Cancer, check. Chemo, check. Surgery, check. 100% cancer free, CHECK!

"You and I know what it's like to be kicked down, forced to fight. But tonight, we're alright... so hold up your light, let it shine" - Bruno Mars

Since surgery, Amy has been quite down and out, sore and not able to do much besides sip through a straw and watch TV. SOOO, she asked me to step up and fill everyone in on what's been going on, how surgery went and how she's doing now. I asked her to tell me what she wanted me to write, but she left it up to me, gave me the freedom to tell the story of the past few days from my perspective. Not sure that was such a good idea (mwuahahahaha), but here goes ...

As well as most of us know Amy, it's no surprise that she had to know every step of the surgery, every procedure, the brand of latex gloves the doctors would be using, WELL in advance. She's been studying for the past few weeks, hell, probably the past few months about the ins and outs of this surgery just so there would be no surprises. I tell her all the time to take life as it comes, roll with the punches, but this time I really couldn't fight her. Surgery is something nobody (I would imagine) looks forward to and being prepared is never a bad thing when it comes to putting your life in someone else's hands. However, to say she was unbelievably nervous would be an understatement.

The surgery was scheduled for 12 noon on Friday, but we were told by the office staff at the hospital that we had to be there by 10 am. I had a hard time sleeping Thursday night and I'm sure it was 10 times harder for Amy. This became apparent to me when I woke up around 4 am and heard the shower running. Yeah. So when we finally all got up, around 7:30, I had to run a few errands while Amy got the kids ready for the weekend. They were staying with her dad for the day and then her sister was picking them up that night and they were staying with her at our house. Saying goodbye to the kids was nothing I was looking forward to seeing Amy deal with, however, she stayed incredibly strong for them. She kissed them each on the cheeks, told them she'd see them tomorrow night, and told them she loved them very much. As soon as the car door shut she lost it but I was very proud of her for holding it together in front of them.

We arrived at the hospital (Amy, her sister, mom, and myself) about 15 minutes early. 3 women that Amy works with (Lisa, Liz and Steph) met us there early and said a very touching/emotional prayer for her and our family. These women TRULY are amazing and Amy is so fortunate to not only have them as co-workers, but friends well. The entire staff at MOHC (for the most part :)  have really been incredible through all of this and I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for being there for our family, the love that you have shown us and the care that you have each given to help save my wife's life. My appreciation could never be expressed enough.

Ok, so enough mushy stuff... after the prayer, we signed in and waited for Amy's name to be called for what they called, "prep and holding". Luckily, when they called her name, they let me come back as well so Amy was certainly more comfortable with that. After an hour or so in P&H (they let Mandy and her mom come back after a little while, and her grandmom who had gotten there in the meantime), they sent us all upstairs to Pre-Op. We were told on the phone ahead of time that NO ONE was allowed in Pre-Op with Amy, so once they announced we were headed up to Pre-Op, the anxiety level went from about 5 to about 30 for her. However, once we got upstairs, we were greeted by someone in administration who let me go back with her... anxiety level back down to about 15 now.

In Pre-Op, the hospital staff was nothing short of awesome. From making her feel as comfortable as possible to getting threir job done and her ready for surgery, they were great. Here is where we saw both Dr. Pahnke and Dr. Saunders (plastic surgeon) just to go over a few last minute things, no big deal. The anesthesiologist came in, introduced herself, and then introduced Amy to a little sedative that she called, the "I don't care" meds. Anxiety level now about 0. Good to go and ready for the knife. As they wheeled her out of Pre-Op (11:54 am) and into the operating room, I walked with her until they told me I couldn't go any further. Now, keep in mind, Amy could barely hold her eyes open at this point, as if she was completely out of it, I wasn't even sure she knew where she still was. As they stop the rolling the bed in the hallway for me to say goodbye, the following conversation occurs:

(Me): "Ok babe, it's time to face the music. Time to go in there and the next time I see you, you'll be cancer free. This marks the end of this nightmare for us and our family. I am so proud of you for everything you are, everything you have done, and everything you stand for. You're an inspiration. I love you SO much (eyes are watering up at this point)."
(Amy): "Yeah I love you too. When I get out can I get a Coach bag?"
(Me): "Huh?!"
>I look up at the anesthesiologist<
(Female Anesthesiologist): "Yeah, it really doesn't matter what state of mind we're in..."

I give her a kiss on the forehead with a smile on my face now and that's the last I see my wife with cancer.

The 5 hour surgery seemed like 10. We waited patiently in the "surgery waiting area" to hear something. Killing 5 hours when your wife/daughter/sister/granddaughter is having surgery is not an easy feat. We tried to keep people up to date with texts and Facebook while playing cards, but nothing could really take any of our minds off what was really going on just down the hall.

At about 4:30 pm, Dr. Pahnke came out and said the surgery went great. His part was complete but Dr. Saunders was still in there finishing up. He said it looked as if one or two lymph nodes had been affected so he made an executive decision to take them all under her right arm out, which is what Amy would have wanted anyway so maybe we'll start to look past that chest tube Doc. About a half hour later Dr. Saunders came out and said everything on his end went perfect as planned. I was able to go back to Recovery for a few minutes to see her, but they wanted her to get some rest and keep a close eye on her vitals so I could only stay a minute or two. I gave her a kiss on the forehead, told her she was 100% cancer free, and watched the biggest, brightest smile that I've seen in a long time on my wife's face. Words we've been waiting to hear for far too long. The nurse gave me her room number and said she would be up there in about an hour. This gave us some time to grab a bite to eat and relax a little bit :).

Most of the hospital staff referred to her room as "the Presidential Suite"... ok Dr. Pahnke, NOW we can look past that chest tube. It was nice, about as nice as I could imagine a hospital room. Between vital checks and bathroom visits, neither of us were able to get much sleep that night. Both doctors came in the next day as a check up and both said she looked great. They left it up to her and said if she was feeling good enough, she could go home that day... we were home by 4:00 pm that afternoon.

She's been more sore than anything here at home. They gave her some percocets for the pain and they have helped, but can't take it all away. She has 3 drains right now that drain any fluid that is supplied to her breast area that have to be emptied twice a day. Dr. Saunders said 2 of them will probably be removed later this week and the last one sometime next week. She looks really good for having major surgery 2 days ago. Her attitude is upbeat, more than I would have expected, her appetite is gradually getting better, and that big bright smile is there just about all day long!

100% CANCER FREE!!!

I love you babe and am SO proud of you! :)

-Ryan