I’ll be going in for more surgery this week. And then again in five weeks or so.
Me, who hadn’t even seen a doctor in almost six years before being diagnosed with skin cancer in early February (So I Got a Phone Call Yesterday…), then having emergency surgery exactly two weeks after that call to remove a cancerous mass from my colon (The Unluckiest Girl on the Planet?).
This week, it’ll be about three and a half hours of outpatient surgery for the skin cancer. The reversal surgery, next month, was originally planned for late August but I guess I’ve healed miraculously fast so it’s being moved up.
That one will be a little more involved than the one in February. Why? Because thanks to the complete blockage, I guess my colon stretched out so much that another perforation formed a few days after the surgery – and the end of ‘surgical drain #3’ managed to find its way in, up, and to the left. Meaning several inches of the tube healed inside the colon! According to the radiologist my surgeon trusts the most, it’s only the second time he’s seen this happen during his thirty year career. Lucky me to be be case number two, right? 🙂 🙂 🙂
So anyway, rather than schedule another surgery to have it removed, I decided to just live with it until the reversal surgery in August. But now I don’t have to wait that long! And you know what? I think I’m actually more excited about getting rid of the drain.
Not that I’m not excited about getting rid of the ‘ostomy’ bag but, believe it or not, the drain affects my life more than the bag has ever done. Because the drain includes about eighteen inches of tubing, and something I lovingly refer to as ‘the grenade.’ I’ve got to be careful that I don’t accidentally pull it out, so it impacts my sleep, my clothing choices, some of the things I do, and even fastening my seat belt.
All of this to say … I keep trying to get back to ‘normal,’ but it’s going to be a little while longer. I am nearly finished with the first book in a new series, and plotting out the second one though. Hopefully, before the arrival of fall, the first one will be published.
If any of you pray, please – feel free to send some up on my behalf, for both successful operations as well as me not stressing over them. It didn’t take long to figure out that I didn’t worry much over the first surgery because it I didn’t have long to think about it. Now, I’ve had weeks for the skin cancer, and three months for the reversal/drain removal. So thank you. I’m definitely open to God blessing me with a few more miracles. 🙂
For whatever reason, I’m finding I relate to this song this year…
