So I have something to share with you...

First things first. I must apologize to my family and friends who are reading this blog and finding out for the first time about what’s going on.

On Tuesday I will undergo surgery to remove a small benign tumor on my right parotid gland. You can read all about what the gland is here. Basically, it's the largest salivary gland in your body, and it's located on your cheek. I've got a pesky little tumor, called a pleomorphic adenoma, that's been hanging out there for who knows how long (we discovered it two years ago), and now's come the time that it must be removed.

I've got all sorts of trepidations, and have weighed the pros and cons to having this surgery ever since it was first diagnosed. Since the tumor has doubled in size over the past two years, the doctor highly recommends surgery at this point. There are many risks involved with the surgery, but there are even more risks if I choose to do nothing. Again, it's benign (non-cancerous) at this point, but it could still cause major problems if left alone.

I plan to track my recovery and feelings from day one of the surgery, and will provide pictures of my progress. My hopes for this blog are tri-fold:

1. to have a place where I can track my progress.
2. to share my recovery with my family and friends.
3. to help those who may be going through the same sort of health issue.

As of today (September 18, 2011), only a few of my friends even know this is going on, and most of my family knows nothing. This is not something that is easy to talk about, and I hate to bring bad news to the table. I've decided to keep this from most of our family (both mine and my husband's) and friends for good reason - if it turned out this was nothing but a normal little nodule and no surgery was required, I didn't want anyone to worry. 

We do plan to tell our family, but only after the surgery. So please do not post any comments on Facebook. Send me an email or post a comment on here. And please forgive me if you are just hearing this for the first time.

Also, I am an emotional wreck right now, and not able to discuss this without falling apart. We have not told the kids yet, but plan to do so tomorrow evening, so please do not bring up this subject if you should see us over the next 36 hours. Tomorrow night I will find out what time the surgery will be on Tuesday, and Tim will update the blog once I'm in recovery. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers.

***Warning - I'm going to use this as my online journal, and may say things you may not want to hear, or show images you may not want to see. Just prepare yourself. And if you do not like it, by all means, stay away.***