THIS JUST RELEASED

I've been released!

My surgeon said "Have a nice life" and I said-OOOOOOH I most certainly will-Praise the Lord :)

My scars looked great, the biggest still red and a little sore, but otherwise fine. Everything else was great, great, great. Nothing to worry about, nothing to fret over-

ISN'T GOD AMAZING!!

I feel soooo good. My friend Lana's husband commented a few nights ago that I seemed like a different person-"you're just so bubbly and happy" AND I AM-and IT FEELS GOOD. I feel better than I have felt since before I had menigitis in 2007-and it is not anything that a doctor can explain or that man can accomplish-I give GOD all the glory :)

Surgery

Friday, December 19 @ 3:45 pm

That's the big day!

Hopefully an end to what has ended up being a crazy ride :)

We will drive down on 12/18, have pre-op the morning of surgery and surgery is scheduled to begin at 3:45 pm. I will be in the hospital through Sunday for sure and then as long as I am healing well, I will be allowed to go home.

They will take out a little less than 1/2 of my liver through a bikini hole and will use the other holes from gallbladder surgery for instruments, etc.

They are still very encouraged that things look good, that it is by their knowledge completely benign, but we will know more and get a 100% when they take it out.

Thank you for your prayers! I am nervous about being in Charleston, getting home, and everything being so close to Christmas.

The next step . . .

The next step . . .


We will be seeing Dr. Kenneth Chavin @ MUSC in Charleston on Friday, November 21 at 8:45 am. This will be for a consultation. While there we will schedule surgery #2. The plan is for laproscopic liver surgery to remove the mass on my liver. There are still no results from the biopsy, but both Dr. Chavin and Dr. Srinivasan agree that no matter what the results are, the mass should be removed.


The more I process this, the more anxious I grow. But I know without a shadow of a doubt God is in control. Our prayer is that this mass is benign, that they will take it out, and God will have all the glory. We know that the results are in his hands, and I am struggling to remember this as I deal with the realities that this entails.

Good Morning

Wow! It's amazing what a good nights sleep in my own bed will do!! I'm still a little tender, but I feel great compared to yesterday!! God is soo good. I still don't have much of an appetite, I haven't been hungry at all. But thanks to a sore throat, I've been able to drink a ton and stay hydrated. Russell slept with Isaac in his bed last night so I could have our bed to myself. I surrounded myself with pillows and had a great night. I woke up a few times. But it was much less interrupted then Wednesday at the hospital. We are hoping to hear biopsy results today so that we can move forward, I will post when we hear anything.

Home again, Home again

After one really long day and night we are home!!

Here's an update:

-They ended up doing surgery about 2 hours earlier than planned.
-Dr. Srinivasan was able to do the liver biopsy after he finished my gallbladder.
-I have 4 boo-boos, covered with bandaids and closed up by stitches.
-My abdomen is so swollen I could be 12 months pregnant.
-I spent the night, because they had a hard time getting my pain under control.
-I feel like someone has been digging around inside with one of my ribs-really.
-I'm home :)

Thank you for your prayers, phone calls, etc. I am still really sore and just trying to move around. I must return to the couch.

Tuesday Update

1. Surgery is set to begin at 5:30 pm tomorrow @SRHS
2. Surgery will include gallbladder removal and a liver biopsy
3. There is a 50% chance I will spend the night and 50% chance I will come home.
4. We have to be at the hospital at 3:00 pm.
5. My Mom will pick Isaac up from school and keep him.
6. I can't eat after midnight or drink after 6am, going to be a long time till 3:00 pm

I'm sure you all are taking this as certifiable proof that I am loony, however putting it all out there in list form really helps me to grasp it, and make sure we have our bases covered.

At present I have been dashing around completing different crazy tasks that I thought I would still have time to get done. I really want the house to be as clean and orderly as possible-and if you know me, you know I struggle with clean and orderly, unless we are having company. So far the kitchen, dining room and blue bathroom are good. Still have to work on Isaac's room and our room and then make a den sweep.

As you pray, pray for peace tonight as we prepare, pray for strength, knowledge for the surgeon, and most of all God's hand in all this :) We covet your prayers through this journey!

I will try to have a blogging stand in tomorrow, so check for updates

Surgeon

We got a phone call yesterday and now have an appointment with Dr. Srinivasan on Monday. This was a lot quicker then expected and we are glad to have one more thing fall into place with God's help. Dr. Srinivasan has a great reputation and is an expert in laproscopic procedures. There is still the chance of other tests being ordered. According to Dr. Mossburg, the only things I haven't been through at this point are an MRI and just regular Xrays. So, there is a very good chance that before Dr. Srinivasan makes a decision regarding surgery, he will send us for these tests. That's okay though-We want to go into this with the doctors being armed with as much information as possible, and if that means me going through more x-rays, etc., then we are willing to do it. If I had to pick a perfect surgery date it would be 11/21, because I would get 10 days in a row to reccupperate and only have to take 3 off and it would still be 6 days b/f Thanksgiving, so by then I should be feeling better. But, we all know picking the perfect date is impossible and that God already has all of that planned and in his control.

Sooooo, as we go Monday, I simply pray for grace in accepting what our Maker has paved the way for and remembering that through it all HE is in control.