town to hang out and chill with me (lounging poolside, watching Dodger game and completing an awesome jigsaw puzzle together); friends Mandy and Corey flying into town to provide excellent adventures with Jen and Nick (breakfast at Sqirl, lounging poolside, surprise tea party, late night Margarita's run, YouTube karaoke); dinner at POP with FSHA girls; lunch with Susan at 4th Street Mill; cozy shepherd's pie with NaMee and Nate.  Lots of food and lots of friends!  I don't know if it's possible to be any more loved. 

'we heart emily'

All of this love fest has me feeling super happy, relaxed and empowered to rock this surgery!  One of the highlights from this past week was the collaborative 'we heart emily' poster Mandy made in conjunction with Corey, Jen, Nick, Shannon, Claire, Paul, Luka, Carmen and Derek.  In the poster, the aforementioned participants (geographically dispersed across Northern Ireland, Chicago, San Francisco and Pasadena!) proudly boast homemade t-shirts with 'we heart emily' logos across the chest, shirts which they will all wear again on Tuesday!  This is magical.  This magic is happening, I think, on a scale larger than I can imagine, as people across the country and globe are reaching out to me in messages and cards with well wishes, thoughts and prayers.  The stats page of this blog recently tracked 1,000 pageviews from the U.S., U.K., France, Canada, Australia, Czech Republic, Spain, Ireland, South Korea, Jersey, and Tanzania.  That is a LOT of good vibes and love stretching around the world, connecting me with a whole lot of people.  It has been incredibly good to re-connect with many of you over the past few weeks.  I cannot articulate how meaningful all of these reconnections have been and how much they have grounded me in positive energy!  Thank you. 

Fattie scar

As I make my final preparations for surgery, it just today struck me that I will soon say goodbye to something I have, for 16 years, come to identify myself with: my chest scar!  Now some naysayers may say it is not the most beautiful of scars, but I disagree.  Since postoperative day 1 I have been extremely proud of my scar, even as it changed from a bright-pink, pencil-thin line to a raised, keloided pale-pink scar, to a faded, flattened, wide scar. When I had my consultation with Dr. Starnes in July he took one look at my scar and said to the nurse practitioner, "let's get a plastics guy to sew her up".  Out with the fattie scar, in with the new!  As appreciative as I am of Starnes' concern for my chest aesthetic, I hope the plastics guy adds a little personality to my scar.  That's more my style.  So here's one last look at the beloved, characterful keloided scar.  As soon as I can, I will post pictures of the new one, which will be just as loved as the last.