"I like to move it, move it"

... as my kids often sing! I got back from France on Thursday after
successful surgery on Tuesday and a very restful Wednesday at my
parents-in-law's. By the time I reached Chesterfield I was exhausted,
and spent nearly 12 hours in bed that night, but I'm feeling much more
normal now.

Yesterday's only outing for me was to the Optician's with the kids ...
not quite sure how, but 3 eye tests ended up taking over two and a half
hours!! Still, it is done, and it's still easier to do it here than in
Benin.

And today we are off to Bath. I love taking my family to places where I
grew up! And it is always lovely to renew old friendships and share
about our work in Benin.

When plans change

We're now in England again. But I will be back in France again in eleven days' time. It's as if I just can't decide between the two countries!

I wanted to see my gynaecologist while we were back for a smear test, because I believe it is very important to keep up to date with these kinds of tests even when it's a bother because we don't have much time in Europe. So I booked an appointment to see her during our one week in Nancy. The smear test was fine, and she removed a polyp from my cervix (sorry about the details, but I think it is good to talk about these things so that it is less of a surprise if it happens to us or people close to us). The polyp was analysed and it was benign.

Since my mum and grandmum had breast cancer, my gynae had already sent me for a mammogram two years ago, and prescribed me another, and a scan of my uterus (I think because I told her about extra bleeding just before my period), if I could manage to get appointments before leaving France.

I got a two-in-one appointment for those, but it was on a Friday just four days before we were due to leave France. So when the mammogram was clear but on the scan they discovered another polyp, this time in my uterus, and said I must consult a gynae, that rather threw me for six. I did quite a lot of crying and then some internet research, and eventually found myself an emergency gynae appointment at a clinic for the Monday afternoon, less than 24 hours before we were to leave France.

That gynaecologist said that he really thought the polyp should be removed before we returned to Benin. He said the worse case scenario would be hemorrhaging in Benin ... and I wouldn't want to risk that ... or not-so-bad but still not great, losing excessive amounts of blood each month and ending up very anaemic ... also not a very nice idea! He could, however, operate on the date I asked for (limited slightly by my monthly cycle), and got me an immediate emergency appointment with an anaesthetist, since I needed to see one at least 48 hours before my operation. And all the other paperwork was wrapped up there and then too.

So I'll be hopping back onto Eurostar the week after next, and having my operation on the 19th. Marc's parents will look after me while I'm in France, and my parents will look after Marc and the kids in England, so it works out pretty well. As someone said to me, at least this has come up when we have the time and the people around us for it to be possible.

At the clinic on Monday, it just felt like God had put everything in place and it was unfolding in front of us. Very reassuring.