The surgery day had finally arrived

The day of my surgery seemed to take forever to arrive. When we made the decision to go through this treatment plan, my patience (or lack of) was very low and I needed to just get this over with.  I joined some support groups online, thinking it would help me prepare for the big day but it actually consumed me with fear instead.  I know they say stay off the Internet, but that is easier said then done. Talk about scary!  I would read stories from survivors wondering if their cancer might present like mine. Then on the other side  there were stories of those living currently with the disease, suffering every day with all options used.  I reached out to a few ladies that actually had dealt with my particular surgeon.  They were complete angels in every sense of the word.  Not only did they help me with words of encouragement, they actually gave me some great advice.  Two completely different stories with one being the patient and the other being the caregiver of her late husband.  I exited the support groups for my own sanity and decided if I had any questions these two angels would be the ones to get answers from.  I felt with their advice and the other information that I had read previously that I was as ready as I was ever going to be and a lot of that came from these two remarkable ladies.  My anxiety was out of control at times and I remember telling Eric that I just need it out of me.  Speaking of angels, I cannot even tell you what I would have done without him by my side. He lifted me up daily and kept me grounded in every way.  Then came the day of my surgery.  I was terrified but numb at the same time.  In the back of my mind I thought for sure I would be crying all day but with Eric and my dad there, I was good:)  The only part I remember before going into the operation was asking my doctor if he was ready and he told me that he made sure he read the instruction book the night before so he should be fine :)   I woke up in ICU with Eric and my daughter smiling at me.  I immediately asked how it went and he said, "They got it all".  I could feel my smile from ear to ear. He explained that the surgery was 6 hours long, there was more then they thought but still not as bad as it could be.  I was minus a few parts which I had some ideas of what I was going to lose but there were definitely some extras.  They removed the culprit, my appendix along with the cecum and part of my right colon, gall bladder, spleen, greater and lesser omentum, full hysterectomy,pieces of diaphragm, and a piece of my liver.  These all had to be removed because the mucus from my appendix that carries the cancer cells were on these organs.   Since this is a sneaky disease that is more or less slime-like, it is hard to see on a CT scan what all is affected until they open you up.  With all that gone I still am considered very lucky that it was caught earlier than later because no new tumors had grown from these cancer seeds yet.  The Hot Chemo is suppose to mop up all the microscopic cells that might be floating around after the surgical portion.  The chemo also shut down my digestive system so I had to have this nasty NG tube in my nose that frankly pissed me off more than anything...... One thing my angels told me was to walk, walk, walk and then walk some more for faster recovery and to get my system moving quicker.  I was up walking 24 hours after my surgery, not walking miles but needless to say I was walking.  I remember thinking two things, I have to keep walking to heal faster and I need to keep walking to get this terrible tube out of my nose!!!!  Days went by and the nurses made jokes that I was walking laps around them.  My little sister flew up from Florida to help me.  We had a reversal of roles during this time, I had always been a mother figure to  her and she now is at my hospital bed taking charge which is something I can never thank her enough for.  We all became very close to one nurse in particular that was my angel at the hospital.  She took extra special care of me and the day my pathology results came in,  Eric, myself and my angel nurse cried with happiness.  We were happy because they got all the cancer, which means I am cancer free, my pathology showed that it was low-grade, no further chemo needed and my recovery was going remarkably well considering what I had just gone through.  There were angels around me at all times and I could definitely feel them. Nine days later I was being released with the doctor saying every 3 months I would be visiting him for blood test and MRI's.  There is always that chance of it sneaking back up on me but that day only one thing was on my mind.  That day was my little son's 9th birthday and my goal the whole time was to be home to celebrate with him on his special day.  I made that happen :)