Time flies when you’re having fun - can’t believe it’s been nearly 4 months since my surgery. It really has flown by, strange as that may sound. It was such an uplifting experience, a new beginning - the end (at least the beginning of the end) of the depression. So much to adjust to thanks to the new outlook - and thanks to the new facial arrangement, too.
The news, back in September, was not good (as noted in a previous entry). The first physician I went to took one look at my lip and exclaimed that it was beyond what he had resources to deal with and sent me with an urgent referral to what turned out to be the most wonderful physician one could ever hope for. This first step took place on the 11th - my very own 9/11, now. I called for an appointment with the second physician right away - and the soonest he could see me was, I believe, October 9th! What followed was probably the worst few weeks of my life (physically, anyway) - the “thing” was by now truly bothersome, aside from being ugly (but that I was used to!), and it was getting worse.
Finally the day of the 1st appointment dawned with a mix of dread and excitement. This most gentle and non-judgemental physician knew at first glance what it was and what needed to be done. Surgery was scheduled for the soonest opening: December 5th!!! Oh, GOD - I shall be totally insane by then.
Meanwhile, that gives me some time to figure out how I’m going to pay for this. The office got me quotes from the various entities that would be providing the services - GULP. Time to dig into the IRA, sigh.
Then - the Dr.’s office calls and says the Doctor wants to move the surgery up, by one week. YAY - maybe I can keep a smidgeon of sanity, after all. But - now there’s a bit of a time crunch to get the money arranged - the bank always likes to collect a bit of interest on incoming funds for a day or three, and in order for the hospital to give me the nice, hefty discount for cash payment, they want it up front. I’m sure stressing over that kind of crap really helps an advanced cancer…
Well, my wonderful financial advisor worked his type of magic and somehow the bank “forgot” to be greedy, and the funds were in and available the day before the surgery. Whew! That provided instant relaxation and gave me confidence that everything was going to be OK.
What started the ball rolling, after all these many, many years of living with my “lip thing”? TWITTER! A wonderful fellow appraiser and I have become good on-line friends on Twitter - both in-stream and via DM - and she said the magic words that made me snap out of the void I was living in! I still don’t think she realizes how fundamentally important those few words were, expressed sincerely but lacking the knowledge of the extent of the state I was in.
@ellawissa is my life-saver, psychologically and subsequently physically.
posted 02/20/10
patience - more postings to come - the Zebra will take shape!
