3, 2, 1

The countdown to surgery is well under way, so I thought I'd post an update. I've found it a little harder to get happy about this surgery, mainly because it's not saving my life this time. But last week I turned a corner and I'm ready to go.

Mark has been increasingly sweet in talking about how he'll take care of me. He's even managed to stay away from the tapioca pudding I socked away for myself last week. I realize tapioca is a divisive issue, but trust that it's been a challenge for him. We're also hooked up with a few more gadgets than last time. Mainly this bad boy:


and a lovely LED reading light. Yes, there is also a little stack of books waiting for me. Good ones, I'm assured. But I'm a little sad because I've already started the best book I've read in ages. Out Stealing Horses by Per Pettersen is simply amazing. What he does with language is so fresh it feels like reading Hemingway for the first time. Familiar and completely unique. Luckily, I know I'll be able to read it over and over again.

Also on the readiness checklist we have a lot of homemade vegetarian chili in the freezer for me, arroz con pollo and turkey noodle soup for Mark, a happy ok from my surgeon, stretchy pants, a lot of medication, and a crazy shower routine. A while ago I started having some fun high school flashbacks - body acne. So to keep this stuff in check on the off chance that it could cause a real infection from spreading through surgery (cultures are normal) I'm taking an oral antibiotic, washing with a prescription strength benzol peroxide wash AND a sterile surgical prep wash, and smearing antibiotic ointment inside my nose. It's crazy, but I'm good at spending time in the shower. Just ask my dad, who probably spent years of his life waiting for me to finish my turn. Oh, that's also the reason for my new doctor on the list, the lovely Dermy. I'll see him just once more before surgery, on Monday, to make sure he still thinks I don't have anything that would cause a complication.

A huge part of my being ready now is the massage therapist I met last week. She had me so relaxed and energized after 50 minutes and really helped me to think positively about my body again. Somehow I'd lost that lately. Watching the Beijing Olympics this year I'd think, "The human body is freaking amazing. Not mine, but THE human body." This week I realized how much my body has been through; how much pain it can take and get rid of, how it can get knocked down to weakness and built up strength again. I realized my body is freaking amazing.