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.

Saturday Update

Well, I got to work yesterday! It was great to be with my students, I have missed them this week!!

I did get to speak to the nurse at my GI's office yesterday, here's what I got:

1.NO results from liver scan yet, it could be Tuesday before we hear.
2.I asked for them to go ahead and line up a consult with a surgeon, and they will wait until they get the liver scan results.
3. My bloodwork is back. Blood cell counts were great, but the enzymes for liver function were off.
4. I see Dr. Mossburg again Thursday at 3:30 pm.(This is giving them time to read and study the liver scan)

Friday morning I had another gallbladder attack. I've been given something to help with the pain, but it didn't seem to make much of a difference. Looking back it might have taken some of the edge off, but not much. So, I'm really hoping that they will move quickly to take this gallbladder out.

I'm looking forward to the next 2 days at home with my boys :)

Thursday Update

Uggh-I am so weary of the drive back and forth to the hospital and doctors office-This was our 4th appointment in about as many days.

Liver Scan-I was injected with a solution so that they would be able to get a good look at my liver and the mass. I had to wait 30 minutes for this to circulate through my system, before they could begin the scan. The scan itself took about an hour. I had to lay still for extended periods of time while the camera took slow images. Then they would move and do it from another angle. It was not painful, or scary, just draining. We will not have results for several days.

I have only been able to work 1 1/2 days this week (due to the tests and appointments) and that is frustrating and difficult for me. As of now, I will work tomorrow and get to be there all day, which will make it 2 1/2. I am still juggling 2 hats at work and so it makes it even more difficult to be out.

At this point I am emotionally drained. Zapped! I feel like I have been drug through the mud and back. Yick!

Next Step: I will call the GI doctor tomorrow and try to schedule an appointment for next week. My hope is Tuesday, since we will be off for election day. We hope that at this point they refer us to a surgeon for gallbladder and biopsy. The quicker we complete all these steps the better.

Side Note: Yesterday Dr. Mossburg asked me how I felt about all this and I told him that we just wanted to know what to do. That we were faithful in God's promises and know that he is in control of the situation. I was thankful for this opportunity to let him know where our trust lies!

Prayer: Continue to pray for us as we deal with the unknown, as we try to face this adversity looking to God for direction and Guidance.

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen things I have experienced in the last 7 days:

1. Abdominal Ultrasound
2. CT Scan
3. CT Scan with contrast
4. Tons of bloodwork
5. Nuclear liver scan
6. GI appointment
7. Discovering I have a gallstone
8. Discovering I have a mass on my liver
9. Discovering the mass is the size of a golf ball.
10. A loving and caring husband who has been with me every step of the way
11. Fear of what the future holds.
12.The awesome knowledge that God is control
13.The comfort and power of friends who pray

Wednesday Update

We love Dr. Mossburg our new GI! He is personable, compassionate, and to the point. He was reassuring that in many cases this mass could benign. But he is not settling for assuming, which we appreciate greatly!

What we learned:

1. The mass is golf ball sized. (This freaked me out, I had pictured a marble)

2. A cyst/mass like this is particularly common in my age.

3. Due to my "youthful glow" as he put it, I am at much less risk.

4. Still no definitive cause

5. Still no reason for it being there

Our Next Steps:

1. Extensive Bloodwork: Completed today. This will test liver functions, enzymes, and markers that could possibly indicate cancer. (and Lots of other things I can't remember)

2.Nuclear Liver Scan: Thursday 10:00 am This will be yet another Xray type procedure, with contrast to give more views of the liver.

3. Gall-Bladder Decision: I am still having a great deal of pain/problems with my gallbladder. The only choice at this point is to wait or to schedule surgery.

4.MRI, more tests: The biggy for our doctor is that we do everything that is uninvasive first to learn as much as we can, then we move on from there.

5. Biopsy-This will be the last option for now, but if gallbladder removal is schedule, this will for sure happen and happen at the same time.

Prayers:

1-A clear view in the nuclear liver scan.

2-Calm nerves for me and for my DH as he waits and endures with me.

3-Quick answers confirming what they find

4-Patient and caring radiologists to complete and read the scans

5-That anything I swallow will stay down ( I think I have to drink the contrast this time)

Today, this is the verse I cling to:

It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great. You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn."Psalm 18:32-36

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."Deuteronomy 31:6

I praise the Lord for the doors he has opened over this last week. For the glory he has revealed and for the strength he has poured out over us. HE has gotten us through day to day and contiues to do so. There are so many things going on in our world, the future of our Nation hangs in the balance as this election draws near. Remember as you pray to pray for this Nation, for healing and for people to take action in electing a new leader. But let's not forget all we have to praise! I look around at the beauty of my surroundings, my amazing family, the children I am blessed to teach, the friends God sent me this summer, just everywhere I turn I see God's hand and reasons for Praise! We praise you Lord for your glory-for even the ability to call on your name and know that you will answer.

Prayer request

I went today for a gallbladder ultrasound. I wasn't really worried about what they would find because we knew that it would either be: fine, sludgey, or a gallstone. Those were the options, at least the options we had imagined. We got a call back from the doctor before we ever even made it out of Spartanburg, which is never a good sign. They found a gallstone, but they also found something on my liver. When we went back to the doctor's office we were told that they have found a mass on my liver. I was blown away. If it had not been for my pesky gallbladder we would have never found this. God is SO amazing.

I'm still a wreck! There are so many endless possiblities. I go first thing Monday morning for a CT scan that will show all angles of the liver and hopefully give them a better view of the mass. Once they do this, they will schedule a biopsy so that they can see what we are dealing with. In the meantime, I am shocked, shaky, weapy, and really trying to lean on God's promises.

Please pray!!! We are praying that the doctors and radiologists will have wisdom as we go through this process and that we will have peace as we wait. I can be such a worry wart, so I pray that I can give to God and let him work in mighty ways!

I was just reading a blog yesterday, about the friendship and support found through fellow bloggers and it got me thinking how much I enjoy sharing what is going in our lives and hearts with others and getting to share their lives.

It is such a relief to pour this out and know that my friends will be lifting this up to the Lord!