18 months clear!

And one more week with the pump

Yesterday was a whirlwind day - beginning bright and early with an MRI, then a PET scan that ran a few hours behind (thanks to the breaking down of the fancy dosing machine that forced everyone to get their injection the old-fashioned way, via syringe), an Uber to another building where I was 30 minutes late for blood tests, a pre-surgical consult with the surgeon who had missed the memo about a possible pump removal on his schedule the following day, and finally a chat with my oncologist, who gave us a “wet read” of the PET scan result which had yet to hit my portal.

By then, the surgeon had scheduled me for a pump removal procedure next week, so we were glad to hear her say, relatively confidently, that the PET scan looked good to her.

Cheering to unofficially clear scans

We went to Raoul’s for dinner, and cautiously toasted the clear scans as per our tradition: with a glass of bubbly rose and a plate of steak frites (plus roasted chicken with truffle risotto, which was so good we were half-angry we hadn’t ordered it previously). It wasn’t until we were back at the hotel that the last official scan result hit my portal: NED.

We came home today, a day early, with my pump still in tow as well as a few dozen bagels in our luggage.

Ess-a-Bagels and cream cheese in our checked baggage

I’ll head back to New York next Monday for a Tuesday morning pre-op, the pump removal procedure Wednesday, and a day to recover on Thursday before boarding a return flight home. I’m looking forward to spending some with colleagues in our New York office while I’m there and trying to figure out if I can make it back to Raoul’s with one of them. Debating whether I should try to sneak in an appointment at Peachy for a little Botox; it feels a little… uh… off to be worried about facial aesthetics when I should probably simply be celebrating my actual health but note that this hasn’t stopped my consideration of same.

Once we are back in town, I’ll be a few pounds lighter, and Per will have a new Christmas ornament he can hang with the Star Wars collection on the back of our tree.

And it’s right in time, as I just heard this weekend about a close friend who is dealing with her own new cancer diagnosis. This is part of what made it all feel so urgent to be able to close one chapter and begin another; and please know that all the stars you send to me will be received, magnified, and reflected to her as she begins her journey. If she and her family experience even a fraction of the love I have received over the years, I know their lives will be changed profoundly, and beautifully.

Thank you, as always, for your incredible support.