Today was a productive day getting organized for being off work for six weeks. I was able to pull some reference material together, contact lists, etc., for others to refer to while I’m out. I also had an interesting phone call this afternoon with a gentleman from another of our locations.

He needed an assist with something he’s working on, and as we were wrapping up the conversation, I asked what his timeline was for a response. I mentioned that I would be off work on January 4th for surgery and would try to get something to him before then. He inquired about the surgery and when I told him that I had prostate cancer, he opened up. He had been through the same surgery 3 months ago. He shared his story with me and I really appreciated having another patient’s perspective.

I also had to call the FMLA/Short-term Disability (STD—could they possibly not think of a better acronym???) administrators to get that paperwork rolling. The person on the other end of the phone showed little compassion. When she asked why I needed to be out on leave and I told her that I had cancer, she didn’t even bat an eye before tabbing to the next field in her database. Perhaps you become numb hearing everyone’s ailments all day long and my expectations are too high.

Tomorrow morning I have an appointment at the hospital for an EKG and some blood work; next week I have two appointments for more pre-surgery screening.

Hopefully everything comes out okay and no one stomps on the brakes to delay the surgery.

Finally, there were no real doubts about my decision today. No second-guessing. No buyer’s remorse.

Time to throw a load of laundry in the washer and get ready for Christmas Eve at my sister’s.