A/N ONLY:

Dear readers,

I thank you for being so patient with me and taking this long to update you. So you remember how I said last time I was going through a move? I finally got my books out and put away after months. I was reunited with my friends (I mean my books) and I am re-reading the entire LCO series again to get back into the rhythm and mindset. I am on the Creeping Shadow currently as I have had... a lot of time to read lately.

You are probably wondering what I mean by that.

At the beginning of October, I had to undergo a surgery due to a large cystic mass that took up most of my abdominal cavity. Abdominal cavity, if you don't know, is the space from the hips to the top of your rib cage that is not inhabited by organs. This mass pushed aside my organs and grew to a rather large size, as I am a small person. You are probably wondering how painful it was, but to be completely honest, it didn't hurt. It was uncomfortable and heavy, I was honestly just thinking I was gaining a lot of weight at the time. I was self-conscious, but I wasn't worried. I was 167.8lb (76.1 Kilo) at 5'2" (152.4 cm) and my family has a history of gaining and losing weight quickly. My dad had a habit of getting a hard gut when he gained weight, so I also though my hard round stomach was a component of my genetics.

My mom got worried so I was taken to the doctor to get tests done. Bloodwork and an X-ray. The bloodwork didn't hurt too much, just the initial poke, however, the lady kept moving the needle, which did hurt. The X-ray was painless and quick, but the line to get in was the exact opposite. The bloodwork was fine for cancer cells and hormone balance, but the X-ray showed fluid and inflamed organs. So they scheduled me in for an MRI (.

MRI's are weird. They make you drink this god awful slimy liquid (it was vanilla flavoured, which made it all the more disgusting. I like vanilla, but that was nasty) two waterbottles full. Then they had you lay down and poke you. The try to do it on the clearest vein on your arm, which happened to be near the inside of my elbow. After they take a few pictures, they then let this weird warm liquid into the IV (the needle sticking in my arm). That was an odd experience. If you have ever seen the old Willy Wonka movie, you remember violet talking about hot tomato soup running down her throat. Same experience, except the feeling, runs all the way down to your toes. Makes it feel like you have peed, but you know you haven't, but you aren't sure cause the feeling sticks around a few minutes. The liquid makes your insides glow like the colour white under a black light. This helps the MRI get a 3-D print of your insides.

The doctor looked it over the next day. However, he did not, I repeat, not at all, say that there was anything wrong. He just referred us to the children's hospital in Merced. We thought I was going to be fine. So two weeks later, I was driven to Merced. We waited for a while in the Oncology (sector of the hospital in a waiting room. I find a few kids shows to be very insightful, and watching them during the wait was nice, considering my nervousness (I have two younger sisters so it didn't bother me in the slightest).

Finally, a nurse asks us in. Only to be back to waiting. Eventually, we get to see the oncologist. The Dramatic Irony of this is that no one who was with me, nor myself, knew what oncology meant. It was the study of something, maybe a disease? So we go in, (and wait again) until the doctor came in. She talked to us about my families history about genetic dysfunctions, illness, or diabetes. It was standard procedure. We gave her the CD containing my MRI information and she left.

More waiting later, and finally, she comes back with a large computer. She started with my spine, and slowly panned in from my back. It's like a 2-D flip note, each frame going further inside the body. Slowly there was a small dot that remained when the spine was gone. it was about in the centre, toward the end of my rib cage. As the Flipnote moved forward, the dot got bigger. Suddenly we started seeing white blobs on the side as the yellow dot grew larger, my heart and lungs pressed against my ribs. Those white masses were all my other organs. This is where I learned the meaning of Oncology. The study of Tumors and Masses.

I had a large cyst. What that is, is a cell malfunction resulting in a flesh-pocket of fluids, blood, etc. Turns out, females have regular occurring masses on their ovaries. These come and go as each month goes. They are supposed to be "flushed out" (I will not explain anymore) during each month. Mine didn't. I don't know how long it was growing, maybe a year, maybe more. The Doctor told me and my mother that I would be inserted into the hospital, and the surgeon scheduled me in the very first spot the next morning. My mother was very worried. My family was worried about me. They would repeat the questions I had already answered, the doctors, but I didn't mind. It made me more aware of what was going on.

I was staying in a hospital.

As I said before, we had no clue what was going to happen the minute I stepped out of my house to go to Merced. I didn't know I was sick. So my mother had to go and pack for about a week stay, somehow call into work, and get me my school work for almost a month. That was a 3-hour roundtrip drive, not including making sure my sister was okay at home. I was trying to make sure everyone was okay. I didn't feel worried. I tried my best not to look it either. They hooked up an IV in my hand (again, not as painful as I thought, but damn it itched)

I don't remember the next day much. I remember meeting the nurses and being rolled into the waiting room for surgery (again, waiting). This nurse came up to me, asking me questions about myself and explaining what they were going to do to me during the surgery. Then she injected stuff into my arm. There were a few seconds, I don't even remember falling asleep, and then there was a pain.

I was being rolled back into my room and blinding pain was in my stomach. Every move, every jolt, every tile passed was burning. It was like I was half asleep, my eyes opening for only milliseconds at a time, but my body was wide awake and screaming. I wasn't screaming, luckily, but maybe it would have helped. My organs were back in place, my stomach was small, my body was in shock/sleep due to the numbing agents used during the surgery. I remember that my father was there. I remember him turning on one of our favourite movies when I got into my room.

There is a button they give you to press if you are in pain. It is supposed to release medicine to take away the pain. I ended up pushing it 27 times in the first ten minutes of having it. Around 6 I started coming around and the pain got much better. My dad was gone, my family was horrified at how skinny I looked. My height was the same, but I was now 123.4 pounds (55.9 kilograms).

The next few days in the hospital were very pleasant. The nurses were surprised that I was walking the same day out of surgery, and my nurse on the night shift was very nice. I was a night owl, and, since it was a children's hospital, they had small twinkling lights on the ceiling that kept me company. I went through several movies on their movie cart, met a service dog, and while the food wasn't phenomenal, the ice cream was fantastic.

So, that is why I have been out, I am practically reading as I type. I will have the new chapter out and maybe and ending before the yuletide season.

Stay Tuned and Thanks for Reading!

-Pheonix