Wednesday 1AM

We had a really good day yesterday.

After breakfast at Dot's Cafe we took a cab to the Cafe Dumonde in the French Quarter and had Beignets and Cafe Au Lait.

We walked all around the French Quarter and enjoyed the beautiful architecture, the sights on Bourbon Street, the live music and the shops. It really is a beautiful old city with amazing history. Here are a few more pictures from our walk around town - and the Lotus appears to be a NOLA police car. Cool.

At 1pm we were picked up by a "limo" and brought to the hospital where I'm having my surgery. It is on St.Charles Ave, in the Garden District, and is attached to the Center for Reconstructive Breast Surgery's Clinic. I had seen pictures on line, and talked with people who have been there, but I was still surprised when I walked inside. It was like entering a very ritzy spa. Modern but inviting furnishings and decor, bleached wood floors, marble and tile. There wer fresh flowers as well as paintings and photographs of water (not nearly as nice as my mother's, but an acceptable attempt at tasteful wall art).

We checked in with the woman at the front desk and filled out paperwork. I started feeling a bit anxious, and a little agitated. A very nice nurse named Sally came and got us, and her friendliness helped to put me at ease. We met in a private room with her, and then with the Anesthesiologist. They explained the procedure to us, and while we'd read about it and I had talked with people about it, it was good to review it again. We went over my medical history some more, and then Sally gave us a tour of the hospital.

There are only 17 rooms, and each room has one private bed, and another bed that can be pulled out of a wall closet for a guest to sleep in. The rooms, like the rest of the facility, were new, spotlessly clean, and nicely decorated. A big screen flat panel TV sat on one wall, and there is a large private bathroom with shower in each room. Meals are delivered for one or two people to the room, and we were told that the food is good.

After the tour, Rob went back to the lobby to wait, while I went for my CAT scan (not a PET as I had previously posted). I changed into scrubs and Sally started an IV. Then I lay on my stomach on the narrow CAT scan table. Blood pressure cuffs where put around both my thighs, and tightened to keep the blood flow in my abdomen and buttocks area. Contrast was injected through the IV as the CAT scan took pictures of the blood vessels. As the dye was injected, it felt like walking into a hot, hot sauna - only the heat came from the inside of me. It only lasted about 30 seconds, and then it was over. Pretty easy. The whole procedure took about half an hour.

Then I got dressed and met Rob down in the lobby. By that time it was almost 3:30 - time to meet my surgeon for the first time, Dr. Sullivan.

We walked next door to the clinic, and again were impressed when we entered the facilty. Behind the reception desk was a large atrium lobby with a thin sheet-like waterfall cascading down one wall. We were given more paperwork to fill out, but before I could get beyond writing my name, we were called into a small meeting room to meet with Dr. Sullivan.

He was younger than I thought he would be: probably early 40's. Built like a football player, and a good looking guy. He made good eye contact, and had a firm handshake. Within the first few minutes of conversation, I started feeling better. I like this guy. He's smart and he seems very honest. He described the surgery while he sketched on a piece of paper, and we listened intently.

He explained that first my chest area will be "prepared" be creating pockets for my new breasts. A small piece of cartilage will be removed from each side of my sternum to access a blood vessel needed for blood supply to the transferred tissue. Then I'll be turned onto my stomach, and he and another surgeon will harvest two pieces of fatty tissue and skin from my upper buttock/hip areas. These pieces will be weighed, to make sure they are the same size, the incisions will be closed, and I'll be turned back over. The harvested tissue will be transferred to my chest to form two new breasts. The blood vessels will be connected, and everything sewn up nice and neat. The whole surgery will take approximately 7 hours.

After the consultation in the office, I changed into a johnny and some underpants they provided and had a photo shoot. I was a little disappointed that there was no loud disco music or a big fan to blow my hair back. There was also no photographer yelling "YES! YES! YES!" at me.... just a nice nurse who politely asked me to stand in various poses while she took my "before" pictures. I'd post them here, but I think there was something in the blog spot agreement about not doing that.

Then we went to an exam room and Dr. Sullivan took a blue magic marker and drew all over me. He drew where my new boobs are going to be, and where he is planning to take them from. He has a very good understanding that I'm after a natural look - and not after big boobs. He says I will probably end up with a B cup or maybe a little larger. Fine by me. He also used a small, hand held Doppler devise to listen to blood flow in my donor sites. He seemed quite pleased that I had several good blood vessels to choose from in each area. After being drawn all over, it was back to the photo shoot for some more sexy pictures.

By now it was almost 5pm, and I hadn't had anything to eat since the Beignets at 10am. We reviewed, and I signed a series of consent forms and insurance paperwork, and we met the limo driver back in the lobby of the clinic. He took us back down to the French Quarter and we had dinner at the Crescent City Brew Pub. The beer was good and the food was outstanding. I had the Louisiana soft shell crab with roasted red pepper and artichoke. Rob had a pan seared red fish with fried oysters and a butter/pepper sauce. It was a fabulous meal, and for dessert we shared a piece of the most delicious chocolate pecan pie either of us has ever tasted. There was a live jazz band playing and lots of local artwork on the walls. A really wonderful meal, and I would recommend the restaurant to anyone visiting New Orleans.

After dinner we walked along Decatur street to the Cigar Factory, a place that Rob read about in one of his cigar magazines. He picked out a couple of cigars for his birthday, and enjoyed one at the store, and saved the other one for later.

After a little more walking around we decided to get a cab back to the Hope Lodge and turn in. I managed to get a few hours of sleep, but am wide awake now. A limo will be picking us up in about 3 hours and taking us to the hospital. I will not post again today - but will try to get Rob to do so after I come out of surgery. I am excited.