Cooperative Living June 2017 - 42

Rural Living | by Margo Oxendine, Contributing Columnist
Good riddance to a
season of surgeries
After a weird, not-at-all-wonderful winter and spring, it's time to get back
to happy times and fun foods. But I never want to see another chicken-fried
steak as long as I live.
H
ere's something I haven't said
since I was a teenager: I can't wait
for summer!
What a weird, not-at-all-wonderful
winter and spring. There was the second
knee replacement, which did not go
nearly as " well " as the first one. But, I
was finally walking in the woods again
by September, so I enjoyed my favorite
season, outside in the glories of fall. (I
had to be cognizant, though, of where
the hunting gunshots were coming from,
decked out in bright colors, cringing and
praying some errant shot didn't get me.)
Then, at the end of November, I
decided I'd probably better go to the
dermatologist. There was an odd " thing "
near my eye, and another on my arm.
Better get them checked out. I am a
malignant melanoma survivor, so I am
aware of the dangers. But, it had been
17 years since my awful bout with that
deadly disease. I was fine. Wasn't I?
Well, no. Here's a warning, folks:
Melanoma can kill you almost before
you know it's there. And just because
you can't see a weird thing on your body
doesn't mean it isn't lurking there, where
you can't see it. Get checked out, please!
The place on my face was simply a
keratosis. The doc sprayed liquid
nitrogen on it and in about a week, it
was gone. (I just wish he'd told me to
cover my eyes before he sprayed that
stuff!) The place on my arm was a
sarcoma; it's a step below a melanoma,
but still ... I also had two sarcomas on
my back that I couldn't see. These
were all scraped off in a painful way,
and bandaged.
Then, the doc says what you don't
want to hear: " Hmmm. I don't like the
looks of this. " This turned out to be a
mole on my back that I could not see or
reach. It came back positive for
melanoma. So, more surgery. Ack!
40 | Cooperative Living | June 2017
All those bandages on my back were
bothersome. I couldn't reach them, and
they had to be changed daily. For that, I
relied on my sister and my closest
friend. They performed their nursing
duties with good cheer, God bless them.
By March, I was feeling tip-top
again, happily going about my
carefree days.
Then, wham! I ate a
big, greasy meal
(chicken-fried
steak with gravy
and mashed
potatoes).
Sounded great
at the time.
Tasted pretty
darn good. Until
about a half hour
later. Then, I was
overcome with a
feeling that a pony had
plopped onto my
I thought a lot about this. I went
to see the surgeon. " You can wait, "
he said. " Your body's been through a
lot in the past year. But, it could
attack you again. "
So, I made my appointment and
lived with dread and stress until
the fated day arrived. My
sister drove me to
I am so looking
forward to summer,
and happy times,
and eating
cheeseburgers
again.
midsection. It just got worse.
I did nothing but sit around and moan.
Of course, this happened on a Friday,
and my doc wasn't in the office. Isn't
that always the way?
I knew what it was, regardless: My
gallbladder. Sure enough, I related my
symptoms (which by then had abated
somewhat), and was told what I already
knew. I had a sonogram of my
gallbladder and sure enough, there
was a stone and what the doc delicately
referred to as " a pudding-like substance "
in my gallbladder. I would need to have
it surgically removed.
I whined and complained. " I can't
stand any more surgery right now. And
certainly, no more anesthesia! " I
inquired whether I could just wait, since
I felt " fine. " Sure, she said. You can wait.
And then you can have emergency
surgery when it attacks you again.
Augusta Health.
I was quickly
given some
" feel good "
drugs,
thank
heavens,
and then
before I
knew it, the
nurses were
waking me
up. It was over!
I felt great! (Of
course: There were
the drugs.) I was giddy
with relief and how good I felt.
That was the end of April. I can't
believe I sailed through something I
dreaded so much and put up with
for so long.
I am back to feeling tip-top,
and I can't imagine there's one more
thing that could possibly go wrong
with me. I am so looking forward
to summer, and happy times, and
eating cheeseburgers again.
However, I never want to see
another chicken-fried steak as
long as I live. 
Spice up your summer reading with
Margo's " A Party of One, " a
compilation of columns from the past.
Call 540-468-2147 Mon-Thurs, 9-5,
or email: recorder@htcnet.org.
www.co-opliving.com
http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living June 2017

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