Good morning!
We are sitting at the airport waiting to board our plane and I realized I never posted an update. I have a couple other posts I have been working on sporadically, but I have been too busy stuffing my face and prepping for this trip of a lifetime to finish anything. Hopefully the WiFi at the NIH is on point so I can finish and post the conclusion of “my stomach bucket list“ before surgery Thursday (9/12). It’s been a whirlwind of food, family, friends, and wonderful memories I hope to share with you soon!
Let’s see, we are flying out this morning (obviously) and should arrive to the NIH in Bethesda, MD by early afternoon. I will check in at the hospital and be admitted to the room I will be in pre- and post- surgery. My good friend had her total gastrectomy last Thursday, and she is doing really well. I will check in with her and get all the details. Then, tomorrow is a full day of tests, scans, and pre-op checks, and Thursday is the big day. My stomach and some surrounding lymph nodes will be completely removed from my body, and my new life will begin.
I am feeling surprisingly calm and at peace about everything at the moment. That changes moment to moment, but I’m rolling with it. My biggest anxiety is regarding the scans and pre-op checks. I just don’t want anything to get in the way of me moving forward with this. So, fingers crossed, everything checks out and the surgery is a go. It has been this impending doom feeling for months now, and I am ready to be on the other side.
I have been receiving an overwhelming amount of support and love leading up to this, and I appreciate every bit of it. I will need your continued support over the next months and years as I navigate everything. So, if you want to reach out, email: mypinkgenes@gmail.com, comment on this post, leave a message through my blog “contact” page, follow along on Instagram: @mypinkgenes, or if you know mine or my families phone numbers, texts and calls are always welcome. Know that I may not respond right away for the next week or so, but I appreciate you nonetheless.
Please pardon any typos and grammatical issues, as I am frantically typing this on my phone at the airport.
Peace and Love,
Kate
Here a few highlights from the past few days👇
