17 pounds of MASS

Well, it's 11:00 P.M. and I guess its time to write about the events that occurred today. I have put it off long enough. But I have been struggling to find the words that could make this news sound any better. And I came up with nothing. So here it is. My mom, my best friend, my role model.....has cancer. Wow. Still knocks me on my ass when I say it. Maybe I should start at the beginning and I apologize if I jump around. Like I said, this isn't an easy topic. It started back in December when my mom started to notice that she had been gaining some weight in her stomach. Which wouldn't had been so bad except for the fact that she was dramatically losing weight everywhere else. With every passing week her stomach not only grew but proceeded to harden. It felt comparable to a woman of whom was 7 months pregnant. Which I have to mention is NOT possible for my mother considering she went through menopause at age 27 because of her Lupus. And well, my dad is what you would say "fixed." So being pregnant was ruled out early in the game. After a good push from my father, she decided to see a doctor. He sent her to get some ultrasounds and CT scans done to take a deeper look into the cause of the problem. The ultrasound showed a mass on her uterus and the CT scan confirmed that it was extremely large and needed to be removed immediately! This all occurred on Thursday and today is now tuesday. That is how fast they acted on removing this nasty intruder living in my moms stomach! Unfortunately this situation was extremely difficult for me because I couldn't be there for her. This is the woman who gave me life and who has never left my side in a time of need. And here I was, stuck 18 hours away and feeling helpless! How could I NOT be there? Knowing that she had an AMAZING support group made up of friends and family, sure did make it a little easier. I knew she was in good hands. So putting my guilt aside today, I spent most of the day praying and giving it to God. Trusting that whatever the outcome, he knew what he was doing.  We were told before her surgery that once the mass was removed, she would remain cut open while they test the mass for cancer. If it were to come back positive, they wanted to remove EVERY organ that it touched that she could love without. This process would save her from having another surgery later on. So my parents agreed that if it tested positive, they had the right to remove her organs. So her surgery was scheduled for 11:30 and normally last around an hour. So during her surgery, I anxiously waited and annoyingly texted everyone in her waiting room! After two hours into the surgery, I started to panic. Finally, at exactly 3:38 I got the call from my dad. And I just have to mention that my mom is definitely the ROCK in our family. She is very level headed and everything is planned and organized. My dad is the sensitive, free spirited comedian! That being said, it didn't surprise me one bit that he was crying at the thought of delivering bad news to his kids. And through his tears, he managed to mumble that it was over and she was a trooper like always. The doctor had found signs of cancer inside the 17 pound mass they removed from the top of her uterus. But the mass was covered in a thick coating that it was a small chance that it had leaked and started to spread. But just incase, they removed everything that the mass had touched and sent them to a lap for testing. She had a full hysterectomy and is now without an appendix and gallbladder. So instead of her 2 day stay at the hospital, she is now checked in for 8 to 10 days. Although the news could have been worse, we were all still emotional about the whole situation. And I have to mention that my parents had planned a vacation to come see us on May 26th.  And if any of you know my parents, then you know that NOTHING will keep them from their grand babies. Not even cancer. Around 8 o'clock tonight, my Aunt Jeanice called and gave me an opportunity to talk to my mom. She warned me that she couldn't speak much because of the tube they had put her throat and she was highly medicated! She sounded miserable but she was her same old self. She had made a few jokes saying that her baby was beautiful and now that her stomach was flat, she needed a new bathing suit for her vacation to come see me in 2 weeks!!! That woman determined to not let disease ruin her life. She said that if she can beat lupus, she will just beat this too! She is walking proof that there is a God and he is great and he can work miracles. And even if he cant rid her of her disease, he will make he strong enough to live with it. So although they are 95% sure they removed it all, we should know by Monday. Prayers are welcome! And as my brother always says, there is power in prayer and if you believe enough, it could move mountains. So as I say goodnight to you all, I say goodbye mass...kiss my A$$...:)