Surgeon meeting is set for April 22. Surgery date unknown...targeting the week of June 9th. Waiting is rough. With 10 major surgeries under my belt, I know what to expect.
I'll sit at Mass, praying, and suddenly taste the saline in my mouth...that familiar taste from when the IV gets started. Then my mind goes to the waking up in recovery...the beeps...the blindness (I always wake up hearing first and the ability to see seems elusive for a long while)...the voices...the confusion...the gratitude for having gotten through it. Then I push back tears...usually unsuccessfully.
I'll walk outside with my dogs and get a brush of cold air, and suddenly I am in the operating room. Operating rooms are cold. My mind goes to transferring from the warm stretcher to the very narrow, cold operating room table. I remember, too many times, of being stretched out...one arm for blood pressure, the other arm for the IV, the beautiful and compassionate nurses who talk to me...and me always making jokes. "Can you do a tummy tuck while you're in the neighborhood?" "Make sure you give me the good stuff in that IV...I like rye and ginger with lemon." Then I laugh and cry at the same time.
Working is the only real distraction. Yesterday I was building a calendar in Canva and the world around me disappeared, as did all the toughts of surgeries. It was pure bliss. It was productive and focused. Cooking is the second best distraction. I have a list of things I will cook today and I will get lost in the task at hand. Pure joy.
Mass, Rosary, prayer time and the middle of the night are the hardest times. These are the quiet moments when the sights, smells, tastes and memories of surgeries past creep in and remind me of surgery future. It's hard. I do my level best to pray during these moments for others. I listen intently when the students read at Mass or Rosary or Stations, etc. Their young voices...strong and crisp and clear...are joyful. Each one with their amazing gifts. It helps, yet it's hard to focus. The middle of the night is rough. My normal pattern of "sleep like a stone" has been rudely interrupted with worry. I stream the Rosary...normally putting me back to sleep after a decade. This week I heard my 150th Hail Mary and realized I'd listened and prayed three Rosaries...an hour...ugh. I now often lay awake wondering how I'll have strength to get through the day. But I do and God is good.
Sometimes I wish I could do surgery tomorrow. Other times I wonder if I could put it off for a year. Then reality interrupts these thoughts.
Why the week of June 9th? A. I haven't met with the surgeon yet and then we need to get on his surgical calendar. B. School gets out May 23 for the staff. C. Our foreign exchange student has his parents visiting our home through May 29. D. Our niece graduates high school on June 3rd. E. Our wedding anniversary is early June. Of course things could change on April 22. Waiting is hard.