Tomorrow I have an appointment to get all my angel kisses checked...and I mean ALL of them. My melanoma surgery was a little over 2 years ago, and since then I've visited the doctor every 6 months for her to look over my body for any other troubling spots. I jokinging-ly call it a "paid violation" because I'm willingly paying someone to check every dark and secret crevice on my body. SCARY. And it so does not even matter that I'm married, it's still dang weird.
Since this doctors trip also means a harrowing trek up to Salt Lake, we're making an afternoon out of it by hitting up City Creek and our favorite Texas de Brazil for Ryan's early birthday dinner {heavens knows we need a break from school}. It was absolute serendipity because I've had this appointment planned for the past 6 months but we just found out that the classes Ryan & I have on tomorrow got cancelled and on top of it we got an awesome email coupon for Texas de Brazil. It was totally meant to be, and I love when that happens ;)
I went to my dermatologist appointment with husband and brother in tow, got all my angel kisses checked out, and there is nothing alarming as of right now.
Phew!
I took the picture above a while ago, recently ran across it and loved how it photographed!
The pic is my wedding ring...ok, one of many.
I'll explain :)
I have a few different rings I go between.
The vintage aquamarine & diamond ring that my mom gave to me when I was young, the Wal-Mart ring Ryan proposed to me with, and a ring he got me in San Diego last Christmas.
{Ring Ryan proposed with, which I wear when I'm feeing gangsta}
Pretty much we are going to be poor college students/newlyweds for a while and I could not see any reason for going into $5,000 worth of debt over some sparkly thing on my finger.
I figure it'll be way fun on our 5th anniversary to be on vacation and be proposed to all over again with the ring of my choice!
Tomorrow is my first dermatologist appointment in almost a year.
Truthfully, thinking about it scares me.
Granted, I'll have Ryan with me this time.
The first time I made my way to the cancer specialist in Salt Lake was over a year ago, and I went all by myself.
The whole office kept on asking why I didn't have my boyfriend/fiance with me?
Well, cause hhhheeellllllooooo I'm a big college girl and can do this myself.
I got some moles scraped off for testing, got my WHOLE ENTIRE body checked out {yup, every embarrassing crevice}, then promptly took my little booty over to the mall for some retail therapy.
After 12 staples on my right forearm, 9 staples under my arm to stitch up where they took out 3 lymph nodes, not being able to take care of myself for a month or so, losing 10-15 pounds {I wasn't too sad about that part! haha}, and being constantly lethargic are all things I know will happen if I were to be diagnosed again.
I have to constantly remind myself:
"If it happens again, you are suffering now for the sake of your future family. By getting that ugly cancer out of your body you are ensuring that you will be around for your husband and future kids for years and year to come. You are gonna be around for so long they are gonna get sick of you! ;)"
Despite psyching myself out, I'm working on being optimistic here! Good thing I'm gonna get myself some apple pie right now. And, I have some money saved up specifically for my 'retail therapy' needs tomorrow :)
Earlier this year I was diagnosed with Stage 1B Melanoma {skin cancer}.
The kind that usually happens to 80 year olds and the kind that if not taken care of, could be deadly.
I don't want to sound all dramatic, and it's kind of funny to me now, cause at the time of the news I didn't think it was that big of a deal.
That is...until the doctors started freaking out that I was 19, and at such a young age I had this growing cancer that could spread fast.
I was scheduled to have my surgery the week before finals of Winter semester 2011.
They took out a chunk out of my right arm, and lymph nodes.
After the surgery, I couldn't move, I couldn't really think straight. I felt helpless.
It was especially hard for me because I'm self-sufficient and having to ask people for help was difficult.
That's when I realized just how madly and deeply in love I was with my then fiance.
He would pick up food and make food for my mother and I.
He helped pack up my whole apartment and move it to a storage unit.
Would tuck me in at night, and make sure I was comfortable.
Made sure I was taking my medicine on time.
Would hold me when I was crying out of frustration because I couldn't even put a t-shirt on without being in miserable pain.
Writing this right now makes me tear up with joy, because I am so tremendously blessed and lucky to have him in my life.
I'm proud of my scars because it represents the strength of my family, my parents and brothers for helping me and nurturing me back to health.
The love and care of my close friends.
The growth and strength of my relationship with my husband.
It represents all the prayers and talks I had with my Heavenly Father, asking for help, guidance, and comfort.
They prove to me how strong I really can be.
I love my scars. They remind me daily of the many blessings that are in my life. They constantly remind me to be grateful, caring, compassionate, and loving. They also remind me to thank my Heavenly Father for everyone, everything, and every day that I have.
{Stitches, 12 staples, and super glue, this is the day after the surgery}
{Right after the staples were taken out, still trying to get the super glue off}
{3 lymph nodes taken out, stitches, 9 staples, then super glue. The day after the surgery.}
Watch this. It'll give you more information on melanoma, what to look for, and what to do next.
Please make an appointment with your doctor today and have a loved one check the angel kisses on your body to be safe :)
