I gotta say right up front that daddy's gonna help a lot with spelling and the big words I'll be using (although sometimes he gets on my nerves with all his "proper English" stuff!! And who still uses a red correction pen anymore!?) And I also gotta say mommy thought and thought and thought a long time before she let us tell you about her story--but she decided it would be a good thing for all of us to think about---especially all us girls. I think she's pretty curmudgeon (courageous).
So....my mommy has a REALLY REALLY bad family history of "girl" cancers. My great grandmom and my "mom mom" both passed away way too soon because of cancer. Mommy's doctor said she should get a generic (genetic) test done. She finally did it back in the early spring, and as I'm sure you're guessing--didn't turn out so well. I heard mommy and daddy talking about delectable munitions on her jeans (deleterious mutations of the BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 genes). After months of doctor visits and tests and a lump scare, mommy decided to strike first and have problematic (prophylactic) surgery. First she had a bicycle oofahooctomy (bilateral oophorectomy). That was in May and it went very well, although daddy says mommy's not such a good patient---she's too impatient! (HA--I think that's funny!) Then there was the lump thing and mommy decided to have more surgery. So the last week of June she had a bicycle mastodon (bilateral mastectomy). Dag--that bilateral word gets me every time! Anyway--remember I said I was in New Jersey for a few days?? That's why--mommy was, as she says, "gettin' her girl parts out". But she also says that she's gettin' some new parts and her and daddy have very weird conversations about that and I'm sure someday I'll get it but right now I just look at them and scratch my head!!! I don't know what an explainer (expander) is and recondition (reconstruction) just sounds like it would hurt a lot!! I do know that I don't like it that mommy can't pick me up, and I can't play "jumpee jumpee" on her belly anymore. I hear the Ps talking and sometimes they're laughing and sometimes they're not and they make jokes about "B's or C's" (mommy says, "Who care?? As long as they're up HERE instead of down THERE?!?!?"). But mostly they talk about mommy being around for a very long time now. And THAT is the best thing about all this.
So before all the surgery stuff mommy was trying to figure out how to think about what was happening, and what she should say to me and my sisters, and what it all means blah, blah, blah. Waaay too deep---so she decided to have a little fun.......and Krista and Kairstin went along and made the shirts....
Right before leaving for the hospital...
....and coming home!
And finally.....how about THIS hat?!?!?!?
