I'm Not One of Those People Who Can't Stand To Be Waited On

Yoohoo, am I on the internets? It's been so long that I feel technology may have advanced while I was kind of out of it, and now instead of blogging we're all raising chinchillas or something and communicating by exchanging pelts. But in case that chinchilla revolution is not complete, I thought I'd pop in and say hi. Thank you, Amy, for updating everybody after my surgery. I loved reading everybody's hellos and well-wishes. I missed you all and I missed typing my little words to you.

So right now it is Friday evening, and I've had what seemed like a busy day. That is, I actually left the house, wearing shoes, and went to the plastic surgeon's office for a post-op exam. They said I was looking great and sent me back home. Obviously that was the most exhausting feat of human endurance ever and I had to take a two-hour nap in bed to get over it.

But to rewind a bit, the surgery was about three hours on Tuesday afternoon. Matt and my dad were down there with me. Everything went well and I woke up without a lot of pain. I spent the rest of the evening in a comfortable state of dozing and chatting. The nice nurse gave me a magic button that I could press to get a dose of pain medication. While she was showing me how it worked, I pushed the button about fifty times, which prompted her to explain that it would only give me a dose every ten minutes. Okay, we can play it your way if you want.

That was a great button, and I was really conflicted when they told me that in order to go home, I had to leave the button there. Button!

The surgeon told me after I woke up that the sentinel lymph node was positive for cancer cells, but that we would know more later. I wasn't really surprised, but it still wasn't great news--that there is chemotherapy in my future.

Even so, I was feeling much better by Wednesday evening and eating like an absolute horse. I don't know if that hospital has a Clean Plate Club, but if they do, my picture is on a bulletin board somewhere. Matt and I both managed to get a lot of rest in that hospital room. I'm telling you, it was much easier than being in the hospital taking care of a newborn baby.

This was a sign that Matt made and taped to the wall over my bed. It never hurts to remind people.

Matt brought me home and my whole house had been transformed into a cozy nest of flowers, pillows, thoughtful notes, and home cooked food. The kids appeared to have flourished in my absence, thanks to my mom, and I have not had to do a thing. There is no button but there are pills here. Pills!

I am only going to say one gross thing. That thing is: surgical drains. Now let's not speak of that again.

Oh! And good news today: when I was on the way home from my check-up at the plastic surgeon's offfice, the oncologic surgeon's nurse called. The doc was out of town but the pathology was back and she'd reviewed it. That sentinel node they took out was the only positive one. All the other fifteen or so nodes were clear. And the tumor margins were clear. Guys, this is the first piece of news that has gone our way, and it means that I am probably definitely going to be fine, even if I have to do a bunch more crap first. We are, all of us, so relieved.

So, I am tired and my tummy is full and sleep is imminent, so let's review: Matt and Dad were with me, surgery went well, Button!, Clean Plate Club, I get intimate with my La-Z-Boy, just one positive node, relief breaks out, I love you all, more to come. Good night!