On the joy of finding out that your surgeon is also a practitioner.

Today on the advice of my medical consultant [more on her later], i kept my 4pm phone appointment with my surgeon to review that yes, they would be sectioning the tumor up in the operating 'theater' to properly assess the degree of its containment vs invasion into surronding tissue and that yes, the extent of lymph node removal would be based on this finding, and yes, it is basically not a viable option to leave the ovaries in given the current state of things owing to risk of uterine cancer.  Both my guru and my medical consultant have advised me to trust in my doctor's good judgement and considering all the doctors i have come to know many times all to well in 20 years of nursing i have to say that i suspect that, being assigned this surgeon, i have in fact landed in the tub of butter.

When she called today and asked me how i had been doing, i locked up and was totally unable to speak for the first time in days.  I couldn't stop crying and she said, 'that's ok, i often have that effect on people...'  I told her that it was fear but not a lack of good faith, that she just seemed like a caring person, because it's true. She wanted to know what i had been doing to prepare myself mentally and physically, i told her about the running and the ketogenic diet and the prayers from all over, the meditation.  [forgot to mention the painting, sanding, cleaning and hundreds of texts and phone calls] She advised me that i might want to make myself a playlist that i can bring with me to the procedure - 'whatever music or chanting you might like to listen to' - and she told me, 'i want you to know that i meditate every night before a surgery and also on the morning of every surgery - so we'll be together in this'.  I told her that gobs of people all over were sending prayers and they were bound to land on her as well, and i think i sensed that she was good with that.  As for now i will be seeing her in one week at surgery.

So considering that i almost cancelled this phone call based on having nothing new to ask, i am grateful i was advised to keep it.   A surgeon who meditates.  I can't even begin.

I feel physically quite normal and more nimble.  No pain for about a week now.  I could swear that when i am ketotic the chronic and naggingly odd aches and pains of the aging bod seem to just go away.  And peeing on those ketone stix and watching the color change is always a thrill.

There is an older book out there called 'lights out' that i bought long ago and never read [that's just my thing, just love me or leave it alone].  It's about circadian rhythm, artificial light, and health - and apparently the author proposes going ketogenic during the winter months as a yearly cycle.  Should i be granted the years with which to explore this idea, i plan to - and i have to say i think the author was onto something massively ahead of fashion.

om to all

xoh