Life Changes

Chapter 4

As Lacy and Mindy entered the doctor's office, Dr. Einsteen felt a twinge of pity for the young woman he was treating. Although he tried his best not to get too involved with his patients, one had to have some kind of feelings for people in order to take good care of them. After all ,his purpose was to try to be what she expected him to be. A caring doctor.

Hello Lacy, he said as she and her friend took their seats. After introductions were made, the doctor pulled out some papers from the folder on his desk.  I have some news for you, Lacy. It isn't the greatest news in the world but it isn't the worst news you could receive either. I will try to give this to  you  in layman's terms to make it easier for you to understand. The blood work showed nothing but I am afraid the xrays and other test we did gave us some answers. You have a tumor in your stomach. It isn't too large to remove but is going to pose a couple of challenges for the surgeon. There are roots that grow and spread from cyts and tumors. This one has some that have spread around the lower end of  your colon. This means you will also need a colon resection. This can be done at the same time of the removal. The other problem is that the tumor is on your ovary. We are going to have to be very careful to not damage the ovary.

I know this is going to take time for you to grasp but I would like to send you to a good surgeon; a friend of mine. I would recommend him for  my own daughter. Now,  what do you think? Do you have any questions?

Lacy felt as if she were frozen in time. "Is the tumor malignant, Doctor?" she ask. I am almost positive it is not, since nothing showed up in your blood work. But the surgeon will do a biopsy when he removes the tumor. I will not lie to you, though. Some of these tumors do turn into cancer if left alone for a long period of time. But not always. I usually tell my patients to try to take one day at a time but on the other hand one has to be prepared for anything. You can rest assured whatever it is, the surgeon and I will get you through it. Dr. Einsteen tried to fight off the negative thoughts that ran through his head as he said those last words.

After talking to the doctor and setting up another appointment, this time with the surgeon, Lacy and Mindy left the office. "I am so sorry Lacy. I hate that you are going to have to go through this, but you know I will be there for you. You know we all will." "I know you will Mindy. I just pray it isn't cancer. Oh, Mindy; I can't help but worry about my ovary. If it is damaged during the surgery I may not be able to get pregnant. I want to be a Mother."

Mindy tried as much as possible to encourage Lacy not to worry. She did talk to Lacy a little about the fact that she might need someone to stay with her for a while. They discussed being room mates. Lacy loved her apartment but there were too many memories there. She felt it was time to move on leaving the memories behind.

With the surgery scheduled a month ahead, Lacy and Mindy had plenty of time to get Lacy's things moved into Mindy's house. Mindy was blessed with a big stretch of land and a rather nice farm her Grandmother had left her. Lacy had heard a lot about the farm but having only worked at the lodge for 5 months, she had not visited Mindy at her house. At first it was the fact that she was attached, then when he left her she just had not felt up to visiting. She was in no way prepared for what she saw as they drove around the curves of the long driveway. They were both excited to be leaving their apartments.

"Oh my gosh, Mindy, it is so beautiful out here. I had no idea. The house, the mountains. You even have a lake next to you." Lacy was so excited she did not know what to say, much less what to do next. She just wanted to take off exploring and look at everything. It seemed as if the land stretched as far as the eye could see. The sun was beginning to set as Lacy stared into the distance. She thought it was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen.

"Well, settle down, hon, you have as long as you want to look around. This house is plenty big enough for the both of us. As far as that goes we could probably both get married and still have room for our children. We have 6 bedrooms, and 3 baths." Mindy laughed. Lacy went to work but her mind was on the day she would have time to just take a walk around this beautiful place looking at the wild flowers, hills, valleys and anything else she might not know about. She felt like someone else. She suddenly felt so blessed to have a friend like Mindy.

Two of the guys who worked at the lodge had agreed to help Mindy and Lacy move their things. One had a van and the other a truck. Mindy had a truck besides her car. With Lacy's car, there was plenty of room to get her things to Mindys. She only had a small apartment. Most of it was furnished. They were able to finish up in one day. They were all very tired as they drank coffee and talked about work.

The work day ended with the guys being fed sandwiches, chips, and cold drinks before being sent on their way. They all had to be at work the next day. They were truly blessed to have 2 such good friends as Steve and Larry. They would take nothing offerred to them for the work they had done that day. It was sort of funny how life worked out sometimes. The girls had a great place to live, a good job with wonderful co employees. Life seemed so good, until one remembered what Lacy would be facing in just one month.

Lacy chose a bedroom right next to Mindy's so they could yell back and forth if necessary. They had already toyed with the idea of having an intercom put in since the place was so large. And of course, there was always texting. They were both so excited about the move they had trouble settling down that night but eventually the exaustion set in and they both fell asleep about the same time.