Perspective

Yesterday was a strange day, but I'm glad it's over. I had a little out patient surgery, what my ob-gyn affectionately refers to as Dusting and Cleaning. It served the dual purpose of clearing up what my grandma used to call "female trouble", and providing a source of tissue for biopsy to see if something more serious is needed. The pre-op area was huge, filled with curtain partitioned spaces that immediately made me think "surgery factory". Despite the large volume of work, everyone was kind and professional. More to the point for me, I got enough drugs quickly enough to ease my considerable nervousness, what my doctor refers to as a "margarita in the lobby." She came swirling in attired in a bright pink surgery turban and sat down with me for a few minutes to see if I had any questions. Her gift is in being able to make her patients feel comfortable in a very short time, and I find myself trusting her. This despite the fact that she is probably young enough to be my daughter.

In the curtained area next to mine, I listened to some nurses struggling to get IV lines into a woman whose veins were pretty blown by chemo. There was some discussion about her port and more discussion I couldn't hear. I got the distinct impression that she was in trouble because she was having surgery before her chemo was even finished. Not sure what that means. It certainly put things into perspective. I have been thinking about her a lot even though I didn't get to meet her. I know from my unavoidable eavesdropping that she is only 42 and that she has already had surgery for breast cancer.

The last thing I remembered was the chill of the operating room, the nice feel of the warmed blankets, and the dreadful plastic smell of the mask (or maybe it was the gas?.) I woke up in what seemed like about a minute later. Everything went fine. DH brought me home, made me a little soup, and then I spent the afternoon napping in a drug induced haze. Today I feel pretty good, armed with a little extra strength ibuprofen. I plan to stick close to home, but I have plenty of choices as to how to occupy my time.

I could dive in to one or both of these:

I could do something with these:

My recent surgery, however minor, gives me the perfect excuse not to spend my day cleaning. I might, however, have to do at least a little something about this: