6 days

The countdown begins. Only 6 more days til I go in for surgery. Am I scared? Hmm...Yes and no. There are always risks involved with major surgeries and this is no exception. I know that God has me covered though. I am not afraid of the pain...it is a familiar old friend I have not missed. My fears lie in the thought of "being sick". It's more than the physical alteration of removing my breasts. It's the scrunched faces of those who greet me differently, who see my battle and not me. I'm still Tika.

Update:
Yesterday I received a call from my surgeon's office. I held my breath hoping they weren't calling to change my surgery date. Thankfully they were calling with good news. The results from the genetic testing I had done were in. I do not have the gene mutations. Thank you, Lord... Why is this important?

There is some evidence that, over the long term, women who carry these mutations are more likely to develop a second cancer in either the same breast or the opposite breast than women who do not carry these mutations. (More info on BRCA1 and BRCA2 testing here.)

One more thing, I will be seeing an integrative oncologist on Thursday to discuss and plan for complementary therapies that might be helpful for me during this time. It is expensive at $500/hr out of pocket. Please consider donating to our fund to help cover the cost of this appointment and others like it. Thank you!

Praise Reports: 
An air mattress has been offered and meals for the first 2 weeks post surgery have been covered. Thank you! The meal schedule beyond that looks a little different and you can find details here.
My sister-in-love will be here Tuesday to take care of me and my family for the first week when I come home from the hospital. So thankful! My mom is also taking care of me by sending me some clothing items to help with the awkward and painful first few weeks.
I am also extremely thankful for the friends that responded to my SOS for Charlie yesterday. You know who you are!

Prayer Requests:
Please pray for my family. Each one of us is processing this differently, yet I already see that it is drawing us together. Please pray for my children especially. They have both expressed their feelings that they do not wish to see me at the hospital. My hope is that they will change their minds, but I do understand this is so hard for them.
This is hard to ask, but please pray for donations to be made to my cancer fund. Thursday is my last day working so I will no longer be supplementing Charlie's income. Charlie has missed many hours from work this last month in order to be at my side for my appointments. He will miss even more this month following my surgery. As an hourly employee, this hurts. And cancer is expensive.

Needs:
The same as above, we are asking for donations to be made to my cancer fund account. Please consider any amount you can give, big or small, a life-giving gift to help me fight this.
We are also looking for anyone with an organic vegetable garden to share your bounty. I will not be able to garden this year, but need those nutrients!
As I said before, meals have been covered for the next 2 weeks, but the summer schedule is wide open. Please don't be intimidated by our food restrictions. "Simple" is best and my friend, Kris, that has graciously organized the meal train for us is very experienced and happy to answer questions and give suggestions. Details are here.

Thank you all so much for all you are doing to support our family through this trying time! Today, I will rest. Our street is being paved so I have no excuses to go do errands that can wait. This is a good thing.