The 2 Weeks Following Surgery

The last post was the day before surgery. It has been 2 weeks now and so much has happened.

Wednesday March 20^th started early for Heather and me (Owen was at a friend’s house). We were at the hospital at 5 A.M. for pre-op. They gave me my fashionable gown and hair net and then we waited.

We were moved to the pre-surgery area where we met with the anesthesiologist and surgery nurses. When the doctor came in he greeted me with, “I have already been praying for this surgery today." Now that made me feel really good! I took Heather by surprise when I asked the doctor if I could pray for him. He agreed and it was such a privilege to pray for him. Anyone who knows my wife knows it made her cry.

They whisked me away to surgery and Heather went to wait. Several people came to sit with her that day. Her best friend Kathy spent most of the day with her, which made her very happy. Others came throughout the day including my parents and our worship pastor Brent.  The surgery, which lasted nearly 8 hours, consisted of taking out my thyroid, jugular vein on my right side, 30 lymph nodes, and some tissue from a neck muscle that showed signs of cancer. Yes, I said 8 hours. It was a very intense surgery that involved moving and cutting many nerves.

Such a beautiful 10 ½” incision with 26 staples.

When I got out of surgery I was in intense pain from my shoulders being held in the same position for so long,as well as the nerves that had to be cut. They put me on a morphine pump and I spent most of the night “peaceful” (hitting the pump every 20 minutes).

The next few days we had many visitors come by to check on us and bring dinner for Heather, and  I was able to leave the hospital on Saturday March 23^rd.  That weekend was quite painful and uncomfortable. Every day since coming home from the hospital we have had friends bringing dinners every night, which takes a huge burden off of Heather.

I was able to work from home last week and this week. I am still experiencing quite a bit of pain, but it is becoming tolerable.

We went to the doctor last Thursday to get my staples removed and they told us that out of 30 lymph nodes only 2 had cancer. Now to back up, the day I had my biopsy she checked my thyroid and saw one lymph node swollen so she decided to check it. God just happened to have her check one of the two that had cancer. That lymph node is the only reason they did all the surgery on the right side instead of just the thyroid. I call that God showing off. The doctor also believes they got all the cancer.

What’s next? Radioactive Iodine Treatment and full body scan. That will start in May. I will blog about that experience as we walk through it. I cannot wait for the "Cancer Free" post that is coming. 

Thank you to all who prayed for us, brought meals to us, and have come to visit. We have truly been reminded how much we are loved. 

Day before Surgery

Surgery is less than 24 hours away. Walking down the hall to the break room I was asked twice, “are you ready?”  The answer honestly is yes/no.

I not ready for the pain. I am not ready for the disruption to my life. I am not ready for my wife and son to see me in a weakened state. I am not ready to have to depend on others to do simple tasks for 3 to 4 weeks. I am not ready to deal with the finances. I am not ready to wait to see if they got it all out. For these, I am not ready!

I am ready for “I AM”.  I am ready to see God work through my wife and son to minister to me. I am ready to watch as friends love on us. I am ready for God to continue to show me how precious life is. I am ready for the day when the doctor says, “you are cancer free!”  I am ready for “I AM”. Why do I keep saying that? I am ready for Jesus to show off. I am ready for the peace to grow, like only the peace He provides can. He is called I AM! He is the God of the past, present and future. Yes in the past He was there and in the future He will be there. Most importantly thing right now is that He is now, I AM! Not just I was or I will be, He is now.

James 1:2-4 says:

2Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

I have underlined “so let it grow”, because that is our responsibility. I am to allow this to grow my faith.  When? NOW! He is I AM.

Thank you for your prayers, gifts and support during the difficult time. My friends and family are unbelievable!

In Him

Mike

All my fears, All my dreams, Held in Your hands

So everything in life seems to have a theme song. We are naturally motivated by music, whether it is for our home team, favorite TV show, movie, or etc. Even in our worship we have songs that we sing and songs that we “feel”. In this time of battle and trust I have found such a song. Read these lyrics and then go buy the album!

"Sovereign"

© Chris Tomlin - Burning Lights Album

Sovereign in the mountain air

Sovereign on the ocean floor

With me in the calm

With me in the storm

Sovereign in my greatest joy

Sovereign in my deepest cry

With me in the dark

With me at the dawn

In your everlasting arms

All the pieces of my life

From beginning to the end

I can trust you

In your never failing love

You work everything for good

God whatever comes my way

I will trust you

Sovereign in the mountain air

Sovereign on the ocean floor

With me in the calm

With me in the storm

Sovereign in my greatest joy

Sovereign in my deepest cry

With me in the dark

With me at the dawn

In your everlasting arms

All the pieces of my life

From beginning to the end

I can trust you

In your never failing love

You work everything for good

God whatever comes my way

I will trust you

God whatever comes my way

I will trust you

All my hopes

All I need

Held in your hands

All my life

All of me

Held in your hands

All my fears

All my dreams

Held in your hands

All my hopes

All I need

Held in your hands

All my life

All of me

Held in your hands

All my fears

All my dreams

Held in your hands

In your everlasting arms

All the pieces of my life

From beginning to the end

I can trust you

In your never failing love

You work everything for good

God whatever comes my way

I will trust you

God whatever comes my way

I will trust you

God whatever comes my way

I will trust you

Website: http://www.christomlin.com/burning-lights . You can order the CD or go to iTunes directly from the site. Also you can find more information about the tour.

What is your current theme song? Notice I say “current”. I believe God gives us new songs for new seasons in life.

Thanks for your prayers! 

Mike

Between Now and OK

When I thought of 2013 I thought the toughest things I would face was turning 40 and figuring out what to buy my wife for our 18^th anniversary. Then January 26^th happened.

January 26^th I went to have my yearly physical. My job pays for us to have a complete physical every year as a part of our wellness plan. During the ultrasound of my throat they found a lump on my thyroid. The Dr. assured me this was common and not to worry, but recommended me to see an endocrinologist. Wednesday, February 13^th I met with Dr. Amanda Cunningham. She explained everything to me and then performed another ultrasound. She then informed me that the lump was fluid and solid, which meant the solid had to be biopsied. She took a sample and then went to check to see if she had enough for the pathologist.  She returned to explain that it did not look good and that she needed to biopsy the lymph nodes as well. She called me on Monday February 18^th to tell me that the biopsy had come back to reveal that cancer was found in the thyroid as well as the lymph nodes. 

Cancer! Remember  the hardest things I had to face this year? No problem on those now.

My first response was fear. Then peace. You know the peace the Bible refers to as the peace that passes all understanding. See God had shown me over the weekend that it would be OK. Now my only issue is “between now and OK”. That is my theme. I know He has this planned out. I know He will provide. I have already felt the love from family and friends. It is the time “between now and OK” that is not going to be easy.

I am going to have my thyroid removed and all the lymph nodes on the right side of my neck.  A 5 to 6 hour surgery and 2 to 4 day hospital stay.  This is not going to be fun!

So why am I telling you this? Number one is to encourage you to have a yearly physical. Number two is to pray.  Pray that God gets the glory from this. Pray that healing comes. Pray that provision will be there. Pray for my bride and son to trust Him. Pray that I not be too much of a baby during the recovery process :-).  I cannot tell how thankful I am for people who have already reached out to my family and me. God truly provides!

In Him

Mike