Surgery, Seaglass, and Suspicious Lymph Nodes (All Clear, Folks!)

Well, that escalated slowly.

What was supposed to be a 3-hour surgery turned into a 6-hour marathon — apparently, my insides are a bit of a fixer-upper thanks to a few past surgical adventures. But my surgeon? A total rock star. Despite the chaos, she managed to do everything laparoscopically. I was honestly shocked (and beyond grateful). She removed the 10cm tumor and two lymph nodes that looked a little too shady for comfort.

The initial pathology came back benign — insert cautious optimism here — and then a few days later, I got the call I had been nervously waiting for: FINAL pathology is in.

All clear. NO CANCER.

phew…massive sigh…tears…wine

I took the week off work and have been trying (key word) to take it easy. Turns out, I’m an absolutely terrible patient. I get bored out of my mind. Like… trying to paint by numbers but falling asleep mid-number kind of bored. I made a cute seaglass candle holder, half-watched a bunch of movies I didn’t finish, and got irrationally mad that I can’t go dig in the dirt and plant my sunflowers.

If I’m upright too long or try to do anything remotely helpful, my abdomen and incisions remind me who’s boss. So next week, I’ll ease back into work part-time. I mean, my commute is walking ten feet to my desk and opening a laptop — I think I can manage.

I’ve always been bad at “resting.” When I had gastric bypass years ago, my best friend Shannon picked me up post-op and I made her give me my car keys. I drove. The next day? Pedicures. Like I said: terrible patient.

But this time I’m really trying (sort of). I know I need to heal. I know rest is productive. I know my body has been through a lot. So… I’m trying. Kind of. Don’t ask my boyfriend how well it’s going.

Thanks for all the love, messages, and patience while I’ve been off the grid a bit. I feel lucky — for good doctors, for clean results, for time to recover — and maybe even a little proud of myself for slowing down (even if it took anesthesia to get me there).

Talk soon. I’ll be horizontal until further notice.

—Stacey