And the Wait Begins

After meeting with Dr. Handsome and Perfect, my plastic surgeon, last week, I finally am meeting with Dr. Impossible to see. I’ve done much research, read all the blogs and breast cancer sites, and hashed it out with both my Doctor Brother and my husband and I’ve made the only decision that makes sense in my head. I arrive ahead of schedule as usual hoping that I will be seen earlier. But this is a strictly run on time practice. So, after I check in, I wait for my 9:30 appointment. When the nurse calls me back, it;s the same ritual, weight, blood pressure, and the how are you feeling small talk. She asks me if I’d met with Handsome and Perfect to make my decision and I let her know that I had and I was ready to speak with the doctor about it. She takes me to the exam room and tells me she’d be back in a few minutes. And as advertised, she comes back with Dr. Impossible to See’s physician’s assistant. Now, I’d like to think I’m very open-minded and accepting. But, I have to be honest, I’m not feeling the PA, so I keep our conversation brief. I don’t ask questions. I answer what I think are his questions with the most succinct answers possible. He asks me when I was looking at scheduling my surgery. I tell him early October. He points at the calendar and tells me that the doctor is very busy and I should consider next week. I laugh out loud. Yes, I understand that the doctor is busy but I also have commitments, most specifically work and a wedding on the 30th. And with that, he steps out and maybe tells me that the doctor will be in shortly. As promised, the doctor comes in within a few minutes. I’m nervous to say the words to him but I know it’s going to be a relief. We begin discussing my decision and my appointment last week with Handsome and Perfect. He walks me through the surgery and lets me know what I should expect. Then we enter the paperwork part of the programs, consents and whatnot. When all is said and done and the appropriate forms have been signed and dated, he looks at me, puts his hand on my knee, and reassures me that I’m making the right decision. I know, deep-down, that I am as well. He and his PA step out and his nurse tells me that she is going to step out to make arrangements with Handsome and Perfect’s office for the surgery and she would be back. It’s not long before she’s back with a date. November 5th. I was hoping for an earlier date as Handsome and Perfect assured me that his schedule is pretty wide-open. When I check out, I schedule my pre-surgical testing for October 25. I leave the office relieved that there is an end but a new beginning in my near future. My seven week wait begins. I drive to work somewhat at peace. I field a call from Handsome and Perfect’s office confirming the date for the surgery. I’ve been through so much at this point and I’ve been to so many appointments. As I stare at my calendar, I notice that it’s a little but over a month until my next appointment. It feels good but also a little strange. I can breathe for a few weeks and feel like I can accomplish some of my goals at work, uninterrupted. I will discuss the details with my boss today, once I’ve had the opportunity to decompress. Now I all I have to deal with is me and what’s going on in my own mind. And the wait begins…..

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