At the Hospital

Well, we went to the hospital today. It was a long drive. Really. It's an hour and a half trip.

We left late. E stalled a good bit, and so we slept longer than we should have.

Dropped the kids off with my First Sergeant (how cool is that?). Except for M, who started her first day at German Kindergarten. She was quite excited.

Anyway, we went there and checked in. Doc sat us down and we briefed back and forth. He looked absolutely resigned and defeated. Spoke optimistically.

Surgery is Tuesday. It'll be the whole breast, and anything else they see while they're in there.

The biopsy came back positive for the breast tumors, but we pretty much knew that already.

Several tumors in the lungs, a few of them of decent size. They might radiate her chest after they do the surgery.

They're also going to do a slew of tests, since she's in the hospital...


So.

After we chatted and hugged, and I had all her stuff put away, had checked her in with hospital administration (I'm getting good at hospital German), and hooked up all her electronic comfort items (iPod, cell phone...), it was time to leave.

It was a long drive home. I've left her in hospitals before... but this was different. Same as when I came into the house and it felt so empty. It felt like practice instead of just another hospital visit. Practice driving home alone, practice coming back to the empty house, practice being with the kids alone.

Anyway... have a busy day Tuesday. Lots of appointments with Chaplains, the clinic, Army Community Service, Army Emergency Relief, WIC, Central Enrollment, etc...

and my own eye appointment. It's time to see how my eye surgery is going.

And at the end of it all, today, Top cooked a BBQ for us. What an amazing Soldier. I have such immense respect for him. Even more so now.

Well, all for now.