Well, it is finally arriving. Surgery is in 15 hours. Tonight I have to take a shower with the special soap they provided, and then another in the morning before I go. I am nervous beyond belief!! I arrive at the hospital at 5am (and I am NOT a morning person), and surgery is at 7:15. I should be out by no later than 9am and in recovery if all goes well. My sweet hubby will be with me, and will keep my bag until I am assigned a room. I am supposed to have my 2 shakes today and a lean cuisine for dinner. Nothing to eat or drink after midnight except enough water to swallow my meds. I am taking them out of the capsules for quicker absorbency.

They checked my gallbladder, pancreas, and spleen on Friday to see if anything else needs attention while they are in there. I also have a hiatal hernia they are going to fix. Gallbladder disease runs in my family, so they thought it might need to come out too. I don't know the test results yet, so I guess I'll find out when I get there!

I was blessed with my TOM today (I am sure from stress), so now I get to deal with that while I am in the hospital as well. I have heard this is not uncommon for women who are still menstruating, so I guess I can manage. If this happens to you, be sure to take your favorite products with you as I hear that what they provide is terrible. At least my surgeon said I don't have to have a Foley since I don't have bladder issues. That is some consolation!!

I am mostly worried about my mother while I am gone. She has Parkinson's, and I have been her primary caretaker for almost 7 years. She is now in the final stages, and I am just praying she won't pass while I am in the hospital. My sister is going to help take care of her while I am gone, and that was the first thing she said to me, so it's not just my imagination. She is getting close! The hospice nurses believe so too. I guess if it happens it is God's plan to spare me of it, so I will accept his will. I just hope that I am wrong. She wants this for me, so she may be waiting to see that I do it, and that I'm alright before she goes. I am doing this partly for her, as she has worried about my health. It's just tough to go into this with that much stress, and worry. It makes it hard to concentrate on me, and I need to do that to get through this without problems.

Please say a prayer for me or at least send out some good vibes! I could really use them!

Tina