I love my cousin... .

Yesterday I got a call from my cousin.  I knew she was undergoing retinal reattachment surgery that day, which, since I had undergone that very same surgery last month, I was keenly interested in and very aware of.  She told me her operation was over and she was at home resting.

She said her surgery had gone well and it hadn't hurt a bit.  I was so glad to hear this, not only for her sake but also because I am facing another bout of this same surgery myself.  My cousin knew of my bad experience with this same surgery in July, the first of my two emergency eye surgeries in a one week span.

When I reached out to her two days ago to wish her luck in her upcoming surgery, she alluded to her hope that her surgery would go better than mine.  I felt bad then that I had posted so readily about my "discomfort" from my initial surgery, which is apparently undergone often by old folks like me, mostly without notable pain or lack of success.

Mine wasn't so bad, I told her then on the eve of her surgery, and there were conditions present in my first operation that clearly were not present in hers that would undoubtedly make her experience much different from mine.  For instance, hers had been scheduled for a week already, whereas I was immediately slapped into the surgical ward within minutes of the initial consult with no time in which to reconcile the procedure internally, which left me anxious, and I didn't have any family present.  Additionally, I still don't trust the skill level of the anesthesiologist who was present that day.

Her son Jimmy had been there already to give her love and support, in stark contrast to my sons who apparently don't give a damn about anyone but themselves, and of course her husband Bill had been taking good care of her.  Certain friends of mine had wonderfully provided this support and love for me on a moment's notice, and others have called me to express their hope for my speedy recovery.

This sweetheart of a relative had reached out to me in the immediate aftermath of her surgery to assure me that her operation had been painless, as she knows that I am facing the same surgery, again, later this fall to get the oil out of my eye.  She knows intuitively that I have been facing this prospect with trepidation.  I love my cousin, so concerned about others even in the hour of her need.  Get better soon, Liz.