Inked: Take 2

Today was supposed to be the day I got my areola tattoos redone, but a scheduling conflict meant we had to change it at the last minute to last Wednesday.

After the first attempt didn't turn out AT ALL, I wasn't sure what to do to feel more normal.  My oncologist suggested going to an actual tattoo artist, as that is their profession!  I researched a bit and actually found a local place with good reviews, especially in this exact tattoo.  I called and scheduled a consultation, and felt great about this choice.

In Downtown Bryan, there's a place called Arsenal Tattoo.  Cliff, the owner, and his wife, Stacie, were quite accommodating and so nice!  They were willing to schedule my tattoo after hours or on his day off, so I would have more privacy.  I assured them that I cared more about being able to schedule this on a night Stephen would be able to come with me and be a second opinion, since he wasn't able to attend the last time, and that ended in disaster.  In fact, I never felt uncomfortable during the consultation or actual tattoo---the part that had me blushing was my homework:  to look for examples of what I wanted my finished tattoos to look like!  That was a fun day:  "Stephen, which of these pictures of breasts look most like how I used to look or how I want to look after I'm inked?"  Nipple research is another one of those parts to this whole thing that never crossed my mind beforehand. 

As a background, and for those who might be interested, about a year and a half ago, I had a bilateral mastectomy and immediate reconstruction.  First, all of my breast tissue and my nipples were removed.  To reconstruct breasts, my doctor performed the DIEP Flap procedure, which involves removing skin and fat tissue from the lower abdomen and transferring it to the chest by attaching it in microsurgery.  Here's a diagram of the procedure.  I had this done, only on both sides and with a greater abdominal area used. 

        
 After this initial surgery, I had 2 more surgeries to reshape and reconstruct.  I also had a procedure to reconstruct a nipple.  It went a little like this:

After all of that, I waited 3 additional months before the first attempt at tattoos.  They were originally performed in my plastic surgeon's office, but not by what I consider to be a trained tattoo artist.  The nurse even joked with me that they had been "trained on the tattoo machine" and "it wasn't that hard to make circles."  Let's just say I was less than pleased with the result.  One side looked as if almost nothing had been done and the other looked more like an uneven birth mark.

Enter Cliff at Arsensal:

Tattoo Selfie: 

 During:

 Here is the finished tattoo, immediately after, with the nipple blurred.  The color will change and fade, but already this is 100% better than what I had before. Plus, my scars have healed quite nicely, as if you can barely tell they are there.  {If only the abdomen was this healed!}

I loved the interaction with Cliff during my tattoo, getting to share stories of life and trials.  We talked about religion and God.  We shared experiences in overcoming difficult times and being able to stand as a witness and be a strong example of courage and hope.

I was impressed with his concern and care for me and for his willingness to make me feel comfortable.  He was also so grateful for my willingness to be flexible with his scheduling issue at such short notice that he said he and Stacie had discussed it and weren't going to charge me for the tattoos!  What an amazing act of kindness!

There are still good people in the world, and some of them can be found at places you would least expect.  If I was a tattooing type, I would go back to see some of my newest friends---those on the long list of people I've met along the way in this journey!