Writing letters to family and friends???

I had a bad dream the other night. (when I actually could sleep) I was getting wheeled to the OR and I panicked I wanted them to wait. I felt anxious that I had not told my family everything that I wanted to say before I went in. And, it was to late and I had to go into surgery.

So, I know that some people say that it might calm your nerves to write letters to loved ones before surgery. My question is
has anyone done this and it made them feel better? or Is it a negative thing to do that might make me feel worse???


Any thoughts would be helpful.....sorry if it sounds like to dark of a thought. It was just a bad dream.

xoxo, I think it sounds like a great idea. I wanted to do it but really couldn't calm down enough to put it all of my thoughts in writing (which, for me, is unusual since I basically write for a living).

Even so, I had a lot of long, personal talks with the people who matter the most to me. That first horrible weekend, when I first got my diagnosis, the focus of these talks was on me and the uncertainty of my situation. Later talks were on how much these people meant to me.

Calming down enough to put my thoughts in writing would have helped me, I'm sure. I just couldn't do it and then, suddenly, there wasn't enough time to do it.

You know, I have been thinking about the same thing but just the thought brings me to tears. If just thinking about it makes me break down, how am I going to actually write things down? What am I to do? A friend told me to videotape myself. That would be WAY worse..... for me... Any suggestions?

You know I have been thinking about it and maybe it would be easier to type the letters in the "draft" section of your private email. That way it would not be on paper, and would just be in your email box, in case. I know I am going to cry too, no matter where I write it. But, I think it would be easier that way. And, I can just tell a close friend that I really trust where the letters would be just in case. Sometimes typing and leaving info in the computer seems easier??? I don't know why. Am I making any sense?? lol

Telling people in person did bring a lot of tears. I even got teary just saying good-bye at work. It wasn't so much the surgery as it was the possible cancer diagnosis for me.

I sat down this morning and tried to write letters to my husband and kids. I had to stop because I just could not stop crying. I'm not even sure how to say all I want to say. This is so difficult. I'm not sure I'll be able to finish the letters.