On February 13th, 2024, I was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma — stage 2B, grade 3. Less than a week later, I started chemotherapy, and life quickly became a whirlwind of treatments, doctor visits, and learning to be stronger than I ever thought I could be. On July 1st, I underwent a double mastectomy — a huge step in my healing journey, with the hope of reconstruction once I completed a full year of chemo. I’m happy to share that I’ve made it through that chapter, and now, I’m preparing for the next step: breast reconstruction. After consultations with several plastic surgeons, I’ve decided on a DIEP flap reconstruction. If you're wondering, "what the heck is that?" — here’s the short version: DIEP stands for Deep Inferior Epigastric Perforator. They’ll take skin, fat, and blood vessels from my lower abdomen to create new breasts — essentially giving me new “tatas” using my own tissue. It’s an incredible procedure, but also a very extensive one. My surgery is scheduled for June 3rd and will last around 10 hours with two surgeons working side by side. They’ll make a large incision from hip to hip, remove a football-shaped section of tissue (even above my belly button), reconstruct the belly area — including creating a new belly button — and connect everything by accessing arteries in my chest, which requires removing two small sections of my ribs. I also learned that I’ll be losing my right abdominal muscle due to the path of the vessels they need. So yes, it’s a big surgery with a big recovery. And that brings me to this: I could really use some help. As hard as it is to ask, I know I won’t be able to do much for several weeks post-op. Tim was amazing during my mastectomy recovery, but let’s be real — cooking isn’t exactly his specialty! I grew up in a church community where we helped one another during hard times, especially with meals. And as I prepare for this next chapter, I realized that organizing a Meal Train could be a beautiful way to ease some of the stress during recovery. I know it’s a lot to ask, especially with us living out in San Tan Valley, but I’m putting pride aside and reaching out. If you feel led to help — whether by signing up for a meal, sharing this post, or just sending love — it means more than I can say. Thank you for walking with me through this journey. Your support is a light in this healing journey.