The date was April 15, 2015. Five years ago today. I was at Thorek hospital in Chicago. Two months earlier, I had found a mole on my upper back. Melanoma. This was the day that it was removed. I walked into the hospital at six am. I was in surgery by ten. Two hours later the procedure was over and the Melanoma was gone. I was cancer free. I was home by one pm.

Seven hours from beginning to end, including travel time. It was a pretty simple procedure. I wonder if it would be as simple today while we are in the midst of a pandemic?

I’ve been thinking about hospitals and doctor’s offices quite a bit in the last month. My main thought is trying to do everything possible to avoid them!

Four weeks ago, I was scheduled to have a follow up visit with my gastroenterologist. I had seen her two weeks earlier for a somewhat minor stomach issue. Little did I know that in the fourteen days between visits, the world as we knew it had changed. A few hours before my appointment, I received a call from her nurse. This was what she left on my voicemail:

“We want to talk to you about your appointment this afternoon. Is there anyway we can handle this over the phone? If you can avoid coming here, that would be a good thing.”

My doctor’s office is in the same hospital where I had the surgery five years ago. It’s full of people passing germs back and forth. Plus, her waiting room is always jammed packed with waiting patients. I knew I didn’t want to go there that day. I was going to cancel the appointment. They just beat me to it.

We did handle the issue over the phone. No biggie. I was told to reschedule a follow-up in a couple of months. Fine with me! The latter the better!!

I know I’m not the only one thinking this way. There are statistics showing there have been less emergency room trips of people showing heart attack symptoms. You wouldn’t think that people would risk major heart damage to avoid coming in contact with the coronavirus, but maybe. That’s some scary thinking if it’s true.

My one great hospital fear during this quarantined period is that I would have a kidney stone attack. If you’ve had one, you know how painful it is, especially when it first begins. I’ve had nine of them. Every single one has resulted in a visit to an emergency room. I got prepared! I’ve been hoarding pain killers from other medical incidents….the real good ones!! I don’t carry those around with me, but I know how to get them in a moments notice if needed. Thank goodness, they haven’t been needed yet.

Last weekend, I was perusing the social medium world when I saw that a friend of mine was having a kidney stone issue. His first thought was to try and tough it out for the weekend. Trust me, if you can handle three days of kidney stone pain before doing anything, you’re the new Superman. No super powers for my buddy. It was off to the emergency room. The hospital visit and CT-scan showed multiple stones. Sorry, man. I hope you’re feeling better and that you were safe at the hospital.

So on this fifth anniversary of being cancer free….of being a survivor…I have a lot of gratitude. I’m grateful for the last five years. I know it could have been worse…much worse. I’m grateful there’s been no sign of the Melanoma returning. I’m also grateful that it happened then instead of now. Who knows what would have occurred if we tried to deal with something like a surgery in this uncertain time. I’m grateful I don’t have to find out. I wish the same for everyone.

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