I had my first post-surgery doctor’s appointment last week and I just got the lab results back - totally normal! No sign of pre-cancerous or cancerous or any sort of otherwise abnormal cells!
If I hadn’t woken up with an icky head cold yesterday I’d totally go out and celebrate tonight…
I realized something about myself the other day: I’m a planner. I have to have a plan at all times, or at least a plan to make more definite plans at a later date. If I don’t have a plan, I go a little bit crazy and freak out (just a ‘lil bit) till I get a plan.
Now, that being said, I’m perfectly amenable to change! If someone throws a wrench in my plans, I can easily alter course to work around it, therefore creating a new plan! (And, since creating new plans is half the fun, sometimes I relish those wrenches.)
This obsessive need to have an understood course, however, can cause problems when you’re trying to make plans with someone who is not a planner. They can be perfectly happy floating through life without thinking about what comes next. They don’t understand your need to have a plan, and unintentionally write it off as insignificant or unimportant. And, as the planner, you flip out and start to spiral downwards towards a nervous breakdown, making both yourself and the non planner you’re trying to make plans with miserable.
Maybe realizing this will help me deal with those no-planning people better in the future. Or maybe I’m just writing this in hopes that my non-planner will read this and hopefully learn a little something more about me. And then call me up so we can make some plans together!
I’ve been growing my hair out for the past 8 months or so. I felt like I needed a change, but didn’t want to cut it yet (I want to grow it long enough that i can donate to Locks of Love) so I picked up a box of red dye at the local Rite Aid and had at it!
I spent two hours yesterday paying medical bills. I had to match up each of the statements from my insurance company with a pile of bills from various sources, some of which were in duplicate because of insurance mess ups and re-calculations, and I ended up having to send off four separate checks - to the doctor’s practice, the anesthesiologist’s group, the pathology lab, and the hospital in general (all of these things are in one physical location).
And that’s not the end of it!
I have at least one phone call to make to my insurance company (who for some reason doesn’t think they need to cover my follow up visit to my doctor - probably because her name wasn’t on the bill again, so it looks like I’m seeing her without permission (this happened earlier this year, despite the fact that I DID have a legitimate referral)) and one to the hospital (who is charging me for a deductible that was already paid (thanks to my loving parents) at the time of the surgery.)
And I’m sure this isn’t the end of it. I don’t even think I’ve gotten the hospital bills for some of the stuff yet.
I consider myself a relatively intelligent person. I am more organized than most people I know, and I’m quite good at math. If it’s this difficult for me to deal with this stuff, I fell like maybe the whole system is just too complicated.
There’s gotta be a better way… it seemed way more simple in Denmark, England, the Czech Republic, and St. Vincent & the Grenadines (all places I’ve lived/had to deal with medical issues.)
Socialized Medicine, anyone?
Interestingly, in a cursory Google image search, this was the only political cartoon not vehemently opposed to Universal Healthcare. Perhaps at a later date I need to expound on my reasons for supporting it, as most American’s apparently think it’s a terrifying idea. In the meantime, ponder this.
Last night I learned that an acquaintance and young Dartmouth alum passed away several weeks ago from a pre-existing condition. It was just the most recent in a string of oddly tragic events that seemed to mar 2008. I don’t think I’m the only one who is ready for a new year.
Don’t get me wrong, there were definitely some amazing things that happened in 2008 - Obama’s election, optioning my first screenplay, starting graduate school, my quarter-life crisis coming to an end, and surprise Thanksgiving guests - but overall the year seemed to host an inordinate number of untimely deaths, illnesses, and relationships ending.
In the spirit of the season, I figured I’d lay out my resolutions for the new (and hopefully less disaster-ridden) year. I am the type who is constantly analyzing my life and trying to change it for the better, so many of these are things I already have been working on in some form.
Resolution #1 - Healthier Kelly & Healthier Earth
I spent all summer with Windsor Mountain hippies and they sort of rubbed off on me. Pair that with learning that cattle produce more greenhouse gases than cars, and I started seriously rethinking my eating habits.
I was a vegetarian for a little while in my late teens. It didn’t work for me. I also believe that humans are evolutionarily designed to be omnivores, so I don’t think it’s wrong for us to eat meat. I do think most of us (in 1st world countries, at least) eat way more meat than we need, and I’m skeptical of many modern farming techniques. Therefore, my new dietary rules for a healthier me and a healthier planet are:
Resolution #2 - Dental Hygiene
Every year for the past ten years or so, I’ve made the resolution to be better at flossing my teeth. I’ve never had a problem brushing, but I hate to floss! I’ve actually been pretty good at making myself do it daily for the past couple years, but putting it on the resolution list again can’t hurt!
I also realized a few months ago I haven’t been to a Dentist in a REALLY long time (Dr. Rezzie would be so disappointed in me!) Once I figure out how dental insurance works at USC (and finish paying off all those pesky medical bills from the whole cancer debacle last year) I’m going to go in for a check up. And really hope I haven’t gotten the first cavity of my life!
Resolution #3 - This Website!
I will finally put content up on the other sections of the site, and start blogging more. I’m hoping to post shorter posts more often. And include more images, videos, and exciting things that might actually interest people other than myself!
Happy 2009!
I did the followup with Dr. Templeman yesterday and it was all good news! As of right now, I am cancer free!!!
My cone biopsy came back with NO adenocarcinoma (i.e. cancer) cells, which is actually quite odd considering they found them in the punch biopsy (when they did the colposcopy back in October). My doc said this was really rare — she’d never seen anyone have adenocarcinoma in a punch, but then none in a cone biopsy. Likely what happened is there were just a few a.c. cells and they were all serendipitously removed with the punch biopsy.
They DID find squamous carcinoma in situ, which my doctor explained is the same thing as CIN III, i.e. the most severe type of precancerous cells (but for squamous cancer, as opposed to adeno). BUT the good news is is that my cone biopsy sample came back with clear margins, which means that there were no infected cells on the exterior of the sample, which means I shouldn’t have any more inside of me, either!!
Because they did find adeno cells at one point, we are going to be extra cautious going forward (apparently adenocarcinoma has a sneaky habit of recurrance). I’m going to be seeing a doctor every four months for the next two years for either a pap or colposcopy. But that I can live with!
I am so thankful that everything seems to be working out! Thanks to all of you who have been there and been supportive throughout this whole thing. It’s really nice to know I have such wonderful friends and family who I can count on.
This was quite the week. I had surgery, some personal issues I had to deal with, and then yesterday my car got hit for the third time in about three months. (Yes, I was in it, but it was in line to exit a parking lot so was therefore very low-speed. No one is hurt, I just have to go through the whole getting-an-estimate-then-then-fixing-it thing again.)
Luckily, though, it ended on an up note. Jeff and I had a Christmas party at our apartment last night, and we had a great turnout and everyone seemed to have a really amazing time! I didn’t get the camera out until pretty far along in the evening, but here are the photos that I did manage to take. Enjoy!
Well, yesterday all the pieces finally came together and I had my surgery. I actually feel pretty okay today; they didn’t even give me pain killers, just instructed me I could take up to 800mg of ibuprofen. I have a bit of a sore throat, which I was warned is a side effect of the anesthesia/having a breathing tube down my throat. I’m a bit crampy, but thanks to a heating pad and the ibuprofen, not nearly as bad as I was yesterday. I get the feeling evolution designed it so that there aren’t too many nerve endings down there…
So here’s an account (from my recollections/what people have told me) about what happened:
We got to the hospital around 11:30 yesterday morning. Nobody would believe I was a patient (including the valet guys, who offer their services free to patients — I had to show them my hospital ID card) despite the fact that I was wearing sweat pants and no makeup. I guess that’s flattering? Probably more a side effect of a cancer hospital mostly being populated by sick-looking older people. They’re not used to healthy-looking 25-year-olds.
Check it went smoothly, albeit slowly (are we surprised?) then I had to go up to the second floor for pre-surgery stuff. I got to wear one of those sexy hospital gowns with nothing underneath them and attractive beige hospital socks with rubber like traction on the bottom! They matched very well with my white plastic name-tag bracelet and anklet.
I answered a lot of questions, took all sorts of exciting blood and urine tests, got measured and weighed, signed consent forms, and I waited… a lot… and some more. Oh, and at one point they gave me a cool blue hat/hospital hair-net!
Finally at around 2:15 (my surgery was scheduled for 2:00) I talked to my doctor for a bit, and then the anesthesiologist, who bore a striking resemblance to Izzy Stevens, both in looks and personality (for all you Grey’s Anatomy fans out there.)
They finally rolled me in for surgery a little after 3:00 (I believe). I got some happy drugs to calm me down while they attached all the fun monitors and get me situated on the table, then they put the general anesthetic into my IV and I was out.
I had what is called a cold knife cone biopsy which means the doctor removed a cone shaped portion of my cervix using a scalpel. This was done (instead of a slightly less invasive procedure like LEEP or a laser cone biopsy) because it’s important that the sample have “clean margins”, meaning they can examine the cells at the very edge of the biopsy to ensure that they got all of the cancerous and precancerous cells.
I don’t remember anything until I woke up somewhere a little after 5:00. I was in the recovery room and I felt pretty icky — a combination between the worst menstrual cramp you can imagine and really really really having to pee (but not being able to.) I had to rest for a little while longer. Finally they let my mom come in and help me get dressed. I wasn’t allowed to leave until I could go to the bathroom (I’m sure you all wanted to know that.) I succeeded!
While I was in recovery my mom spoke briefly to Dr. Templeman, who told her that the procedure has gone as expected, but that we really won’t know any more until they get the lab reports back next week.
I spent last night eating soup and crackers and laying on the couch zoning out in front of the TV.
Today I’m feeling pretty good. I’m taking it easy and I’m not allowed to do any exercise (or take a bath - only showers) until I see the doctor for a follow up next week.
I’ll update you all when I know more about the success/diagnoses/etc.
When I spoke to the hospital today they ensured me that Dr. Templeman is healthy again, so fingers crossed it will all go through!
I feel like I’ve been waiting forever.
I’m a little scared — probably won’t be able to sleep too well tonight — but I’m also glad because this is a step forward, and hopefully it will be the end of things.
Cross your fingers for me!
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