4 months

Doctor still not liking how pink the scar is.  Scheduled a laser treatment for late December since I have off school and can take a few days to recover.

3 months - new area

3 months later

I got another shot of cortizone in my eye. A few hours later, I was at the dermatologist's office and they took a biopsy on my chest.  Up close the spot looks fine; far away, it looks suspicious.  The doctor drew a circle where she wanted to clip.

3 months later

Before cortisone shot

10 hours after shot

Warning: the following is hard to look at

Here is a picture the surgeon took of me on the table.  It may be difficult to look at but this is what was removed.

8 weeks post-op - 5 hours after shot

Redness has faded faster than I imagined.

8 weeks post-op swollen after shot

Not a beautiful pic of myself but, this is a few hours after the cortizone shot and I'm swollen.

8 weeks post surgery

Doctor thought the scar was too red so he gave me two shots of cortizone.  It stings pretty bad right now - got the shots about 20 minutes ago.  Go back in 4 weeks.  If it's still red, the doctor wants to laser it!

August 30, 2014 - one month since surgery

3 1/2 weeks post surgery

All of the scabs have fallen off and I use scar cream twice every day.

2 1/2 weeks post surgery

5 days after stitches

Was able to use the scar cream tonight and can wear make-up tomorrow.  I may just go a few more days without it!

Day 10 - morning after stitches

Day 9 - stitches are out!

Day 9 - stitches come out later today!

Day 8 - night time

As I applied the antibiotic cream tonight, two scabs rubbed off.  Sounds gross but I can see what the scar will look like now!  And the stitches come off tomorrow!

Day 8

Everything seems the same.

Day 7

Still have that yellowish bubble/blister in my eye.  Thought it was a glob of the antibiotic cream I apply twice a day but now I'm not so sure.  I see the doctor again on Thursday (2 days away) and I will ask him then.

Day 6

Status is the same

End of day 5

Eye is still bloodshot and swollen a bit.  I've worn my glasses around all day again.  People must think I'm crazy when it's 9pm and I'm walking around with sunglasses still on.  The stitch in the corner of my eye is scratching me, feels like an eyelash is in my eye.  

Day 5

Still able to hold my eye open and it still doesn't look normal.  It does feel better and tonight I might be able to sleep un-elevated!

End of day 4

I was able to shop all day.  I could keep my eye open and I didn't tear up constantly.  The outer corner of my eye feels like an eyelash is stuck in it but I think that is the stitches.  I may see why they recommended eye drops.  The white part of my eye is now red.  Maybe I over did it today.  May ice it some tonight. 

Saturday, still

I went out this morning, and I've been able to hold my eye open the entire time! I even drove a short distance. 

Day 4 - Saturday morning

I was told to ice for 3 days.  Today is the first day I am not supposed to ice all day. I may still use some though.  So far, I have been able to hold my eye open for more than a minute.  Haven't needed eye drops yet as my eye tends to over water.

Day 3

I took a shower and washed my hair!  Couldn't get sutures wet so I was careful.  Boy!  Did it feel good.

Friday - 2 days after surgery

Still can't hold my eye open for more than a few seconds.  May call the doctor about it - I can't drive like this.

Morning after

No pain.  Can't open eye very much. 

7 hours post-op

I opened my eye!  At least a little bit.

3 hours after getting home

Not sure if my eye is blackening or the ink is bleeding.  My eye is getting more and more difficult to open.  Makes watching tv and typing more difficult.

Post surgery

No skin graft!  James waited for me and then got me a Jimmy John's sub for lunch.  Here is the post-op picture. Blue lines are ink marks I can't rub off yet. Shedding some bloody tears.  And the incision is vertical, which surprised me.

Here I tried to open my eye...it is difficult to try so I'll stop.

Morning of surgery

Here is my eye the morning of surgery.  The red spot is still visible and the bruise is small but still under my eye.  I've taken my homeopathic supplement, Arnica, to help with bruising from this procedure.  Now I'm just waiting to go to the surgical center around 9.

Two days before surgery

I have been very anxious about this surgery.  At pre-op my blood pressure was 122/82!  I'm never that high.  Today I started thinking of it as getting stitches.  I've had stitches on that eyebrow and it wasn't very painful.  So at a different doctor appointment today, my blood pressure was 114/68.  That is closer to my normal.  Whew!  And it was pointed out that doctors are fairly liberal with prescribing pain medication.  My doctor told me to get Tylenol for the pain.  Can't be that bad then. 

Getting ready for surgery

Have a mountain of paperwork completed and all of the medications together-almost all, I'm missing the Extra Strength Tylenol.  Morgan is painting my toenails so I will feel pretty!  Although, I think prefer no polished nails, they didn't tell me that in pre-op so I'm going with it.

Pre-op visit

Thursday, July 24.

Got a lot of information at this visit.  Discussed possible skin graft, medications, healing.  Should not have any major pain but some discomfort.  Supposed to have a responsible adult watch me for first 24 hours - does a mature 13 year old count?

Spoke to doctor and he agreed to take pictures of my eye before he bandages me up.  Said he would pull out his iphone and take some pics for me!

They assured me I was good hands, like they would tell me if I weren't!  Insurance person is off this week so I will get called on Monday and told how much I owe - looking forward to that call.

Day 8 since biopsy

Today I am filled with some questions about my healing. When will I be able to return to work? What will I look like 2 weeks post surgery (when students return to school)? I have looked online for pictures but can't find any that are in the area I am having surgery on. The closest I came was on the upper cheek of a lady. Her pictures, however, were of a botched surgery. I called the plastic surgeon and asked if they had any post surgery pictures they could share with me, they don't. So this is why I am blogging...in case someone else would like to know what you will look like before and after. My surgery is scheduled for Wednesday, July 30th. I will post pictures then.

Morning before stitches are scheduled to be removed

Tuesday, July 22nd, about 9:15am I get a phone call from the dermatologist's office. They would like to see me and go over the lab results. I told them I had an appointment the next morning and we could go over the results then. That was not soon enough for them, they wanted me there TODAY. I knew that wasn't good so I made the appointment for 10:30 that morning. Why wait any longer, lets get on with it.

A nurse removed my stitches while I waited for the PA to come talk to me. I was sitting in an examining chair when 3 people walked in. I recognized two of them; the nurse and the PA. The PA and nurse both stood in the corner of the room while the third lady intoduced herself; she was the doctor. I'm a fairly intelligent person and now I know that the news isn't going to sound good, no chance.

The doctor got to the point; I like that; and told me the results came back as Malignant Melanoma In Situ. In Situ means it is on the surface of the skin and is easily removed. Great, this wasn't as bad as I felt it was going to be. I will need to see a plastic surgeon to remove the bad cells and then follow up with a cancer specialist. What?!? I guess they want some blood work done since it is Melanoma, but only for baseline information. Whew! I'm still doing good. Going to get my spot removed, going to a cancer doctor for some precautionary baseline tests, and then seeing the dermatologist 4 times a year for two years. Got it.

So far, it all sounds like standard procedure. Then the PA, the nurse, and the doctor all go over with me each step again, each one of the people slowly tells me that they gave me a lot of information and asks if I need any clarification. Ok, now they are acting like I should be scared. But what they told me sounded rather simple, not the best news but simple. The nurse asks if I would like a drink of water. No, I want to go home and take my kids to the beach. Then she asks if I need a tissue. For what? Should I be crying? Now I'm worried.

The nurse said she would make the appointment for the plastic surgeon for me. Great! I told her I am a teacher and would like the procedure completed as soon as possible so I won't have a black eye when students return to school. The appointment was made for 1:50 that day! Like in 2 hours. Wow! They are serious about getting this taken care of. I leave the office to go have lunch with the kids and I call my family. Mom is acting freaked out and insists on going to the plastic surgeon with me. I told her I would rather go alone but she wasn't going to listen. I stop by and tell Dad the news, Mom has already called him. I told him I was most concerned about the scar that would be left when they cut me. Dad responded with, "You're going to have Crow's Feet the rest of your life anyway, get used to it."

Of course there is a huge storm on the way to the plastic surgeon's office. My feet were soaked as I sat there filling out paperwork. Mom arrived while I was working on the forms. First thing she asks me is, "Do you have a will?" For real?!? I told her she would freak me out by being there and she promised not too. I get called back and Mom goes with me. We are stuck in a room while we wait for another room to become available. I prefer to be quiet and play my Word games on my phone. Mom keeps talking and asking who I am texting. Finally, we get moved to the examining room. It looks like the eye doctor's office. I get a quick eye exam and the nurse tells me the doctor will be in a minute and my surgery will probably be next Wednesday and leaves the room. Mom is upset that the nurse is telling me I need surgery. Of course I need surgery, that is why they sent me to a plastic surgeon.

The doctor comes in and looks at my eye, makes a few drawings on it, and explains a lot of worst case scenarios to me. Most of the scenarios don't apply to me because of the type of melanoma I have so I tried to focus on the information that will apply to me. Sounds pretty simple. He will be giving me a reversed face lift on my left side. If the two sides don't balance out over time, he will fix my right side. I will have a scar from my eye to my hair line. My eyelashes and lids will stay intact. A skin graft may need to be done but not likely so I didn't get a lot of information on that. Surgery should take 30 minutes and I should expect to be in the surgery center for about 2 hours. I will have a black eye and total healing time should take about 3 months.

Biopsy Day 6

Biopsy Day 4

Biopsy Day 2

First trip to dermatologist

I am a teacher and since I have the summer off, and it is almost over, I took the first appointment I could get. Wednesday, July 16th at 8 am with the Physician Assistant. I didn't think about taking a before photo until the PA had already marked on my face with a pen. At this visit, a biopsy was taken of my spot and I received 2 stitches. The PA's initial "hunch" was I had a basil cell cancer on my eye. Those are typically pink in color and non-evasive. Will probably need it removed when the lab results come back.

I was given a nice little band-aid and sent on my way. Results will take 7-10 days and I am to return in a week to remove the stitches.

The Beginning

I have had a spot just under my left eye for a while now. I don't remember exactly when it appeared but I will say it has been there for over 1 year and not more than 2 years. Last week my parents urged me to have a dermatologist look at it. And this is where my blog begins.