On February 18th I went in to have my reconstruction corrected. I’d had my mastectomy in 2023, and my reconstruction had several issues, so this was my fifth procedure. Every single time before, I had the standard of care: the tubes and the bulb drains. My mom passed from breast cancer in 2004, and the standard of care she had then was the exact same thing I kept waking up to all these years later. Same tubes, same drains, same everything. This time, I woke up to this amazing little machine strapped around me, not cumbersome at all. It was the most effective, least troublesome, least worrisome thing I’ve used through my whole recovery.
I know what the other road looks like. About eight weeks after my mastectomy and reconstruction, a bacterial infection set in, and I battled it for months on heavy medication, until they finally had to open me back up and clean it out. And what did I wake up to again? Another set of tubes and that lovely little bulb.
My husband and I laugh that SOMAVAC probably saved our marriage. Nick had requested time off to stay home, because with tubes and drains it’s just not easy to do anything on your own. This time, I sent him back to work. SOMAVAC gives you the mobility, the freedom, the independence. I didn’t have to ask for help. I had my independence back, and that’s what SOMAVAC gives you.
My surgeon pulled my drains at six days. Six! I averaged ten to fourteen on every other surgery, and this time there was no swelling, no problems, nothing. I’ve given about six collection bags away to friends going through what I’ve been through, and I tell them to take it to their doctor and say, “This is what I want.” It’s a shame it isn’t offered as standard for this type of surgery, because it should be. In one word: a true game-changer.
With everything I’ve been through, this recovery was the most mentally safe one for me, because healing isn’t just the body, it’s also the mind and the spirit. SOMAVAC made it possible for me to feel like me again, and to be me again.