Writer’s Note – I’m back in business.  Finally.  So, once again, I want to thank everyone who continues to stop by and check out my blog. 

September 24, 2016 – I watch my daughter lying in a hospital bed…the sounds of the machines hum and ding in a monotonous melody.  Tubes run in and out of her arm and her nose.  The smell of a hospital room permeates everything.  That antiseptic smell that anyone who’s ever been in a hospital or clinic knows so well.  I’m watching her and flashing back almost twenty-two years.  This same child was only five days old when she had open heart surgery, and then spent the next two weeks in an IC ward (see February 19th).

It’s almost unbelievable, and I think I wouldn’t believe it was true if the sounds and smells weren’t here to remind me.  Once again, we’re dealing with keeping Emily alive and healthy.  I can’t even explain both the shock and dread that Vicki and I are feeling right now.  It’s enough to make you wonder, “When is enough enough?”  We simply don’t know where to turn, who to ask, and what to expect.

Yesterday Emily had surgery to remove a cyst from her ovary and part of her fallopian tube.  The surgery itself was successful, although due to the large size of the cyst, Emily would lose one of her ovaries and its fallopian tube. During the last part of the surgery, her doctor came to see us in the waiting area.  We had been told that either a nurse would come find us as the surgery was winding down, or we would get a call on the in-house phone in the waiting area.  As soon as I saw her doctor, I had that feeling – that feeling you get that sets off all those alarms inside your brain – that something was wrong.

My beautiful, young woman!

While examining the cyst, the surgical pathologist noted a tumor that appeared to be malignant.  Cancer!  Oh, God! Cancer!  We both went numb.  I’m not sure we were even listening at that point.  Our world was suddenly and cruelly spinning out-of-control.  Our daughter, age 22, has a form of ovarian cancer.

For now, this is all I want to say regarding Emily’s situation.  It’s been more that just difficult to handle – it’s been surreal and heart-wrenching.  I’m just not sure where this road is going to lead us.

Note:  I borrowed the title of a previous blog entry – …When September Ends – to help frame how I feel about another crisis in my family.