I actually slept ok last night, which is a miracle. I am continuing to work to get the word
out. I want people to know. I want prayers, I want strength, and I want
everyone's positive thoughts coming my way.
Mike has been absolutely wonderful this whole time. He has stayed very positive and strong for
me, and I know that he will continue to do so.
I cannot wait to get home tonight to see my sweet Henry. May sleep on the floor next to him for a
little while tonight.
I am ready to get home, but there is work to be
done. Both real work and cancer work,
which is going to be harder than any real work I have ever done.
Fact collecting day.
Time to talk to everyone that I know who knows anything about the
medical scene in Charleston. I want to
know more about my surgeon, Dr. Hawk, and the oncologist who has been
recommended to me, Dr. Keough. I want to
know all about them actually.
First call - An oncology nurse who I don't know terribly
well, but well enough to talk to about this.
Her words, "If I was going through this, I would use Dr. Keough and
Dr. Hawk (and she also mentioned a few other names of doctors that she
likes)." Ok. Perfect.
Check. She approves.
Second call - the breast cancer navigator at the
hospital. She talked about the doctors
personalities and bedside manners. All
approved. Check. Another vote of confidence. She also gave me
more information about upcoming procedures and asked me questions about me. I
appreciated that so much. She asked
about Mike and Henry and me. Lovely
person.
Third (email) - email from a friend of Uncle
Tuckers. She knows Dr. Hawk and states
that he has a great reputation. Check.
Fourth (text) - two pathologists that I know in
town. Told them the names of my
doctors. They said "AWESOME"
and "you're in good hands" respectively. Check.
The people who work with cancer and disease give their approval.
Fifth (email) - Reagan has a friend who also mentioned
Dr. Keough. Good. Another good endorsement.
My surgeon told me yesterday that I am going to have to
have chemotherapy right away. I am
struggling with the "why" in this one. Why is chemo the first step? I spoke with the navigator at the hospital
about this today, and she said that it is because of my age. Because I am so young, they are likely to
want to do chemo first to shrink the size of the tumor to make surgery easier
and more thorough.
Ok. But let's get
all of the information back first. Let's
find out what kind of cancer I have, what stage and what grade. I should have that information on Monday or
Tuesday of next week.
For now, though, I am scheduled for an MRI, a procedure
to put in a port, and an appointment with the oncologist next week. Wow. That is a lot of appointments.
Also will have to work at some point during all of
that. Work has been great...very understanding and compassionate.
Gone are the days of Martyr Nancy. I am going to accept help, even ask for help,
and raise my hand when I need to slow things down a little bit.
I have changed. In two short days, I have changed. Those shocking words have changed me. I am already fighting. I am already ok with help. I am already more of an advocate for
myself.
I AM going to beat this.
I am going to Henry's mom for a long long long time (well technically
forever). We've got a lot of plans, and
I am going to keep them all.
After my beloved Grandmother died, my father found a
prayer shawl that she was using in her nursing home. This was made for her by Buncombe Street UMC,
and she used it for comfort for many years.
I plan to take this with me to any treatments or appointments
that I have. I will channel her strength
and her love and will use this as a symbol of all of the love that I have in my
life.
I could probably write more and more and more, but I am
going to finish my flight home and see Mike and Henry. I need to be around them. I need Henry's smile, and I need hugs from
both of them. Really, I may sleep on
Henry's floor tonight.
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