I needed to act all "boom pow!" and put people at ease because in turn I needed them to be strong for me. If I showed them that this was no biggie, then they could feed that idea right back to me. And it worked. Through Facebook comments, text messages, and phone calls, I had a steady flow of kickass positivity that kept me going until those final minutes when I was ushered into the creepy operating room and laid out like Jesus on the table. My body shook from the nerves and cold, but before I could even start counting from 10, I was waking up, in tears, and looking up at my family.
This stage was finally over. I didn't have to pretend anymore.