To God Be the Glory

I am beginning to come out of the fog of anesthesia a bit more, so I thought I would sit down to write. I haven't had many "procedures" in my life, so this is sort of new. I have had two children, but had only meds toward the end of labor to take the edge off contractions and I had an appendectomy when our daughter was a month old. I was so doubled over with pain from my appendix that I don't remember much of that at all. My husband reminded me yesterday that I drove myself to the hospital from my doctor's office. I had forgotten that! Anyway, the best way to describe this feeling is that my head is actually a helium filled balloon and traveling slightly slower than my body. I find myself having to read things a few times before they sink in. I hope this part goes away soon.

My only other complaint is an itchy rash mainly on my torso, but also on my head and upper arms. I had a similar reaction after my biopsy and due to the orangish color of the swabs they used, I had thought it was an allergic reaction to Betadine. Yesterday I learned that they don't use Betadine for biopsies and it was likely something called Chlora-prep. This information was given to those prepping me for surgery, but alas I still reacted to something. I figure if a foggy head and an itchy body are my biggest issues, I am doing pretty well!

The surgery yesterday went very smoothly. I spent the morning getting injected with a dye so the doctors would be able to see the lymph nodes better and then having a guide wire placed in the area of the tumor since it was so small. It felt as though I might be able to pick up a signal or something! After being wheeled around and getting prepped for surgery, I spent the remainder of time in a room with my husband, my parents and a close friend talking and laughing. Around 11:30, I was taken to the operating room by someone I graduated with from high school. Although Kim and I didn't travel in the same circles so-to-speak, I remember her as a fun and easy to get along with person. She still is. We spent the few moments prior to my surgery talking about who still lived around here and about our class reunion coming up next summer.

By 1:30, the surgeon was speaking to my family about how everything went. There was no cancer found in the centinal lymph nodes. This means there is not cancer in my lymph nodes at all since it would start in the centinal lymph nodes and spread from there. Great news!! Back in recovery, someone was saying my name and I was thinking I am so tired, I don't want to wake up. Then I remembered where I was and slowly began to come around. As soon as I thought I could formulate words, I asked the nurse, "Did they find anything in the lymph nodes?" At first she answered, "I don't know", but then she said, "Let me look at your records here." What wonderful words they were when she soon after replied, "No they didn't"! I spent a quiet moment praising my Heavenly Father.

Although there is still much ahead of me for treatment, I feel almost a sense of freedom now. I didn't realize that I felt so weighted down until that weight was lifted. And yet I know I was not and I am not carrying this burden alone. My Father in heaven is looking after every detail and there are so many covering us in prayer. Our very humble and grateful thanks to you all.