Bidding Adeiu To Lefty

Well, tomorrow is the big day. Tomorrow I will answer the question "What are you willing to give your left nut for?" The answer? My family. My wife. My son. After my appointment today, I have a better idea of what the next few weeks have in store.

Tomorrow at 12:30pm, I'll report to Geisinger for an out-patient orchiectomy surgery (testicle removal) that will begin around 2pm and last for one hour. They equated it to a hernia surgery. I'll be under general anesthesia, so they recommend that I not drive for 24 hours after waking up and be under the care of someone at home (Angie has volunteered.) For six weeks afterward, I will not be permitted to lift more than 20 lbs (10 lbs will be the max for a few days). However, I will be able to drive starting 24 hours after being discharged.

Once the offending body part is removed, they will dissect it to ascertain the specific type of cancer that is present, and the results should be available after about a week and a half. All indications point to the fact that we have caught this very early. Pinpointing the type of cancer and how far it's spread will dictate the treatment that I receive. I have a CAT scan scheduled for Friday evening to see if the cancer has spread to my lymph nodes in the abdomen. The treatment can range from just the surgery tomorrow to radiation, to radiation and chemo. If the cancer turns out to be a specific rare variety, then I will need to go back into surgery so they can inspect all of the lymph nodes in my abdomen. This surgery will take about 4-6 hours and would be scheduled immediately after identifying the cancer as that one specific variety.

So, in short, I know what I'm doing for the next week and a half. After that is hazy, but I have high hopes.

So after tomorrow it's hurry up and wait again. And that's the part that really sucks. Not knowing what we're up against. Just give it a first, middle, and last name, and turn me loose. Patience is a virtue, and I want some NOW.

Nana is here now and Grandma Kathy is coming on Wednesday. Uncle Dave and our buddy Jay are coming up on Friday, so we have the help to make this easier. And Max will meet more of his family while Daddy sits around with an ice pack on his giblet.

If you like the t shirt that I'm going to be wearing tomorrow to my surgery (I don't think lipstick will convey the right message), check out some of these. And if you like those, check out this website. Totally searchable.

Talk to everyone soon.

Oh, and everyone better believe that I'm hitting them up hard for donations for Relay for Life this year! Big time.