When the nurse came to prepare me for surgery, Michael kissed my forehead.
“Mom, I love you.”
“I love you too.”
He hesitated.
“And I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For not noticing sooner.”
I touched his cheek.
“You are my son, not my doctor. I should have told you.”
He nodded, fighting back tears.
Then he stepped away so the medical team could take me to the operating room.
As the doors closed, I thought about Samuel.
I thought about the letter.
And I thought about the life waiting for me outside the hospital.
I was frightened.
But I was no longer ashamed of being frightened.
The operation lasted several hours.
The surgeon performed an abdominal procedure to remove the large mass and the affected right ovary and fallopian tube. The team examined the surrounding structures and sent the specimen to the pathology laboratory.
Because the mass was so large, the surgeons took care to remove it safely and avoid spilling its contents into the abdominal cavity.
