Motorboat Worthy Boobies

The gift of breast cancer that keeps giving

Breast cancer has been a gift on so many levels. I have met some incredibly talented people along the way in such a short space of time. As part of this cancer chapter, so far I’ve had several extensive surgeries before undergoing adjuvant therapy.

One of the gifts of breast cancer was gaining a set of motorboat worthy boobies!

I was recently sharing the story with a friend, of how I interacted with my surgical teams in theatre. Our conversation included that I was surprised to observe that not many people talk and interact with staff in the sterile operating room. They simply get wheeled into the sterile room, get the good juice and whada bing bam boom, and then they wake up.

Not me. I made eye contact with each of my surgical team members and formed a connection, a bond if you prefer. I smiled at them, and they smiled back. Some even embraced me with heartfelt sincerity. Some simply wished me well as they continued to prepare equipment.

I very quickly figured out it’s not normal or routine for patients to liaise with their theatre staff. My surgical team had a stunning reaction to what I said to them … I told my surgical teams “we were embarking on a reinvention journey for my body”.

We weren’t just operating to remove cancer, we were evolving me to a place of health. It helped that with my positive mindset, I perceived that cancer had gifted me with a new set of boobies for Christmas! And not just any boobies thanks very much. Since I have a choice, I told my plastic surgeon that when he performed the reconstruction and reduction, “I’ll take a set that is motorboat worthy thanks!”

Needless to say, my surgeon roared with laughter and agreed he had the skill set to deliver that request!

For those of us who are gifted with a ‘large’ chest, there’s nothing worse than almost being slapped in the face by your mammaries with every bump in the boat! It’s like they need a visa for every single trip you make, including rolling over in bed, jumping, skipping or really any form of physical activity!

When I first consulted my wonderful plastic surgeon and I told him I wanted motorboat worthy boobies, firstly he had to compose himself from laughter. Apparently, he hadn’t received a request quite like that before.

I told him what it meant to me to wear one pair of bathers instead of bathers and a sports bra — freedom.

I told him how excited I was to be able to run because two sports bras just didn’t cut it. I told him I was looking forward to having my arms by my sides, without the mammaries pushing them out the way.

I told him I was most excited to be able to go shopping for clothes off the rack because I’d never been able to do that before. I’ve always had to try on clothes and test the flexibility of the material, and then make purchases generally at least a size or two larger than what I really am, just to fit the mammaries into some form of containment.

I finished this conversation with how grateful I would feel to not be treated as a set of boobs with legs. I was tired of having strangers stare at my chest, no matter how loose the clothing. I was tired of the wolf whistles, oogling and attempted pickups. I even shared how I once worked as an investigator and interviewed someone on a swivel chair. It wasn’t until the interview was finished and my colleague laughed at how the defendant’s head had swung from side to side because he was watching my chest swing in the chair! Enough already!

So when I got to the theatre, I thanked those wonderful staff in advance, for they were able to give me a new lease of active life. I thanked them for waking up that morning and deciding to come to work and be of service to me. Their faces simply lit up that they had been thanked.

I blessed them for their skills and thanked them for their dedication and their time to care for me. I looked at each of them in the eye and told them I was grateful. I’m getting teary just sharing this with you because I’m remembering their heartfelt hugs and their statements “we’ve got you, Karen”.

I know they all had smiles on their dials as they worked in the vibration of joy, whilst working on my body each time. For the second and third surgeries, staff remembered me and welcomed me back with loving smiles.

Theoretically, we are all conceived in love and I wanted my surgical reinvention to be the same!

So, my small intention-based action of thanking my surgical team had a massive flow-on effects beyond my seaworthy boobies. They included:

· I woke up well from the general anaesthetic and in an incredibly positive frame of mind;

· I had 145cm of suture line which predominantly healed exceptionally well in a very short space of time;

· I maintained a great healing mindset and my physiotherapy went smoothly;

· I instilled abundance and joy as vibrational energy into my new breasts.

So how can you establish good vibes for your life in general, let alone significant milestone events?

I used the Law of Attraction Principles. I knew when surgery was planned and did some preparation meditation and journaling, to attend to any arising fears. Then I did the following.

1. See The Dream

In this example, I envisaged the dream life I wanted or state I want to be living. Complication free surgery and recovery. I included in my vision, feeling joyous, abundantly happy and flowing with life. I included very specific details in the vision of the life I want. This helped later on to be clear when I was achieving success and evidencing change.

So I envisaged being able to easily get out of bed post-surgery, without aid, without cannulas, drains or drips. Guess what? Most of the tubing was removed by day three, ahead of anticipated schedule. I envisaged myself sitting out of bed comfortably, moving easily around my hospital room and at home. I allowed myself to see myself comfortable in my new shape and love it.

I allowed my meditation to see beyond the scarring to one year down the track when everything was healed. Two months out this remains my focus, newfound freedom with the new shape. My daily meditations still include envisioning myself being active with my new boobies and relishing all the activities I can now easily do with shape.

2. Believe The Dream Can Come True

The second part to the meditative envisaging stage is to believe what you see is real. Your brain, believe it not, does not recognise real from imagined. The trick with believing your dream life is true is to eliminate any and all negative aspects.

This is the time to get your journal out and pour out all of the ‘what ifs’, all the worries of what could go wrong. Often when you have brought this negative stuff to the surface and given it air, the negative thought or feeling deflates, and your logic brain can override the fear. Once the fear response is dialled down, your brain can then problem solve alternative options.

So now that my physio has kicked up another notch, I meditate before each workout and see myself easily doing all the required reps, and then a few more. I picture my body working in ergonomic harmony, pain-free and smooth motion. And guess what? I now run … without knocking myself out. Thanks, motorboat worthy boobies — you rock!

3. Live Your Dream Life As If It’s Already Come True

One of my favourite things I love about the Law of Attraction is living my dream life as if it already is occurring. The third part of manifesting good vibes, apart from seeing and believing is the connection to how you will feel when you live your best life. It’s this connection to the good emotional juju, all the good feels, that drives the dream being realised.

It’s not about winning a million dollars, because let’s face it — you still have all the same problems. But if you address any arising negative thought patterns as you focus on your dream life, and embrace more joy, more harmony and gratitude and more love into your life, you realise that you are in fact living a life with good vibes only!

So the gift breast cancer has given me, other than my new twin set (which I love), is the gift of loving the moment — more than ever before. I’ve always been a positive change chick, but now the passion drives harder than ever before. I love all over my two hands, and arms, the legs and even my well-padded backside. I’m grateful for it all, beyond measure.

You really can choose to change and bloom from within, making small changes to embrace your dream life, even with the gift of breast cancer. When life throws you a curve ball, pick up the bat and have a swing!

Karen Humphries is a Kinesiology Practitioner, Health & Business Coach, and now Breast Cancer Advocate residing in Gippsland Victoria Australia, but servicing the world with her humorous approach to life.

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