Recovery from forehead flap nose reconstruction

Hi Dearest Penelope... soo great to hear from you and hear about how your first day back at work went.. aww well done you.. we were thinking about you and wishing you well and I was so looking forward to hearing how you got on... funny isn't it when you think of this crazy and challenging journey we’ve been on to get us to this point and all of a sudden you are able to go back to work one day armed with the wonders of Estée Lauder and some flesh coloured plaster and style things out as wonderfully as I knew you would...  can’t help but be so proud of you Penelope.. I just love your fighting spirit and can do attitude.. it’s so admirable and inspirational...,

My nose is itching a bit of late which is annoying as it feels as if it’s itching under the skin graft which means there’s not much I can do to stop the itch... my forehead is also a bit sore and feels bruised around the eyebrow on the pedicle side and also around the wound.. I suspect everything’s heeling and blood vessels are forming etc and I’m starting to get a little bit of feeling back?  Maybe? How’s yours feeling? Is it all pretty settled now?  Honestly I’m just so happy to hear that your day went well...

I’m meeting up with a couple of work colleagues on Thursday which I’m looking forward to and then meeting my friend for a walk during her lunch hour on Friday which I’m hoping will get my step count up a bit..  Mark and I are  planning to go training on Saturday and on Sunday I’ve been invited to a martial arts seminar where they will go over a lot of techniques and rules for the competition in July.., that will be the first time I see my martial arts friends outside of my club since having this procedure.  it will be great to get out but I still get tired at times... how are you finding it being back at work?  Are you feeling pretty much back to normal or do you still get those waves of tiredness?  From what you said you have quite a long day and finish quite late...

I’m sure if you and Mark invest in some KB (I’d prob start off with a 6kg and 8kg for you) you will enjoy the workouts you can do with them from home.. you can go online and check out the fitness blenders kB workouts which are good and I could send you some of my favourites that I like to do.. Mark and I sometimes do them together at home... lol..he corrects my technique and I scowl and puff a lot... when do you think you will start training again? Have you been given the all clear yet?

Thank you so much for taking the time to write during your day at work.. it meant a lot especially knowing how busy you must have been... I hope today is a great day for you too.. I just can’t get over how well you’ve managed to cover Up your scars.. you fill me with such hope and positivity about this process..

It’s probably a little soon but I think I might try a T25 workout today and see how I go.. I plan to join you on the plank challenge after my next surgery which isn’t too far off now.

Please say a big hello to your wonderful Mark and thank him too for his support and kind wishes.. what a lovely couple you both are... I really am soo happy to have met you and have you as my friend.. I love the parallels and feel the energy, enthusiasm and your lust for life and all it holds in the messages you write and can only thank you again for all you have done to reassure me and make this journey so much more fun and manageable.

Have a wonderful day.. love and best wishes to you both.. btw.. I will try the email again.. did you ever receive my reply?

Mackie xoxox

Hi Mackie, Peneloperae, Yankeesmom and anyone else who is worried about having a paramedian forehead flap or in the process . 

Just to let you all know I've done a blog with a before pic and during and after pics of my process 2 years ago.

Sorry if I've made a mess of the blog I'm not the most technical of people lol and the pics aren't the most flattering (blushing with embarrasment)

Hope it can answer some of your questions and put some of your doubts to rest.

Feel free to ask whatever questions you want.

See there is definitely light at the end of the tunnel. 

Take care

Yours truly

Angie xx 

Hi Angie ;)  Thanks so kindly - I'll go take a look!  I really appreciate this

xox Penelope

Dearest Mackie;

Hi my dear flap sister!  I know your surgery is this week and just letting you know that Mark and I are thinking of you and sending all our healing vibes your way.  It will go really well I'm sure and you will feel the relief of the end of the pedicle phase - ahhhhh.  I know it means a few more weeks of wound tending and such but I'll tell you it recovers really quickly!!! And by now we are pros at tending to sutures and applying vaseline with artistry :)  I bet you are right now getting in some last tough training sessions before the surgery - go for it!

(My private messages keep being deleted and aren't working well...ugh...so I hope this one finds you!)

Warmest

Penelope xoxo

Hello Mackie,

I haven't seen where anyone responded to your post, perhaps its further down the line. I am scared, too and hope that you have received comfort. The "not knowing" is hard, I don't want to look like a monster either, not even for a little bit and of course there is worry that I've waited too late and that there is some horrific outcome. Perhaps I will hear that you are moving along nicely and pleased with your progress, or maybe not. Either way, please know that someone, even a random person that you don't know cares about you and does want the best for you.

I'm sorry that you, me or anyone has to go through this stuff, just hope that you have some support, as I know it can be a lonely place. I'm waiting to know what will become of the 1.5 cm nodule on my nose. A second biopsy before removal. Take care, I wish you the best. Will post what happens in my life on down the road.

Hi my dearest Penelope and OMG. I feel awful as I think the system has deleted my last three messages to you and I’m so upset as you must have thought I hadn’t responded to your last message that I received which was well over a week ago before this one... thank you sooo much for messaging me via this route and alerting me to a possible problem and making me check.... 

There’s soo much I need to tell you but not all for the bigger audience as, like you,  it seems people outside of this wonderful community like to google me etc.. I think I will forward all future correspondence with sensitive matters to the other contact you sent me and then you will have mine too...

OMG (no.2). My pedicle has finally gone and my nose feels a lot lighter (albeit swollen) without it... also the trapped eyebrow hairs that were underneath it and irritating like crazy are free once more!! Yay... as you will already know from your own experiences the scabs have returned but not nearly so bad as before along with more sutures, drips, swelling and the start of a lovely black eye... I had another general anaesthetic but with the assistance of the wonderful Mark made it home last night.. lol.. I’m back in bed with a coffee surrounded by antiseptic cream, gauze, paracetamol and ibuprofen and NETFLIX....   oh yes.. and my forehead dressing is now off.. my surgeon must have removed the scab covering the wound and now I have a pink scar which shows signs of heeling nicely... right now though I don’t feel like going out as I have an open stitched wound where the pedicle / blood vessel was detached which is not scanned over and looks pretty bulnerable to germs and being covered etc.. maybe tomorrow or the weekend?

So my wonderful friend.. I really hope alls well with you and you are recovering well? Are your scars fading Well enough for you to cut down on your morning routine time?  I hope alls going well at work and wonder whether those emotions still bubble up every now and again as they did with me ever so slightly when I looked at myself again and realised the healing that still has to take place... I’ve just looked at my nose.. I think I believe that the more I look at it it will suddenly morph into my old nose.. at the moment it looks like a fatter version with little definition although the tip is kind of growing on me... (lol.. that wasn’t meant to be a joke btw).. I do seem to remember you saying the same about yours at some point after the pedicle was removed..

Hey.. how’s your return to training going?  I’m sure you’re still very tired, especially now you’re back at work, but it must be great to get back on your bike again despite the soreness.. I don’t have anything quite as sophisticated as you at my house but I have an exercise bike which I use occasionally, always used to prefer running over cycling unless cycling out on the road, and have to admit the saddle doesn’t offer much comfort....

Marks been drafted out to another fire station closer to home today, he’s based in Central London but sometimes they get sent to give support to other stations, and so he’s hoping he’ll be home a little earlier which will be nice... I can’t do any exercise this week but managed 3 sessions last week and hope to have the energy to go to martial arts on Saturday and help Mark work towards his next belt and maybe wave a stick around myself although right now I just feel tired and achy..

I’m going to sign off now as should probably get s little sleep.. I will email you at your other address and try and send you some pics that way and also pray that you will actually receive my messages that way.. always soo frustrating when they get lost for such prolific writers such as ourselves.

Thank you to you and your dear Mark for thinking of me yesterday.. your support means so much.. I just wish you’d received my messages so you knew I was thinking of you too..

Love and warmest wishes to you both from me (Mackie) and my Mark too. oxoxo

Oh dearest Mackie!  I'm so glad your surgery is over and you are healing and resting at home.  Phew, I'm also glad we figured out that our messages were not getting through (I was worried something had happened and now I'm very relieved). 

I'm at work and so have to run off in a second but wanted to let you know I got this last message and that I'll be in touch very soon. 

I am sending all my healing wishes your way for a speedy recovery - it does happen!!!!  Rest a lot and enjoy the films (I watched a ton myself!!).  General anesthetic really takes it out of us for a bit - be sure to extra hydrate.  I'm thinking of you.

Great to hear about Mark being a bit closer - very important.  

This recovery will be a fast one!!! 

xoxo Penelope (Marks sends his hellos too!!! As does Maxwell the dog..ha ha).

Hi I'm newly diagnosed and waiting to have my surgery. I'm not coping at all my lesion is between my eyes on bridge of my nose I was told I would need a flap either from my forehead or cheek. 

I couldn't take it all in when surgeon told me I'm scared stiff for the mohs and don't want to be awake for the reconstruction. 

I've emailed surgeon with more questions regarding flap awaiting a reply.

Your all so brave 

Shelly- I had Mohs and a forehead flap surgery 7 months ago. I’ll be honest and tell you it wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t terribly painful either. The not easy part was dealing with the flap for 3 weeks until it was removed. I was lucky that I didn’t have to go to work like some do. I will be most happy to walk you through it, step by step, if you want to be prepared. Some people prefer to not to.  If your reconstruction is a forehead flap it will most certainly be general anesthetic. I hope your Dr can confirm that for you soon to relieve some of your fears. If you’ve already looked at surgery “after” pictures, please know that while it looks really scary, it’s not terribly painful. My biggest issue was recovering from the effects of the anesthesia. I slept a lot. Please let me know when you have questions. Notice I said “when” not “if”!  .  You will have lots of questions. 

Thankyou for your reply... and yes I would appreciate your experience. I feel at the minute I'm not going to be brave enough to go through it.

Regards

Shell