Alicia (00:00):
Starting in August of 2024 was my first double mastectomy. I was doing it preemptively because I didn’t want breast cancer. However, once they removed my breasts, that’s when it was discovered that I had active breast cancer. So once they did the double mastectomy, I immediately went into expanders. But however, once I got diagnosed with breast cancer, that threw everyone for a loop because they weren’t expecting me to have breast cancer. Well, one of the surgeons had ordered a test on me. It’s called a nuclear medicine test. And what they ended up doing was poking the expander because expander is filled with sodium chloride. Once you have something leaking in your body, then it wreaks havoc. So at this particular time, I had began to fall ill and I got C. Diff. So that’s when I was having such a horrible experience with my doctors that I had to go back to the marketplace.

(01:04):
And this is where Dr. Wright comes in. So I’m calling friends, family, everyone, my community. They all were making phone calls on my behalf. I did get Dr. Wright’s phone number when I first called them and I got somebody on the phone and I said, “Hey, this is my situation. I’m in bad shape. Would you be willing to take my case?” And they said, “Yes, we would definitely be willing to take your case.” And so one of the things that she said is that we specialize in complications, and that’s what made me stop and really say, “This is something that I need to pause and think about. ” And then once I met Dr. Wright, the trust didn’t come easy. I’m going to be honest with you, I was a skeptic. And so because at this time, I had been mishandled by my past doctors.

(02:01):
And so I was very clear with Dr. Wright. I said, “I need other patient recommendations prior to me moving forward with you. I would like basically referrals from other people that have used your service.” And I want to be very specific. I said referrals from women that look like me. My skin tone is different. My skin texture is different. And so I want to make sure that you have experience with actually going in and revising women that look like me. And she said, “That’s fair. I understand. Let me give you some referrals.” So once I learned about the Center for Restorative Breast Surgery, I actually started asking around and other doctors here locally, they all started vetting and saying, “Yes, that is the top reconstruction center in the nation, and they do very good work.” So other doctors in the medical field were very well aware of this particular facility, and so that’s how I set back in some level of trust.

(03:13):
Just out of the February surgery, I was shocked. I was like, “Oh my gosh, I look so amazing.” I really felt like I could get back on to living my life again. So I will tell you, I’m 50 years old and I’m so excited about it. I look amazing. I can look at myself and say, “Girl, you don’t look like what you’ve been through.” I had Dr. Wright, Dr. Sullivan, and Dr. Wise, and they were all very amazing. So really the right team, I feel like I’m covered, like they got my back. I was able to personally feel connected with Dr. Wright’s team. I felt cared for. I felt like I was seen. I felt like I was heard. They held my hand through this process. They were right there catching every tear in a little Kleenex for me. And so that’s to me special.

(04:12):
That was what was so special about her team. I was in a vulnerable situation and I didn’t feel like just another number that was coming through here, and so that’s how I feel.