What a difference a day makes…
Last night I did not blog because I just didn’t have anything interesting to say. The day was relatively low key and drama free. After working all day, I got home in time for dinner and then rushed out to a meeting at church. On the presumption that everything will go as planned next week, I will be co-teaching the human sexuality class (Our Whole Lives) at UUCG. Yesterdays meeting was making final preparations for the beginning of the class. All in all, yesterday was a good day.
Then there was today…
Today wasn’t necessarily “bad” in the way previous days were bad; I wasn’t depressed about my cancer or worrying (too much) about the surgery next week or the length of my recovery time. Indeed, one of my prior concerns (that I would not get enough donated leave to cover my needs) was allayed somewhat today when a former colleague told me she was going to donate 40 hours of her leave (that’s 1 week down, 5 more to go).
As I have mentioned in this blog previously, though, I am a type of person that needs to have details. I had expected to receive some documentation from the surgeon’s office informing me about the details of next week. When I called this morning, the woman who was filling in for Dr. Cameron’s administrative assistant (who is on vacation) told me that my paperwork (i.e., a letter giving me necessary information) had not been completed. The woman who was filling the position told me she would copy a letter from another patient (as “…they are all basically the same”). I suggested that she should check with Dr. Cameron’s physician’s assistant to make sure she had the correct details. She eventually got the information to me late this afternoon.
One catch: Tuesday night my father, stepmother, brother, and various and sundry other folks that are “fans of Merle” (according to my father) are planning to get together on Tuesday with MB and me for dinner. Well, as I will be having abdominal surgery, I presumed I would need a bowel prep (and would be *ack* forced to take phosphosoda again). Not true. Dr. Cameron prefers his patients simply to go on a clear liquid diet for the 2 days prior to surgery. (I’ll let that sink in….)
Yup! On Tuesday night, I will get to sit with my family and friends and watch them eat dinner. Oh, it’s possible that whatever restaurant we go to will have some chicken broth or jello for me to eat, but I’m not counting on it. So starting Tuesday, I get to eat popsicles and jello and chicken broth and tea or clear sodas…and a limited number of other non-substantive “foods.” Of course, after my surgery, I’ll be on liquids for a while, too, so I like to think about it as if I’m just starting a couple of days early.
Tomorrow is a very difficult day for me to handle…my eldest child becomes a … a … teenager. Seriously, though, it’s good that we’ll have something to celebrate this weekend. Next week is sure to be stressful all around.
Merle