"Under ReConstruction" makes it onto The Bra Banner

    Last weekend, my friend Kathy and I decided we'd make a bra for KSEE24's Bra Banner for Breast Cancer Awareness month. Last year I wasn't up to doing it as I was right in the middle of chemo treatments and my energy level was low. So this year, we were determined to do it. And lucky me! I had collected three reconstruction bras since February (they are the worst, like a corset, with a zillion hooks in the front and when you can't really use your upper body muscles, it's no fun!). I could easily give up one.
   We gathered last Sunday with no great ideas in mind, but with the intention of shopping for what we'd need and completing it that day. Kathy was thinking of a Wonder Woman theme; I had researched some other bra banners to get some ideas. Then all of a sudden, it came to me. I've been going through the reconstruction process since my bilateral mastecomy in July; in fact, it's become my life...what if we did a construction theme. Immediately, the ideas burst forth. Mini tools, Matchbox contruction trucks, yellow and black duct tape...
    We headed to Joann's Fabrics, then to Target, then to Michaels. In fact, we determined we spent more time finding the stuff we'd need than building it. We hit the gold mine at Target. When I saw those orange traffic cones, I couldn't resist. This was going to be fun! We tried to find smaller ones, I swear, but this was it. We knew it would make it even funnier. We laughed as we gathered up Matchbox trucks, stickers, tape and trim. Of course, we had to hit all three places before we had everything we needed.
    We laughed our heads off when we got home and dumped it all out on the kitchen table. We were like two little devils hard at work. After a couple of hours, and a few stumbling blocks with ensuring the cones wouldn't droop, we were done. Unfortunately, we couldn't use the Matchbox trucks; they were too heavy for the cones! And looking at it now, one boob is definitely a little higher than the other, but of course, that can happen in reconstruction, so we let it go!
    We had a blast. Kathy's husband, Kevin, who's a photographer for KSEE, took it in to work. It got a lot of attention.
    Then, when I walked into California Oncology this week for my checkup, the Bra Banner was on display. The staff was talking and laughing. I started to look the banner over. The nurses said, "This one here's our favorite; everyone loves it." I looked at the bra they were pointing out. How could you miss it? It was ours. I admitted it was ours and they all cracked up, and called every nurse in the office out to tell them I was part of the "ReConstruction" bra. What a hoot!

     The Bra Banner will be on display at The Pink Show Friday night, at the Komen Race for the Cure at Fresno State Saturday morning and at City Hall for ArtHop on Nov. 4. I hope you get just as much of a kick out of it as we did contributing to it.
    Also check out KSEE24's video of the Bra Banner at http://www.ksee24.com/news/video/Bra-105307648.html