On for surgery...Thursday, April 8

I am pleased to report that the tissue in the wound is healthy enough to have surgery next week. I am relieved.

I have had 13 Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatments (HBO) and have been going to wound care and progress is finally being made! Yea! As you may recall, after my surgery on February 2, I immediately began to have trouble with the grafted skin beginning to die. The radiation damage to my vascular system around the breast area was much worse than anyone realized. There was just not a sufficient blood supply to the newly grafted skin. The skin graft was replacing skin very scared by radiation. Thankfully the muscle flap that the surgeon brought around from my back worked well, it was just about 1/2 of the skin that died. At this point, the wound will not close without surgery.

So next week, Thursday, April 8, I will have out patient surgery bright and early in the morning. The plastic surgeon will remove some of the raw granulation tissue so that he can bring the ends of the surviving skin together to close the wound. I am hopeful that things will move along much more quickly once the wound is closed.

It will be outpatient surgery at the Aspen Surgery Center in WC. I will be in twilight sleep with local anaesthetic for about an hour. I will get to go home that day. I will continue HBO treatments starting the next day. They want to do everything they can to make sure I get enough blood circulation this time!

Please pray:
**I have a bit of a cold, enough to keep me out of HBO treatment the last couple of days, that needs to be healed quickly and completely!
**Please pray that the surgery goes well, without any problems or setbacks.
**Please pray that my blood vessels are strong enough to feed the surgery site so that there is no more necrotic/dying skin. If I need more vascular support, please pray for a miraculous healing in that area.
**Please pray that I will not be nauseated from the medication they use to help me sleep through the surgery.
**Again, please pray for NO COMPLICATIONS!!

Thank you so very, very much!!