The Waiting Game

My gosh, an entire month has come and gone since I last posted anything on my Blog. September was a busy month, so that's my excuse. We joined the Marriott Vacation Club several years ago, and bought a condominium at the Marriott Mountainside Resort in Park CIty. We've only used it once before, because we usually trade it for other condos at other resorts, but this year we decided to stay home and spend time at our own condo. So, September 18-25 was our big week. We let our kids and their families use it for the weekend, then Pat and I stayed there for the remainder of the week. It was five days of pure relaxation. We had our friends, the Burgesses join us on Wednesday for a couple of nights. It was a very pleasant get-away and just up the mountain from Bountiful.

I titled this blog 'The Waiting Game', because that's what I'm doing. I'm waiting to find out when I'm going to have my reconstructive surgery. I knew there would be a three month wait after I completed the radiation therapy, but now it's been three months and I'm getting a bit anxious. I'm scheduled to see the plastic surgeon tomorrow (Oct. 6), so hopefully he'll set a surgery date and I can start making some plans. I haven't been able to "plan" anything from October on, because everything's on hold with this impending surgery. I'll be having either a DIEP Flap or a TRAM Flap, and the recovery period for either of them is about six weeks. I,'m hoping to have the DIEP Flap. It's the newer procedure and my doctor, Dr. Agarwal, is one of the few doctors in the USA that can perform it. It's a long surgery (about 6-8 hours) and it's a micro-surgery, so very detailed, but it's been very successful, and the women I've read about who have had it are very happy with the results. I'll be able to talk about what's going to happen after I see Dr. Agarwal tomorrow.

I found a websight that I like alot. It's a cancer survivor's websight sponsored be the American Cancer Society. I checked into it about a month ago. They have these discussion boards where women can pose questions or problems they're having and get feedback from women from all over the world that are going through the same thing. It really helps me to realize I'm not alone in this battle, and there are women out there who know what it's all about and can relate to my concerns and fears. I've learned alot about some of the treatments I'm having and how they can affect me, and I've come up with great questions to ask my oncologist, just from reading some of the discussions. There are women in every stage of their fight against the 'monster' as they call it, and their strength and courage is so inspiring. I didn't think I wanted or needed to have this kind of support, but as time goes on, I find that being able to talk to women who have gone through this, is very helpful to me. Now I'm thinking I'd like to find a support group in Salt Lake City that I can join.

This weekend was General Conference for my church. General Conference is held twice a year and it's purpose is to give the members of the church an opportunity to see and hear the messages from the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles, etc. This conference was a very special one in that the messages all seemed to center on loving one another and service to one another. It really hit home with me because I've been on the receiving end of that kind of love and service since I was diagnosed with cancer. It was very difficult for me to accept this outpouring of love at first. I just figured I had my family and I was a strong woman and I could handle all of this on my own, but I found out differently. Knowing that there are others that care about you and are willing to help in any way is very comforting in a crisis situation. I hope to be one of those caretakers for others when I'm past all of this.

Well, I've jabbered enough. I'll sign off for now and hopefully have something to talk about after tomorrow's appointment with Dr. Agarwal.