a public service announcement

hello etsy wedding friends -- before i post any lovelies, let me take a moment for a public service announcement, and what also may be a bit of TMI, so feel free to skip if you're squeamish.

yesterday morning i finally went in for a laser procedure to remove pre-cancerous cells on my cervix. it was a minor surgery, and i was back at work today, but it caps four years of (to me) terrifying doctor visits and a lot of worries. some of the visits were terrifying because i lacked health insurance, and some terrifying because my mother had a similar problem at the age of 32 and ultimately ended up with a radical hysterectomy (different era and complications). at least she *had* her two kids already.

cervical cancer is the second leading cause of women's death from cancer worldwide. if you have the means (i didn't), and if you're under 26 (i wasn't), i can't encourage you strongly enough to get the vaccine. it's not perfect, but wouldn't you rather have 70% less chance of a deadly cancer if you could? i would love to spare my 12- and 17-year-old sisters what i've gone through over the past four years.

for those ladies over 26 -- if you haven't had your exam this year, go get it! yes, it sucks. just go.

now, as a reward for reading my sermon, a little funny story: my mom came to town tuesday night and thus met the new boyfriend, who insisted on driving us all to the hospital (at 6:40am, points!) and on waiting through the surgery (more mom points!). way to hustle, boyfriend!

so here we are in the pre-surgery room. me in cocktail napkin surgical gown sitting on gurney, wearing some sort of cafeteria lady hairnet (hott!), and NBF and mom sitting in chairs along the wall, chatting like old friends. all is going so well. i am congratulating myself for how well this is all going.

in walks doctor N, a brisk no-nonsense woman. we go through some post-op care. eating, check. anesthesia, check. then, and i don't know why i didn't see this coming, she says: "oh, and no sex for four weeks."

time stops briefly.

me: {{reddening}} uh... four *weeks.* [thought bubble: no no no no do not make a face]

NBF: {{reddening}} ... [thought bubble: no reaction! do not make a face.]

mom: {{maintaining chipper-positive-all-will-be-well smile}} ...

dr. N: not kidding. you need time to heal. four weeks.

mom: {{barely perceptible-to-anyone-but-me eye flicker}}

me: {{crimson}} got it! yes. no problem. four weeks! moving on.

cringe. glad we got all that out of the way before 7am. poor mom. poor new boyfriend.

all of you out there, take care of yourselves!