Retroperitoneal Transabdominal Lymphadenectomy Extensive Including Pelvic, Aortic, and Renal Nodes

The good news: my surgery has been approved by the insurance company.

The bad news: the surgery is going to happen.

I have been dreading this day for the last couple of months, and I had a great time keeping myself distracted with a busy semester at school full of classes, readings, and papers.  The surgery is commonly known as RPLND, and I have heard from reliable sources that it isn't too bad, but I am still traumatized from the orchiectomy (trust me, you don't want a link to read about that surgery) when my surgeon sent me home with a small prescription for Tylenol with Codeine... it was a very long and painful weekend until I got some Percocet.

However the words of Tennyson keep repeating in my mind "half a league, half a league, half a league onward."  The surgery was moved from Thursday the 10th to Tuesday the 8th, so I am ready to get this done.  I will be in the hospital for a few days, and depending on the level of painkillers I will either be reading books or staring at the wall in a daze.

This was not the type of Summer vacation I was expecting, but it is the vacation that I need.  After all, mine not to make reply, mine not to question why, mine but to do and thrive. (Obviously this is inspired by Tennyson, but I had to change the words for something a little more positive.)

For now, we are having a great weekend adventure in Manhattan because that is what this family loves to do!