A Little Time Off

After making the decision to go through with the 'wide resection' surgery, I needed to contact the doctor and see where we go from here to make this surgery happen. I made preliminary contact with him by email and let him know we were set on the 'wide resection' option. He wrote back a few days later with some dates at the end of August, and he suggested we take some time out to recoup from the emotional roller coaster ride we had been on for the past few weeks.

My family and I talked about the dates that were offered and the doctors suggestion we take some time for ourselves. My parents and I decided it would be a good idea to go ahead with our original plans for a vacation at our favorite place in Maui, HI. So, I contacted my supervisor at work and explained what my doctor had said. He agreed that since I had plenty of vacation time coming, I should go ahead and take the trip as planned.

My mom called and made changes to my dads plane ticket for him to fly out with mom and I. We were set to go on vacation!

July 7, I followed up with the doctor by sending him my decision about the timing of the surgery from his suggested dates. This included taking time for my vacation in Maui for some much needed rest, relaxation and fun! That email is as follows:

Dr. Femino,

My family and I are looking to schedule surgery for the hip and pelvic resection in August. We are looking at 8/27/08. Do you still have this date available? If so, please advise of when you would need me back in California for pre-op tests, appointments, etc. Are there any special measurements that need to be done prior to this in order for you order the prosthesis in time for the surgery? Please feel free to discuss any of this with my grandparents when they meet with you tomorrow morning. My parents and I are heading to Maui for 3 weeks before I return to work to prepare to leave for surgery. I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you kindly,
Stacey Frazier

I contacted our cousins to let them know I had made a decision on my surgery and that we were going to leave for Maui in a few days. Our conversation was long as they asked about the surgery and what that meant to me short-term and long-term. They asked what brought me to my decision and how I felt about it. We talked more about our upcoming trip and they prayed with me for peace with my decision. By this time, I was very comfortable with my decision and could talk to people about it with assurance I was doing the right thing. When I talked with a couple of close friends, they said that by the sound of my voice, I was comfortable and they were relieved about it. They were still worried though as this was going to be a huge surgery and they weren't sure I really had grasped that fact (I had).

Napili Bay, Maui, HI

A day or two later, our cousins called and said they would be seeing us in Maui. They were leaving and would already be there when my parents and I arrived. A couple of days later we were on our way to Maui as well. I hadn't heard back from Dr. Femino before we left, so we were on hold to find out if my surgery date was going to take place on August 27th or not. A few days after arriving in Maui, he sent this email:

Dear Ms. Frazier,

I have been able to coordinate OR time and personnel set-up to do your surgery on Friday, August 29, 2008.  I would like to see you for pre-op on Tuesday, August 26th.  If you want to have family members and/or friends donate blood for you, they must donate prior to August 26th so that it can be processed.  Or, we can use blood bank blood (it is processed that same way as donor directed blood). 

Dom Femino

Vibiana- please schedule Ms. Frazier to see Helen and me on August 26th. 

There we go! We were now on our way to ridding me of this cancer. It was a good feeling to not only have made the decision and be confident with it, but to have this scheduled so we weren't waiting and making me nervous to have this procedure. Now we needed to see if we could get some blood donated from family and friends that were my same type, A+. The good news was that my mom was my blood type and she could donate a couple of times before my surgery. Mom and dad reached out to a few friends by email in hopes to get a few people to help. A friend of my dad came through in a big way. He not only donated blood himself, but he organized an entire group of people to go to the hospital and donate blood too. It was really awesome to see this happening, and how God always provides for us.

Tomorrow, we'll have "A Little Fun in the Sun!

Reflection:
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

Question:
Have you had a time in your life where you didn't know what to do, and when you trusted the Lord, He came through in ways you could not have imagined? Did you give the glory and honor to Him for it? If not, it's not too late!