Wednesday of this past week, October 21, 2002, was BRADay2020. BRADay is a daily event for me, providing education and resources to empower women and men with information to make an informed decision about options for breast reconstruction after mastectomy. For the second year in a row, I was graciously invited by Microsoft to make a presentation about my personal Journey for their Microsoft Gives campaign but more importantly to educate . I left there with a full heart. This is what happened after my presentation on breast reconstruction education and the circle of giving.
The presentation was conducted using the Microsoft Teams program. Since I have been using ZOOM to record videos for the Foundation, this was a new platform for me. Thomas set up a one on one meeting with me before the formal presentation to walk me through the ins and outs of Microsoft Teams. He made it an easy process and is a patient instructor! Thanks Thomas. On the day of the presentation, when I encountered a brief hiccup in my screen share, he good-naturedly guided me along until we successfully began the presentation. I love it when I can learn any new technology especially now during the time of COVID when it has become so important for education and outreach.
Breast Reconstruction Education
I began the slide show by sharing how Thomas and I have known each other since he was a young boy. He continues to be my “third son” because of what he and his family have done for me during both of my diagnosis and DIEP flap breast reconstruction surgery.
The presentation gave details about all options for breast reconstruction.
- LAT flap
- SIEA
- SGAP
- IGAP
- TUG flap
The Circle of Giving
After the presentation, if was time for the circle of giving. The attendees shared their expertise as I listened to techie talk! I learned so much from them. We chatted about how I can improve outreach and education for the Foundation. They shared what tools of the trade they use and what might work best for presentations in various social media platforms for the Foundation.
I also answered some questions from the presentation. A new suggestion for a video for the Foundation was presented. What truly touched my heart? The emails that followed the presentation this week. Thomas asked me during the presentation the statistics of how many breast cancer diagnoses occur in a given year. When I told him the number of women and men diagnosed, I added there are many more affected by breast cancer, including family and friends. He quickly did the math in his head and realized the statistics might very possibly include some of the attendees.
It was true. An attendee lost his mother to breast cancer and shared with me the wonderful legacy left in her name to honor other breast cancer survivors. Yet another attendee suggested I make a video specific to some side affects his own wife was experiencing due to radiation. I reached out to a healthcare provider the next day and already have a video interview scheduled to cover the topic.
Before the session was over, we took time to snap a fun screen shot courtesy of Thomas. He worked his magic and came up with this fun photo!
As a nonprofit Foundation, part of my work as Founder is to raise funds to provide all of these resources. You can read more about what we do on our donate page. I am grateful to the attendees at Microsoft for their generosity. But the bigger give comes from the heart. The stories we shared together that day emphasize the importance of breast reconstruction education and the circle of giving.
