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Raising funds for urgent skin cancer treatment.

  • All Healed Up

      1 February 2025
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    Hi everyone,

    Probably my last update on healing as it’s all healed up now! I am eight and a half weeks post op and extremely pleased with the result.

    I have a GP appointment next week to look at a couple of other suspect spots (including the one visible on my forehead not far from the handywork) then plan to get a full skin check soon.

    Hope you are all settling into the new year and new routines. Thank you all again for your invaluable support, I appreciate each and every one of you and hope some kindness also comes your way xxx

    Attached photo taken today :)

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  • One Month Update

      30 December 2024
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    Hoping you all had a wonderful Christmas with your families.

    Healing is still going exceptionally well here, four weeks post op tomorrow.

    The open area has reduced in size enough for me to use a single dressing cut to oversized bandaid size. Scars are looking good, have been a little tender the past couple of days, I guess feeling is returning which is good.

    Thanks again team and happy new year xxx

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  • Two week update

      18 December 2024

    Hi everyone, just a wee update. Now 15 days post-op.

    I had the remainder of the sutures removed today. The graft has taken very nicely and everything is looks fantastic!

    I’m now allowed to carefully wash my hair (YAY!) and can self-managed the wound at home.

    The scars on my face/ear are virtually invisible already and I no longer have any pain, just some numbness that should resolve with time.

    I am so pleased with the outcome and the fantastic job Dr Middleburg has done.

    A huge shout out to KM Surgical if anyone needs dermatology consultation in Canterbury, both Tom and Ken are awesome.

    Thanks again everyone for your support, I sound like a broken record but your love and support, financially, emotionally and practically have been priceless to me.

    Wishing everyone a safe and happy Christmas and new year period! 🥰

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  • Some freedom

      10 December 2024
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    Seven days post op today and had most of the sutures removed. The sutures in the grafts will remain until mid next week.

    I am healing fantastically! The incisions are so neat and will be barely noticeable in no time. I only noticed today that the top of my ear where it meets my face has been cut out and covered by the skin flap. Also it appears I’ve lost my earlobe in the lifting and stitching of the flap. There’s still swelling under my ear though so this might change.

    Numbness in my face should settle with time and the possibility of a further procedure for grafting hair-bearing skin has been mentioned again. I guess we’ll see how things end up down the track.

    Here’s today’s progress photo after suture removal, I am so glad to no longer need dressings on my face!!

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  • Post op check & dressing change

      9 December 2024
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    Friday was three days post op and I got my first glimpse at Dr Tom’s handiwork. It is incredible what he has done and shocking at the same time.

    I have been assured this will heal nicely. The suture lines should be barely noticeable and the open wound on my scalp should be more aesthetically pleasing than it was pre-op.

    If you’re game you can check out the photo from

    Friday. I have changed it to greyscale so it’s not so gory.

    The suture lines you can see from near my eye, down the front of my ear then under my ear created a large flap that was then pulled up to cover the defect in front of my ear, essentially a facelift! A small piece that was leftover was then grafted to the bottom of the lower scalp section of the defect. The scalp defect was pulled together, reducing in size by 4cm and stitched in place. The last bit that you can see open in the photo will heal on its own from bottom up and will take several weeks.

    Sutures come out tomorrow and hopefully I will then just need to cover the open wound. I’m looking forward to getting dressings off my face!

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  • Post Op Day 1

      4 December 2024
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    The procedure went amazingly well. The entire tumour was excised in one piece and lab analysis showed clear margins after this first stage. YAY!

    Confirmed basal cell carcinoma.

    Reconstruction was a little tricky and was complicated by a medical event which we knew was likely to occur but we got through it and Dr Tom is happy with how it all came together.

    I will have more specifics on Friday after my post op check.

    Feeling a bit sore today, but manageable. Some numb patches on my face which I assume will sort themselves out throughout the healing process. I’m

    Not managing the antibiotics very well so awaiting a call back on how to manage this.

    Thank you all again xxx

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  • A Little About Me

      30 November 2024

    Hi again everyone. Since there’s a few people coming through who don’t know me personally I thought I’d just update with a little about me and my situation.

    The page had a character limit and already made the description difficult to fit in.

    I’m a 40 year old single mum to three energetic boys 13, 11 & 9. We live in Christchurch, New Zealand. My wee family fosters retired greyhounds, helping them learn to be pets and our bossy cat teaches them to respect small fluffy things.

    I was a vet nurse for nearly two decades but am currently on ACC weekly compensation due to a mental injury. I am planning to return to study in the mental health sector next year for a change of scene and to give back to the community in an area that is so desperately in need.

    As you can imagine, finances have been VERY tight on ACC and even more so now with the cost of living and feeding hungry, growing kiddos.

    Any and all support, even sharing of my givealittle page is so greatly appreciated. The more people I can reach for support the less the burden of borrowing money and being in debt.

    T minus 3 days until surgery and I’m silently 💩 ing myself about the extent of the surgical wound and reconstruction. Hats are on the urgent list of purchases!

    Thank you all again, I appreciate each and every one of you!! 🥰

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  • Surgeon letters

      25 November 2024

    Thank-you so much to everyone who has donated so far. Your kindness and support means the world to me, I’m blown away by the generosity, especially when living costs are crazy and right before Christmas xx

    I received a couple of letters from the surgeon today that were pretty sobering. I will share some of his words here. I’ll also add a photo of what the lesion looked like in 2019 when I first sought drs opinion.

    “Delayed diagnosis in this situation has resulted in a lengthy (6 year) delay in diagnosis which has significantly impacted the course of treatment. Early stage infiltrative basal cell carcinomas (as viewed in the original photographs) could be entirely excised with a simple surgical approach and direct skin closure. The situation now requires a much more invasive and extensive surgery with a requirement to check all surfaces microscopically (margin control surgery) to chase extensions of the cancer until the cancer cells are completely cleared at a microscopic level. This MOHS surgery will now take up to a day to complete and is very much more complex and distressing with requirement for a much more complex surgical repair than would have been the case several years ago.”

    “This will result in a large defect but with elevation of cheek skin and some secondary intention repair and possibly rotation of hair bearing skin the aesthetic outcome should be good. Jess does however understand that the important thing here is full clearance of the cancer.“

    Dr Ken MacDonald

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