all good...

i'm home....waiting on the kiddos 2 come home from the movies with my mom
(nana took them to see madagascar 2)
*disclosure - i'm taking percocet for the pain - please remember that as u read this ;0)

everything went exactly as planned 2day....i arrived & waited for a whole like 4 minutes before the nurse came out 2 get us....i changed into some sort of hospital gown from the future - this thing was so cool! it was huge compared to the hospital gowns i've worn the only 3 times i've ever stayed in a hospital (that would b 4 the birth of my 3 children) - so i had no worries about my back end showing....and in each & every little station/room, there was a vacuum like hose that could b hooked up to these super thick paper gowns....& warm (or cool) air pumped thru the whole thing! so nice!

my nurse, kathy, was super super nice! she's been a postop nurse in the surgical area for 32 years & loved to talk! she was unbelievably sweet & she really seemed to put curtis more at ease....she told us how her husband just went thru treatment for lung cancer - never smoked a day in his life, but dealt with a nasty & lengthy bout of pneumonia....she says that they're discovering that cancer can develop from inflammation & irritation - like cells r under stress, and morph - interesting....her hubby went thru a few rounds of chemo - never lost his hair, never got sick, never missed a day of work & never missed ref'ing a game (high school referee)....he's been in remission for about a month is is healthy as a horse!

kathy explained the whole process 2 curtis & i and took care of my IV & vitals....the anesthesiologist & surgeon both came by to chat with me before hand (the surgeon initialed my left collar bone with a sharpie - better safe, than sorry! ~lol~)....then my pastor, roger, stopped by & kept us company as we waited....he prayed with us before another surgical nurse came to wheel me away

the operating room was nothing like what u see on tv....very big, and very bare....lots of equipment, but not all that exciting....i hopped over onto the surgery table & 4 different nurses started prepping me - putting oxygen on my nose, sticking wires & stuff to me & strapping me down....the anesthesiologist came in & once he told me he was putting the meds into my IV, it was only a matter of seconds before i was out...

i don't even really remember waking up....i knew i'd b in recovery, and that curtis wouldn't b able to see me yet....i vaguely remember a nurse taking the oxygen thing off my nose & mentioning giving me some morphine - and i know she was busy working around me....i felt sleepy & remember wanting to go back 2 sleep, but also wanting 2 wake up & see curtis....i was supposed to b in recovery for 45 minutes or so - and i guess i was....i don't remember

meanwhile, curtis was in the waiting room with roger - he'd been given a card with a number on it, and beside the TV in the waiting room, there was a big screen that scrolled patient numbers & gave the status of their surgery...."in OR", "in recovery", etc. - another cool, techy thing that made me feel like i was in a hospital of the future

a nurse wheeled me back to the area where we'd began & kathy got me settled into a room....she hooked up my gown to that glorious heat & joked that we should tell curtis that i got a breast augmentation in addition to the biopsy! ~lol~ curtis & my pastor came back & i was allowed soda & crackers....roger chatted for a bit & said goodbye....kathy kept an eye on my vitals, gave me my 1st percocet & carried on with me & curtis some more (she's so funny - i'm sure others in the ambulatory surgical center wondered what we were cracking up at).....she helped me to the restroom (they have to make sure u can pee b4 u're discharged) & after about an hour, the doc came by to talk to me

he said that they had sent the node to whoever it needed to go to (can't remember what they're called) & that it could b a few days till we hear back, if they're able to find out with just a basic biopsy....but more than likely, it would take a couple weeks till we'd hear, after more in-depth studies....he said "if it's lymphoma, which i suspect it is, we'll then hand u off to the oncologists.".....he told me to keep the dressing on my incision until sunday (i won't see what it looks like till then) & after that, i can wash over it like normal....he told me they'd schedule an appointment for next week to come see him, & then he'll take the stitches out....then we'll wait for the results....i asked him about what they'd seen on my PET scan, but he said he'd like to wait for everything to come back - that sometimes looking at 1, without the other, can be misleading

kathy unhooked my IV & told me i could get dressed....i felt fine to walk & take the elevators down to the parking lot, but was told they had to wheel me out - yet again, i was surprised at how far wheel chairs have come - very light & simple, pretty neat

afterward, curtis & i ran to sheetz so i could get a MASSIVE sized coffee & a sandwich (it was almost 2pm & i'd been fasting since midnight)....then we headed home

i'm glad it's over....curtis is majorly relieved - he was more scared about this part, than anything else....i'm anxious to hear what they find out, but again, not scared....regardless of what's going on, i know i'm in God's loving, merciful hands

thx 4 thinking of me today - and for ur continued prayers....i know that prayer, positive thinking, and my Heavenly Father are what will help me thru whatever it is i have to face