Mom

Mom had her appointment today at Emory. She said the doctor was very good, and she has confidence in him. He will do surgery next week to amputate her right index finger down to the second knuckle. At the same time, he will remove at least one lymph node under her arm and possibly one at the elbow. Tests will come back in a few weeks to let us know if the cancer has gotten to her lymph nodes.

She says she's at peace with things and took the first possible appointment for surgery. She also feels certain that her lymph nodes won't be affected. She's in good health other than a little high blood pressure. The area on her finger hurts occasionally, and I think she's looking forward to the end of that. If the tests indicate that the cancer is not in her lymph nodes, she'll only have to have check ups. The procedure will be done as out patient surgery, and we should be home right about dinner time. I told her we could start calling her Stubby instead of Cricket, and she thought that was pretty funny. We had a cat without a tail a long time ago, and that was his name.

I'm more worried than she is, but I'm grateful we have a next step. The stress of worrying what this appointment would lead to was a lot. Mom has such a positive outlook on the future, and her faith in God is powerful. She only cried a little bit last week when she told me she had melanoma. We're praying for the best possible outcome.