Living ~400lbs

This morning the independent musician, singer, songwriter, and all-around nifty person  SJ Tucker goes into the hospital to have an ovarian cyst removed.

I first heard of ovarian cysts when a friend had one removed that filled a 5-gallon paint bucket. Friend weighed around 330lbs at 5’6″.  For over a year she’d known that something was inside her belly.  But she didn’t want to deal with doctors.  Finally she ended up in the hospital for a broken leg and a nurse became curious about how her belly was distended, as if something was in there.  An ultrasound and an MRI later, and she was in surgery.

Reading about Kayla Hilton’s 93lb cyst last year brought a new fear: what if a cyst was growing in me and I didn’t know it?   How large could a cyst grow before I knew something was going on?

So, this is a fear of mine.  But it’s not happening to me.  It’s happening to a fierce fun bard whose music I dance to and who I laugh and giggle with after shows.

SJ, as you can probably tell from the picture, isn’t fat.  (She’s also not exactly tall.)  Her band name, Skinny White Chick, came from a bumper sticker crossed with a sense of irony.  SJ spent 5 days in the hospital while they did tests to determine what was causing the blinding pain that landed her there, and now she’s going in for surgery.

I would like to ask you to think of her or perhaps pray for her today; that complications will be few to nonexistant, the incisions will be small enough to heal quickly, and that the cyst will be easily removable.

I also invite you to listen to her music. No, she doesn’t have insurance, and there are fundraisers going on to raise money to pay her medical bills.  If you like the music, she’s selling the CDs and downloads … but really, today I just want her to finish this day healthy and healing.

UPDATE: SJ came through the surgery fine.   Whew!