Do fly fishing and breast reconstruction have anything in common? Are there parallels between fly fishing and breast reconstruction? Let’s explore some facts and then I’ll tell you about my own personal experience at the Casting for Recovery event I attended. First of all a bit of history about the program directly from their website:
Casting for Recovery was founded in 1996 in Manchester, Vermont, by a breast cancer reconstructive surgeon and a professional fly fisher. Casting for Recovery’s innovative program focuses on breast cancer survivor-ship and improving quality of life, and has garnered endorsements from medical and psycho-social experts.
Awarded 501(c)(3) non-profit status in 1998, Casting for Recovery has inspired international efforts in Canada, UK/Ireland and New Zealand. To date, Casting for Recovery has conducted more than 500 retreats, serving nearly 7,000 women nationwide. In 2014, we held 42 retreats in 36 states, serving 600 women.
I am going to take the very first statement from the above excerpt and expand on it for today’s blog post: Founded by a breast cancer reconstructive surgeon AND professional fly fisher? I get it. I really do get it. And here is my take on that.
The Intricacies of Micro-Surgical Anastomosis
I drove to Payson, AZ with two other breast cancer survivors. We arrived late afternoon and settled into our rustic but adequate cabin. After a brief introduction of all thirteen participants and generous and supportive staff we all went to dinner and mingled over various topics. After dinner we started our very first activity, learning to tie a fly. It is intricate, takes a great deal of time, patience, and learning specific and repetitive instruction. It requires special tools and I believe in order to be successful at it, requires a great deal of practice.
Does that sound anything like microsurgery when rebuilding a breast after a mastectomy? I couldn’t help but draw those parallels as I tied my fly the first evening of the retreat. Perhaps it was the fact that it was founded by a breast cancer reconstructive surgeon. Possibly I was thinking back to the intricacies of how my plastic surgeon who most folks know as Dr. C, connected my blood vessels by hand through anastomosis and the tools he used to perform this delicate process. This fascinating video gives you an idea of what happens during a DIEP flap breast reconstruction procedure.
DIEP flap microsurgical anastomosis – end to end hand-sewn anastomosis between the deep inferior epigastric vein (DIEV) and the internal mammary vein (IMV) under the microscope. ~PRMA Plastic Surgery
My Fishing Buddy for the Weekend
Sunday afternoon of the Casting for Recovery retreat I met John. John was my fishing buddy the final day of the weekend. John was a Vietnam Vet who had a few rough life-experiences of his own. This man was a skilled and accomplished fly fisherman. John fishes world in many different kinds of ponds and streams. He had a warm and sensitive way about him the afternoon I spent fishing with him. He was patient, engaged, and genuinely wanted me to have a catch that day. He would take out his box filled with various flies and tie one on the end of my line for me. We’d give it a try. We would get some nibbles, get excited and then, nothing!
There is a difference between a wet fly and a dry fly. We had been using a wet fly that day and John was convinced I needed to switch to a dry fly. The dry fly was back in his truck and he was very uncomfortable leaving me alone. I promised him I would behave. He was gone for all of five minutes and as John walked up to rejoin me from retrieving the dry fly out of his truck, this happened.
He was ecstatic. I laughed and told him all he needed to do for me to catch a fish was to leave. With that we caught a couple more. It was all catch and release that day. I liked that. He politely told me we needed to quickly get them back into the water so the fish would live; respect for nature! After a couple more catches our fly ran out of luck. John knew we needed to try something new. Another volunteer fly fisherman walked by with his Casting for Recovery gal, Tina. Tina and I began the “fish story bragging” rites. She already out-scored me in numbers. Being the competitive person that I am coupled with the fact that John really wanted me to pull in some more, his friend generously gave us a new fly to try. He told us any success we had was going to be attributed to the fact it was the fly he gave us. We all laughed and joked together and slyly said, “We’ll see about that!” It was all in good fun.
Well, not only did we pull another one in, we lost count. In addition to that, I got an incredibly comfortable and smooth rhythm going on my cast. John was giddy like a little boy. We had a great fly and we found a sweet spot on the pond. I got so excited I handed the rod to John and insisted he reel a few in. He did just that! We were on a roll and having a great time.
The Intricacies of Tying a Fly
This compassionate, skilled fisherman is a fly designer. Watch here as John creates and designs some magic. His skilled hands, knowledge, and keen eye along with his special tools achieves perfection in his fly tying! Remind you of anything?
I am one lucky gal!
And so, I draw my parallels between fly fishing and breast reconstruction with this list of skills:
- Perfectionism
- Keen eye
- Agile hands
- Passion for the trade
- Respect for the patient or in John’s case, nature and the fish
- Intricate use of the tools of the trade
- Observation of the task at hand and ability to adapt quickly when changes occur
Could John perform the work of my plastic surgeon? I think not. Could my plastic surgeon tie a fly and cast with the effortlessness, skill and refinement that John did? I think not. These two gentlemen were class acts in their own respective professions. Each one had a passion for their work that leads me to believe I am lucky to know them both and to have been on the receiving end of that passion. Thank you, John and Dr. C for being at the top of your game. I am honored to know you both!
