Journal: News & Comment

I have tentative surgical dates and a plan

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Monday morning when I woke up I had no idea whether I should go to work, or whether I'd be getting ready for surgery. But after a couple of phone calls, I know we're not quite there yet, but it's getting closer.

I am tentatively scheduled for Transanal Endoscopic Microsurgery (TEM) on February 23, one week Friday, to remove what is probably a benign nodule from my rectum. (Unless my surgery gets bumped that day, it looks like I'll miss Northern Voice as expected.) I'll be in and out of the hospital the same day for that first, relatively minor procedure.

Then, if all proceeds according to plan, about two weeks later I will have the more substantial operation, a resection (or anastomosis) of my sigmoid colon—surgeons will cut out the cancerous chunk of my intestine and sew the remaining parts together. After a week of healing in the hospital, I'll go home and recover for a couple of months. Whether I'll need subsequent chemotherapy or other treatment, nobody knows yet.

Right now I'm feeling surprisingly good about this plan. I'll be at my daughter's birthday party this weekend. I have more than a week to get prepared (I'll need to visit the pre-operative clinic, have some consultations about my insulin dosages, and take some more lovely substances to clear out my digestive system). I'll have the easier procedure first, so I can get used to the processes of prepping for surgery before the major operation comes. And my main recovery should coincide with Spring Break and the usual improvement in the weather around here.

Of course that is all subject to change at a moment's notice, but now we're getting somewhere at least.

I'm going to single out my colleagues at Navarik again. The company and everyone there is treating me so well as I proceed with cancer treatment that I can hardly believe it. I still get a bit weepy when I think about it.

My family, too, brings me to tears for everything they have done so far and what they have offered to do. My amazing wife and remarkably understanding children, in particular. I know these next few months won't be easy for you. Me either. Let's have some fun when I'm all better, shall we?

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