Headed for Mile #12 with Basal Cell

I have been a little out of touch in the aftermath of Mile #11. My head resembles what I believe the moon's surface to look like. Somewhere in the mix my body is back at riding the tilt-a-whirl. My nausea has returned and brought dizziness to the party. The medicine I have for nausea does not help. I have not been in pain since 2 days post op. Yet the pain pills help the dizziness that in turn eliminates the nausea. Go figure.

I am used to working full time plus some this time of year. However, I have to say keeping busy is a chore while dealing with dizziness, nausea, etc.  My librarians and I are on a first name basis. I am reading a book every 2-3 days by authors I have not read before. The downfall is I  am getting authors, story lines and characters all mixed up.  Maybe I should write a novel myself. Although having vampires take over viking ships in the reign of King Alfred and get shipwrecked in South America only to raid wagon trains headed for the gold rush in California doesn't seem too convincing.

The big bonus for me at this point is all miles are healing great. All miles that have new skin now have new hair coming in if they are supposed to.  I am often asked if my hair will come in differently than it was before. At this point I am not on any medications that should alter my hair. However, the depth of several of my miles may have destroyed the ability of new hair follicles to form.  Time will tell.

Here are updated photos of Mile #6 through Mile #11. Mile #8 is not pictured as the suture line is not really visible in a photograph. My hair is still damp from the shower. At this point I can shower without any bandages. These photographs were taken 11/12/13 one week after Mile #11.

Mile #6 with remnants of Mile #2 at top

Mile #7

 Mile #6 is healed enough to be naked. I cover when going out and at night to keep it protected.















Mile #7 is gellin nicely and has little fuzzy hair just coming in at it perimeter.

Mile #9 Left

Mile #9 Right

On Mile #9 both sites are gellin and stay covered most of the time. If I am not going out I will clean both sites and leave them naked until I go to bed in the evening.

Mile #10 is the 4 spots on my neck. All have healed. I had almost 12 inches worth of stitches with the four spots we did for Mile #10. Two sites have puckered. My surgeon and I are watching those to see if with time (and cocoa butter) they smooth out. My camera does not show it as clearly as the camera the surgeon uses. I will have my nurse take a  picture to share with Mile #12.

Mile #11

Mile #11 is the reason I am going to scarves. This is why I think of the moon scape. All three are healing great and still require bandages 24/7. That is Mile #7 in the left portion of the photograph. The other thing my surgeon did for me in Mile #11 was remove 13 skin tags from under my arms.  Out of the 5 on the left and 8 on the right two have come back basal cell and will get excised later. Yes this was a vanity move on my part. Go figure all the nonsense visible on my head and I wanted my under arms clear.  I want to wear some sleeveless tops next summer. I have to have something to look forward to right?

I will spare you the photographs of my armpits except for the two that turned up basal. Once I see the maps Tuesday I can crop the pics to show only the bad guys. 

Maps? Yes, I heard you. Mohs surgeons have nice little body outline drawings (maps). Enlarged ones for the head, left side and right side. They mark and number all surgical spots and also update each one to accurately show each stage as needed.

Every surgeon may be different in how they mark. This is the first time I have gotten involved with looking at all my maps. They draw the area on the map that they remove with each stage and mark lines through it something like a compass. The stage removed is then placed in a dish with matching makings and taken to the lab. Then the stage is frozen and put onto slides. The technician knows exactly where each slide comes from based on its marking on the map.

Another question I get frequently is related to the size of the sites before and after the surgery. I flunked my due diligence there and have not documented that information. So Tuesday I will have my notebook in hand and have my nurse pull my chart. The surgeons always take a measurement before they begin and before they close or bandage the site at completion of surgery. 

So here I sit a day away from Mile #12. This is my last surgery for November. I still have the areas around my ears to do and one maybe two small spot on my scalp to address. My eyes have been scheduled for December.  There is no way to finish my head, face and neck before we welcome 2014. What is the saying, "we gave it the old college try".

Thanks again for all your prayers and support. I am still learning all the technology of our century. If you are trying to reach me please use myjourney.bccns@gmail.com and I will get back to you.

Take Away Nugget: All external motivation is temporary. Talk to yourself. Say only good positive things. Chances are you are the only person you truly believe anyway.