It turns out the lip gloss and sparkly earrings worked! The doctor totally forgot about the surgery!

Okay, he didn’t forget… but he agreed with my assessment that my body was doing a fine job of healing on its own and perhaps we could give it just a little more time to finish the job.

I was sent home with strict orders to watch for infection, take my antibiotics and call his cell phone if things began looking suspicious.

I was elated to say the least. So was Saul. Sometimes cancer gets scary for both of us.

I will have to wait a few extra weeks to begin the process of filling the expander that is under my skin. That’s the little pouch that gets filled with saline week by week, forcing the skin to stretch and thus creating a new breast. I told the doctor I am in no hurry and that I feel like I need to heal physically and emotionally before we take any further steps.

After the appointment, Saul took me to a fun restaurant in Columbus for lunch. I was starving, so the minute we sat down we asked the server if we could order. I felt like that may have been rude so I followed up by saying, “I’m so sorry, it’s just that I’ve been fasting and I’m finally able to eat and I’m really hungry.”

She delivered the food speedy quick and then said, “I bet this’ll taste good after fasting. How long have you been without food? A week?”

Me: “Um no. Just since midnight.” It was now 11:20am. Almost 12 full hours.

She looked at me quizzically and walked away as Saul and I burst into laughter. I guess I do sound a touch overly-dramatic sometimes…

So one final note/observation: I noticed yesterday that the building right next to THE JAMES hospital has a big sign on it that says, “County Coroner.” I hate to judge, but I’m thinking that might be bad for business.