Thursday, February 24, 2011

CSN Shopping Spree

Go shopping with me!

CSN Stores has over 200 online stores where you can find anything you need whether it be lights, fitness equipment, or even cute cookware!

Friday, February 18, 2011

Skin Cancer on my Eyelid

I had a what I thought was a sty on my left lower eyelid for a few years. It would get bigger and bigger and then finally it started to spread further. I decided it was time to get it checked out.


I went to a big time eye center here in Dayton.  The first Doctor was concerned enough with it that he contacted one of the eye plastic surgeons to see if he could come see me right away. Someone must have been looking out for me because he happened to be in between Patients. He came over right away. He was concerned enough that he scheduled a biopsy of the area the following week. The Nurse came into schedule me and told me how lucky I was.....there was normally a 2 to 3 month waiting period to see this Doctor.


                                                                Left eye before biopsy

So I came back the next week for the biopsy. The biopsy went well. They numbed the area and the area around it. When I got home I went to bed to rest awhile. When I woke up I had terrible pain in my left eye. It was red and swollen. Long story short.......I had rubbed my eye in my sleep and because I could not feel it I rubbed it hard enough to give myself a corneal abrasion.

                                                                Corneal Abrasion



                                                     Eye after biopsy and cornial abrasion


So after a week of treating the cornial abrasion and a scare that I might have lost some vision in my left eye, I got the results. It was Basal Cell Carcinoma. The Doctor was concerned enough with it that we told the nurse to bump some surgery's and get me in the next week. He explained to me that the area would have to be removed and that he would have to go 2 to 3 mm beyond it to get clean margins. Depending how much they had to remove would determine how much reconstruction they would have to do. With those words, I got a little worried. I have had skin cancer before but in regions that they could just cut it out or burn it out. We are talking my face here........reconstruction?!?!? I am real scared!!


So a week goes by. I have lots of people praying for me and I am praying hard too. Thank you all!


So another long story short.........the surgery went well. It was not best case scenario and a section about as wide as a finger tip had to be removed. The Doctor had to cut the corner of my eye in order to get enough skin to close the area. He reconstructed the corner of my eye by pulling the upper lid down and sewing it together.


                                                      

                                                After getting the Post Op dressing off



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                                                                2 Days after Surgery


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                                           7 Days after surgery after getting half of the stitches out








I get the rest of the stitches out next week. The Doctor says I will have "relatively normal looking eyelid" when it is all said and done.


So the moral of the story is........if you have areas on your body that don't look right, go get them checked out.


It could be skin cancer!!!

Bittman Recipe- Banana Bread

Banana Bread

Makes: 1 loaf

Time: About 1 hour

The best banana bread is a balancing act: It requires a fair amount of fat to keep it moist and to lighten the crumb; a little whole wheat flour gives its some substance. And in my opinion, the result should be sweet—but not overly so. Though coconut is my favorite secret ingredient, feel free to omit it or add more nuts, raisins, or other dried fruit instead, if you like. This bread keeps better than most quick breads, though it probably won't be around too long.


8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, softened, plus butter for the pan
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 very ripe bananas, mashed with a fork until smooth
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1/2 cup shredded coconut



1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 × 5-inch loaf pan with butter.

2. Mix together the dry ingredients. With a hand mixer, a whisk, or in the food processor, cream the butter and beat in the eggs and bananas. Stir this mixture into the dry ingredients, just enough to combine (it's okay if there are lumps). Gently stir in the vanilla, nuts, and coconut.

3. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 45 to 60 minutes, until nicely browned. A toothpick inserted in the center of the bread will come out fairly clean when done, but because of the bananas this bread will remain moister than most. Do not overcook. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes before removing from the pan.

 
From the Cookbook: