Whenever I don’t want to let my mind wander off on dark paths, I keep myself busy. With Jackie!’s surgery yesterday, I knew I would have to have a day jammed with activities. I planned on really throwing myself into getting things ready for Annabel’s birthday party, but then I woke up with an insane-looking eye.

Backing up a bit, the day after my dental work, I woke up with a somewhat-swollen eyelid. It was the same side I’d had my work on and my cheek was a bit swollen as well, so I figured it was all related. I took a picture for posterity:


focus on the inner beauty in this picture

The next day it was mostly gone, so I figured I was right. Then this last weekend, I came down with another really bad cold. Sore throat, cough, the works. We all have it. Anyway, when I woke up yesterday, my eye looked like this:

I would call that DECIDEDLY WORSE. So off to Dr. Looove I went.

During my exam, she felt my eylid, pressed on it, and then flipped it inside out so she could look at its eyelid innards. Gag. She diagnosed it as a large stye. Basically, my eyelid grew a tumor out of solidarity to Jackie!. I think that shows true friendship, and also proves that I love Jackie! too much. First plan of attack – antibiotics, with hot compresses and washing my eye with Annie’s baby shampoo to make sure it’s clean. If the first plan doesn’t help by the end of the week, I need to have it CUT OUT.

That’s a scalpel near my eyeball for those of you who don’t watch medical dramas. Nothing compared to getting a mass cut out of your brain, but definitely high on the Disgusting Chart.

After I left Dr. Looove’s office, I went to the party store, where all the little kids looked at me like I was Igor or something (what hump?) while I walked the aisles. Plus Annie yelled “DADA! GO!” the entire time, so my self esteem was suuuuuper high.

When I could no longer take showing my hideousness to the outside world, I went home and started obsessively checking my phone and email for updates on Jackie!. Luckily, her sister Jenni did an awesome job of keeping us all up to date.

Jackie!’s four hour surgery went well – the doctors got what they saw on the MRI, which is good news. No word yet on if what was removed is scar tissue or new tumor growth. We have to wait for the biopsy results, and that can sometimes take a few days. Jackie! herself came out of the surgery very well. She’s obviously got a killer headache, but she sang our school’s fight song and I’m sure she was pleased to find out that the surgeon didn’t shave her whole head – just the portion along where the incision was made. Knowing Jackie!, she will have some excellent headbands covering up that strip in no time.

Thank you to EVERYONE for your messages and well-wishes. I know Jackie! and her family will be reading them all in the days to come.

And don’t you worry your pretty tiger heads, I’ll keep you posted on my eye. I think the stye needs a name.