Part 3
Cheynie debated about the surgery for days. She wasn’t sure she wanted to deal with the risks associated with going under the knife but she knew she couldn’t continue in her current cycle of severe discomfort. Her sister sat with her and helped her research the procedure and create a list of pros and cons so she felt she was making a well-thought-out decision.
Once she decided, she couldn’t shake the fear that accompanied her choice. The night before her surgery, she sat wrapped up in a blanket on her oldest sister’s couch, sipping hot tea. Her sister was taking her to the doctor in the morning and her parents were on duty to pick her up and be her caregivers in recovery.
“Why are you sulking?”
“Maya! Is that really a question? I’m going into freaking surgery. Geesh!”
“I’m not saying you can’t have a few jitters, but if you go in there expecting things to go wrong, they will. It’s not that big of a deal. I mean, its an outpatient procedure. All of us have prayed over you and you’ll have Mom doting over you to make sure you’re okay and have a speedy recovery for the next few weeks. Plus, you get time off of work. It’s a win, win.”
“How you manage to be encouraging and insensitive in the same breath, I’ll never know.” Cheynie rolled her eyes and took a sip of her tea.
“C’mon. I ain’t tryin’ to be insensitive. Just think, once this is over, so is the pain. You’re my baby sis, I want you to be pain-free for a while. Your body is just so different from the rest of the ladies in this family.”
“I know. It’s kind of crazy. I keep thinking, why me? As if this is some type of curse.”
“Technically, it is a curse and you can blame Eve when we get to heaven.”
“Thank you, Theologian Maya. I’m serious though. Sometimes I wonder why I was the one to have to deal with this.”
“Sis, you’re not alone. We’ve done the research. This is way more common than we realize. Just like everything else about a woman, it varies from woman-to-woman. You’re not the first and you won’t be the last. Now, you have the opportunity to help educate others. Pour into the generation after you and help them identify what to do differently or what helps. They’ve done these procedures plenty of times. You’ll be fine. Do I look like someone who would lie to you?”
“You’re right. I’ll try to keep that perspective tomorrow when I’m counting backward from 100 after they give me my anesthesia. And side note, you know you have a good poker face.”
“True. When you go under, you can do like I did when I had surgery on my knee,” Maya gestured toward her leg, “I talked about French toast the whole time because evidently, my inner fat girl is loud and proud.”
Cheynie started laughing and realized that laughter was exactly what she needed. Laughter and joy would scoot fear and doubt out of the way. Her sister was right. It was a simple procedure and she’d be home, binge-watching Netflix before the day is over.
The next morning, she signed in for her appointment and a nurse greeted her warmly.
“How are you feeling today?” The nurse wore soft pink scrubs with her hair pulled up into a curly ponytail. A cute green scarf wrapped around her head and had a cute bow at the front where her bangs hung down.
“A little nervous but hopeful,” Cheynie replied.
“Hopeful is always good and nervous is normal. But no worries, I’ll be with you the whole time. I had this same procedure two years ago and I would do it again. The monthly cramps, bloating and pressure on my abdomen disappeared and I feel like a new woman.”
“I love hearing that. Thanks for sharing.”
“Sure. Not just that, I immediately got pregnant afterward. I figured kids weren’t in my future but turns out, they were and I just had to get rid of my fibroids to create space for a child to grow.”
“Now, that’s a testimony.” Maya mimicked a church wave, making Cheynie giggle.
“I appreciate you sharing that, I really do. Not everyone is open to discussing this.”
“Yeah, we have to do better as women sharing our issues and concerns, especially Black women. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Let’s have you take off your clothes and put on this gown. I’ll be back with the doctor shortly.”
Cheynie had a lot of fear-based questions but didn’t want her imagination to run wild. For now, she needed to focus on staying positive and getting through the day. Her mom promised to bake a peach cobbler while she rested. That was certainly something to look forward to in the days to come. Maybe she would mumble about peach cobbler the whole time she’s under.
Cheynie blinked her eyes open and tried to focus as her sight adjusted to the glaring light. Her mom and dad were standing at the end of her bed laughing with their heads bent over a phone. She reached up to rub her eyes and her parents gave her a big smile once they realized she was waking up.
“There’s my big talker!” Her dad kissed her on the cheek. She gave him a quizzical look.
“Talker indeed,” her mom added while handing her a cup with water in it. “You had the whole room cracking up honey.”
“What? What are you talking about?” Cheynie tried to sit up but immediately felt soreness in her lower abdomen.
“No, don’t try to sit up just yet. Your bed will tilt.” Her mom grabbed the bed’s remote and adjusted it to tilt her up slightly.
“You were feisty once the anesthesia hit and wanted to educate everyone on the importance of black women and why dating sucks. I’m not sure if there were any single men in the room but you might get a date after this.”
“Even after surgery, you kept mumbling, ‘if you don’t know, now you know.’ You would have made Malcolm X and Dr. Ruth proud.” They both broke out into laughter again. Her dad waved his phone at Cheynie, “I even got some of it on tape. I’ll show you once we get you home.”
“I would blush if I knew what I said but hey, I guess it was just in me.”
“That is was. Perhaps we should have put you through law school so you could be a policy-changer for the government. You gave quite the opening argument.”
“Well, your dating app experience might not be the best thing to take to Congress but who knows?” Cheynie’s mom kissed her on the cheek, “How’re ya feeling baby?”
“A little woozy right now but glad it’s over and you two are here.”
“Of course, we are. We remember praying over you as a young girl when all this first started. Thank the Lord this will provide relief.”
Cheynie let out a deep breath. Relief. Something that she desired so desperately for the majority of her life. She never imagined surgery would be her best option but she was glad she hadn’t let fear get the best of her. Maybe now, she could see a different future for her health and her body.
