Different outlook on life.

Today was a great day!  I woke up early, curled my hair, and got all dressed up.  It makes me feel good to not walk around in sweats all day.  We had four appointments today.  The final appointment was his endoscopy with ultrasound.  The doctor told me that it would be two hours and then they would come get me.  I decided to have some "Stacey" time.  I went to our hotel room and did not want to sit around and watch TV.  I decided to go exploring.  I walked through all of the beautiful gardens, went to the butterfly garden and searched for each type of butterfly on the podium.  I took many pictures of the fountains, sculptures, and flowerbeds.  It was so peaceful.  I enjoyed every second of it.

When I returned to the hospital, they were almost ready for me to come back to the recovery room.  When I went back there, Dusty was just waking up.  He was so funny.  He had no idea what was going on.  Then, he got real serious, held my hand, and told me we were about to get life changing bad news.  What?  Did they already tell him something?  Stage 4 is non-curable.  Did they give him that news?  I think it was just the anesthesia.  He calmed down and started acting normal again.  I tried to read the nurses and doctor but couldn't.  I guess they are so use to this, that their demeanor doesn't change like the people in Augusta.   The doctor came in and gave us the pictures.  It looked like a horror slide show.  His tumor is nasty.  Awful!  He couldn't tell us what stage it is, that is the oncologist call, but he did say he didn't think it was stage 4.  Hallelujah!  He said it has not spread down to the stomach.  He did notice another small lymph node looked abnormal.  But he said it was so small that if it is cancerous, the chemo will kill it.  Plus, the surgeon is going to take all of the lymph nodes out of that area.

Dusty and I went back to our hotel and they were having a concert by a local choir.  They were singing cheesy upbeat songs, but it was fun seeing everyone so happy and dancing.  We are by far the youngest people in this hotel.  Probably because the only people that can afford this place are people with life savings and nest eggs.  We are blessed by our friends, families, and strangers who have donated so that we can be here.  Seeing the cute old couples dancing to My Girl made my day.  Cancer is not a death sentence.