I have been remiss. Earlier this month I took one of the final steps along my road to recovery and I didn't write about it.
The hero's journey has been a long one. Those of you who have walked it with me know it had both highs and lows. But like yin and yang, they pretty much balanced each other out. These days the journey has dwindled to a couple of side trips as I make annual pilgrimages to visit with my two surgeons (mentors), and hopefully there will only be two more of those.
No this side trip was of a different nature. It was the final step of reconstruction and rebuilding the body after tearing it down. I visited my final mentor, the tattoo artist.
The reconstruction happened in two phases. The breasts were shaped and formed using the muscle from my back and saline-filled implants. Several months later the nipples were surgically created. On November 7, I visited Amber at Adept Tattoo on Quinpool Road to have the finishing touches, the cherry on the sundae if you will. She applied pigment to make the "Girls" look as good as new. The side benefit is it covers some of the scaring around the nipple area as well. Now if you were to see me on a topless beach at 15 metres (which I don't see ever happening) you would never know I had a double mastectomy and reconstruction.
I'll admit I was ambivalent about it. It seemed, excessive, unnecessary. But now I'm glad I took this final step. It symbolically closes the cover on that chapter of my life. I can look back at cancer now and say thank you. You didn't defeat me, you made me stronger, you helped me develop focus... but I don't ever want to see you again.
The journey has led me to the path I walk now and I love our life on the farm and I hope you continue to share the rest of the journey with me as I learn how to live sustainably and with joy.
