And the appointment is over!

Actually it was over this morning, but we've had a crazy busy day. Right after the appointment we had to rush to get Eric to work, then rush to a homeschool potluck. Then right after we got home, the kids did school-y things and I prepped for dinner (pizza!!!). The house didn't get cleaned up, but I suppose the mess isn't going anywhere. Am I right?

We arrived at the clinic early, since it was my first appointment. Right away at the door we were met with a big ol' sign that said "No Kids Under 16." I could go off on a rant about how stupid I think this is, but I won't. Needless to say I was disappointed because the kids have been to so many of my appointments, and thus far it's been no trouble. I ended up going to the appointment alone (sad face) while Eric and the kids took a field trip to the Burger King Play Area. I don't know what we'll do next time, maybe we'll just storm right past Cranky Man at the Desk and let him find an administrator to chase us. Heh.

The cancer center here is a busy place. I didn't like being there. I think I will forever have an aversion to clinics. After my paperwork was done, I was called back by a very nice nurse. She seemed happy that I'm not taking eighty billion medications, have not had any heart attacks or strokes, and have both my kidneys. I'm guessing I'm not their typical patient. She instructed me to put on a hospital gown, and then I waited. And listened to a woman complain about a rash in the next exam room. And complained on twitter and facebook about the waiting.

So my new oncologist, who will be referred to as The New Oncologist from now on, was pretty nice. He hadn't read my file, and kept saying how young I was and asking if I had cancer in my family. We chatted about how I was diagnosed and my treatment, I blanked out on the Fry Doctor's name, and he paged through my file. He examined me, commenting that I had a very nice ostomy pouch. The nurse agreed, saying it was nicer than the see through ones. Haha. And then we made plans for the next steps.

I know this is what everyone has been waiting for! In a month, I'll meet with a "stomach doctor." That's what The New Oncologist referred to him as, the "stomach doctor." There's probably a fancy name that I'm sure Stomach Doctor would prefer we use, but oh well. Sometime after that consultation, I'll have a colonoscopy (oh joy). In two months, I'm scheduled for a CT Scan, and a week after that I'll be back in The New Oncologist's office to talk about the results. Positive thoughts that we have absolutely nothing to talk about!

It wasn't a good feeling to be back at a cancer center. I was sad that Eric and the kids weren't with me. I was sad that I am dealing with this at all. I'm glad that I can forget about it all again for another month.

Thank you for all the kind words and positive thoughts this morning (and always). It means a lot to me, although I have to remember NOT to check facebook too much when I'm at the appointment, because I couldn't find any kleenexes (what??) in the exam room. Big hugs, everyone!