The day everything changed

• Surgery

I remember feeling surprisingly calm waiting for things to get started. I remember holding Hector's hand. I remember one of the hospital volunteers coming around and telling us a couple of jokes. We laughed at his silly puns and the old man went on his way, down to the next room. And then more nurses came and then more doctors, and then I was off, rolling down the hall.

When I woke up, I was in a room with a couple of nurses, but noone else. I remember asking them a few questions and within a few answers, I knew exactly what had happened. It was cancer and I'd had a total hysterectomy, along with an appendectomy. Dr. C had done staging for what was being presented as ovarian cancer, meaning he'd taken other samples to see how far the cancer had already progressed. My thoughts immediately went to Hector, Laura, and my parents who were all somewhere in this building, having already heard the news. I couldn't help it and I started crying for what felt like hours.