It was a good month and two weeks from the time I found out about the diagnosis on July 15th, to the date of my surgery on August 27th. During that time I carried on with my routine of working, going to the gym and hanging out with friends and family on the weekends. I spent a lot of time at the beach and I took many solo trips to palm springs enjoying the sun. I love the sun…I think I was a lizard in my former life because I love the heat. Give me a beach or a lounge chair by the pool and I am a happy person. I also helped my daughter move in to her new apartment, helped my son move into his new dorm, went on a cruise with my girlfriends and spent time doing what I like. I didn’t feel like I had cancer other than having the mass that I could easily feel. I felt normal. I was in the best shape of my life since I had been exercising and eating healthy. I was also diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis over 20 years ago and I had it under control, no pain, no inflammation and for the past 3 months, I didn’t even have to take any medication for it. Other than having cancer, I was in perfect health.
During this time, I did have my moments of sadness…it would get to me and I would cry. I meditated as much as I could, prayed a lot and sought God’s guidance in all this. I felt that there is a purpose for me to go through this, something for me to learn or a way for me to get closer to God. Or to really focus on what is truly important in life…my family.
I had to make preparations for work as well. I had to submit my paperwork at work for Family Medical Leave Act, which I qualified for, by the grace of God (I go into more detail on this in the God’s Presence section). I was able to qualify for FMLA which protected my job while I had my surgery. For my surgery, the doctor requested that I be off work for a little over two weeks, which I felt a little bad since I didn’t want to leave them with all my work. I prepared all my files as best I could and closed out as much as I could before leaving work. I worked up until the day before my surgery.