The Skin You're In

Good news/ Bad news:

I had to have surgery on Friday.
It was not the worst type of surgery, I was not given anaesthesia, although a  drink before hand might have been nice.
I did , however, have plenty of local Numbing Stuff.
The surgeon was gentle and kind, her assistants were gentle and kind and if one has to be in that position, it was the least awful circumstance to be in, surgery-wise.

I am one of those lucky blonde blue-eyed people. ( if you wish to call this luck)
I tan easily.
I grew up in Southern California, Hawaii and North Carolina.
I was that little white haired child running around with the "cute"freckles on my nose and a tan.
I rarely even had any peeling, I just got brown.
In those days, right up until a few years ago, the fact that I tanned so nicely was a treat.
I looked good in the summer.

I , like most people, enjoyed the pleasures of lying on a chaise by a pool, on a towel at the beach, riding in cars with the top down.
I always thought I looked better with a tan.

Then one day I showed the skin doctor the little bump on my thigh that wouldn't go away.
And before I knew it, I was having my first skin cancer removed .

More than 10 years later, I had this spot on my other thigh, it would not go away, it didn't hurt, it just sat there and silently made me nervous.
Finally I saw the dermatologist here in Buenos Aires.
She did  a biopsy, she gave me the surgeons name and there I was , having skin cancer removed in Buenos Aries.

I am in the sun because we live in a city and we walk everywhere.
But I really think that even if I lived in a cave at this point, a lot of skin issues will still happen, because they started years ago when I lay in the sun and got brown.

Yesterday, Friday , I had my third skin cancer removed.
Basal Cell.
On the back of my ankle.
A tricky place to have any kind of surgery, skin removed.
I will be fine.
A plastic surgeon did the surgery so I expect my ankle to look even younger when the bandages come off.
Until then, I hobble.
I stay in and don't mind because it is cold and windy out there .

So let me feel that I helped one person avoid  having the fright of waiting for a biopsy to come back and from having to hobble or worse , have a scar that might not be on your ankle or your thigh but on your face .. Wear serious sunblock.
Wear a hat.
Stay out of the summer sun.
Sit under the umbrella.
Be smart. Stay pretty.
Stay alive.

Now will someone please bring me a glass of water ... I need a butler.