The phone rang around 2:30 PM, and the caller ID showed that it was the hospital. The nurse called to share, “The tests are positive.” The first thing I asked was “Both of them?” She confirmed that both biopsies were indeed positive and that she was sorry. The next thing I asked was, “What’s the plan?”
“What are you doing tomorrow at 1:00 PM?” she asked.
“Whatever you want me to do.” I responded.
She explained that new patients are typically seen on Mondays by the surgeon, medical oncologist, and the radiation oncologist. With the Labor Day weekend approaching, I could see the surgeon on Friday to avoid waiting ten days to see everyone consecutively. I told her I’d take the appointment and would bring my husband on Friday. She explained that the cancer was ER+, PR+ and HER2+. She also told me to only look up sites with .edu, .org, or .gov extensions, which seemed like great advice.
My husband and I had decided that I’d wait to tell him of the news, but I called him since he would need adjust his work day accordingly. I told him that both biopsies indicated cancer and about the appointment, asking if he’d be able to attend.
The library had sent a note earlier in the day saying that a book hold was ready for pick up. I’d waited quite a while for Girl Wash Your Face. Knowing the library would either be closed or have reduced hours for the holiday weekend, I made my way to the circulation desk within one hour of my diagnosis.
My favorite library book checker outer Lydia greeted me with her bright blue eyes and friendly smile, going to the shelf where the hold books are kept without me even having to tell her that I was there for a book hold. Okay, so we’ve known each other for a few years through our kids and she probably sees my name come through on inter-library loan sheets, but I consider the circulation staff pulling hold books off the shelf upon seeing me as a quieter, library version of the Cheers gang greeting Norm.
Lydia gushed about the book. I told her a friend recently attended a movie theatre broadcasted version of Rachel Hollis speaking and really enjoyed it. While I also wanted to share my diagnosis, I knew I’d need to keep those cards close for a while since I didn’t have answers to the bajillion questions swirling in my head or didn’t even know the plan of attack.
On the upside, I had a good, easy read to take my mind off of things.
