Sooooo had a massive cancer scare. GET YOUR ANNUAL CHECKUPS!! Huge tumors in my abdomen from left-behind fibroid tissue after my partial hysterectomy (took the uterus, left the ovaries) in 2012.
That left behind tissue grew into massive tumors. And MANY of them. Hence my persistent belly no matter what I did to lose weight over the past several years. Almost constant abdomen pain and horrible digestion, for a decade. Told by doctors I just needed to lose weight.
Finally, my newest PCP, Dr Whatley of Pride Family Medicine in Cedar Park, took me seriously. She saved my life. This started a roller coaster over the month of October of non-stop doctors appointments, CT Scans, multiple biopsies, and finally surgery.
They opened me up from ribcage to pubis and I have the scar to prove it (pretty sexy, actually). Removed everything. Took six hours to get it all. Then four days in the hospital, as the procedure ended up being much much more invasive than predicted. They took the huge masses, they took my (scary looking) ovaries, they checked for anything they may have missed, and closed me back up.
All tissue tests came back benign. I should buy some lottery tickets.
Now im on bed rest for at least two weeks and four to eight weeks to fully recover.
Through it all dearest little Kitten has been at my side, patient and kind and holding my hand. And keeping me safe from my stubborn spirit that is just impatient to return to life as usual. My Leather family has been right there supporting us both. I can’t convey the words that would communicate my gratitude and shock to my spirit at the number of people who have rallied to show love 💕 But especially to wee Kitten, who understands this grumpy queer-mudgeon better than I do sometimes. Most times.
Please, ladies and gents and theys and thems, please take your body seriously. Insist on checking on things you KNOW aren’t right, even if the doctors shrug it off. This should have killed me. It should have been cancer. I don’t know how it wasn’t.
Dont sit on the sidelines of your life with a half-assed complacent attitude until your imminent death slaps you hard across the face. It’s NEVER “good enough” when it’s almost over.
The shock of this all still hasn’t fully hit. Most times it feels like it’s happened to another person and I’m on the sidelines watching. And that’s even more a sign of how blasé I became in my every day.
Now I shall suck the very marrow from the bones of life after devouring it fully. I’ll feel the juices trickle down the back of my throat and reach for more until all that remains is a pile of white sticks in the moonlight. And I will go on the hunt for more.
Keep sucking 🐺
A Burd in Flight 