I am very sorry to hear that!
As for the tattoo I have one on my side/ stomach and it hurt beyond anything I have even felt and I have had spine surgery, tore my rotator cuff, and I have my forearm tattooed. I barely felt the forearm tattoo but I passed out when they were tattooing my ribs.
Mind you I am a giant wuss. But it hurt a lot. My Gf has 7 BIG tattoos and she is in the middle of getting a boa done on her stomach, side, and thigh - She can barely get through the sessions. And she had half of her back done (the top half HAHAH) without even flinching.
If that's where you want it than the pain will be worth it. But that kind of tattoo could go anywhere and still look AWESOME.