The night before surgery

Hello all, this is Allie making her debut on this blog. As I type, Paola is showering, hopefully savoring the experience, as we fear she may be limited to sponge baths for the next few days. Following the hospital's instructions, Paola has removed her jewelry and her nail polish.

Tomorrow we have to be at the hospital at 5:30 AM. At this moment it's a little past midnight, so you can see that we aren't getting much sleep tonight. Paola and I had a wonderful dinner (Thai) with one of her friends, Emily. It's been a busy day, full of errands and medical appointments and attempting to prepare for the next few days. Paola was pleased to find post-it notes with the pink ribbon (breast cancer awareness) logo on them at Office Depot. She stocked up!

Paola's phone has been ringing off the hook all day with well-wishers. (Or, I should say, people have been calling, but due to cell phone ghosties, the phone hasn't been ringing, so Paola kept finding new voicemails...) Her friend Grant dropped off a lovely and thoughtful gift. She's looking forward to hearing from everyone (and seeing those who are in the area) while in the hospital, although it's likely she won't be up for visitors tomorrow.

Paola's out of the shower, and she reports that she did enjoy it. Off to take a shower and head to bed as morning will arrive far too soon...

Following is Paola's email to friends and family on the eve of the operation:

Dearest all,

I apologize in advance as many of you already know much of this information. Still, I wanted to take one final pass at my ENTIRE contact list to assure that everyone's up to date. I should mention that this email is going to folks living all across the US and CANADA (go Camel!), the Middle East, Europe and South America. Between all of you, there are over 10 languages spoken and about that number of nationalities represented. Finally, you all rival the UN in your ethnic, racial, and religious diversity. How cool is that?

As I prepare for surgery in a few hours, I wanted to share with you all that I am single-mindedly dedicated to beating the *#&$*%*^ out of this cancer so I may resume my life as an all around kick-ass girl, triathlete and Googler. I have heard your fighting words, felt your supportive embraces, and continue to bask in your collective love; and though I know the road ahead is tough, I am tougher! Cancer ain't seen nothing yet!

If you have been keeping up with paolablog.blogspot.com, then you know that the surgery is scheduled for Wednesday 16 August, 7:30 am - 5:30 pm PST @ Stanford Hospital, in Palo Alto, California. Allie will do her best to blog something tomorrow telling you all how things went. Googlers and TNTers--you have your points of contacts to find out more details. If you are outside of these networks, the blog will be your best bet, but please know that *I* won't be able to type for at least on week--potentially much longer--and Allie will have limited access as she'll be by my side at the hospital. You may also call the following numbers directly (corrected from previous email) where they'll be able to tell you whether I am out of surgery or not. Unfortunately, that's the extent of what they can reveal due to U.S. patient privacy laws.

Stanford Hospital Ambulatory Surgery Center
Before 7pm: 650-498-4835
After 7 pm: 650-723-5163

I leave you tonight with the knowledge that I am most definitely loved, and the promise that I will put up the fight of my life starting tomorrow in that OR. I know that you will all be there with me along the way in my long recovery. So let's keep marching, together, and learn about ourselves and each other through this journey. Thanks for everything so far and see you on the other side of the anesthesia.

Lots of love,
Paola