Well I made it out of surgery! It was a long day as we arrived at 9 am and didn't leave until 6:30 pm. I've come to realize the hospital is rarely on time, but I suppose that is ok, I wasn't in any rush to get anywhere. My friend Sarah came to sit with my family while I was in surgery, and while they were prepping me for surgery I was allowed to have two visitors in pre-op. The nurse had a hard time finding a vein for an IV, so I was stuck about three times until they were able to administer an IV - ouch! My right hand swelled up from being stuck, but I think it is going down now. This time I had my own room in pre-op, which was kind of nice though it wasn't exactly like staying at the Hilton! As time drew closer, I talked to my surgeon and a host of folks on the anesthesia team. They gave me three different types of anesthesia: a patch behind my ear, the gas type, and anesthesia through my IV. The nurse also gave me a heprin shot for blood clotting, which if you've ever had it, you know how incredibly painful they are - the medicine below the surface stings!
I was completely knocked out for the surgery, but unlike last time I was awake when they wheeled me back to operating room 19. It made me a little nervous, so I was praying along the way just to trust God and know He is in control of all things. They wheeled me in and everyone in there was in full scrub gear, they had music playing, lights overhead, and all the equipment laid out for the surgery. They had my name written up on the board with all my information, and just then, Kayla the anesthesiologist nurse grabbed my IV and said, "You'll feel this in a few seconds." ...and then sure enough, the whole room was spinning. I laid back and they put this mask on me and Kayla asked me to breathe into it, and shortly I was out.
I woke up with a scratchy throat, because they put me under with general anesthesia they had to put a large tube down my throat to breathe for me while I was "asleep." The anesthesia also made me so tired (and so frustrated, lol) because when my friends/family came back to visit me after surgery, I couldn't keep my eyes open! I wanted to sit up and socialize, to talk and joke around, but my eyes just would NOT stay open no matter how hard I tried. The nurse was trying to explain to me how to take care of my incision, and praise the Lord my Mom was there because I can't remember much at all.
Last night was kind of tough trying to sleep with the drain attached, and I was pretty restless. However, praise the Lord for anti-pain medication! I took one at my scheduled time and was able to sleep for a few hours, then Mom had to wake me up to empty the drain. I have to take the anti-pain medication every six hours, and the drain has to be emptied every eight hours. I'm SO hopeful that the drain will not have anymore contents by Wednesday, so I can go and have it removed earlier than Friday. The results from the surgery are not due back until Friday time frame, which is when we should get the pathology report telling us the amount of cancer found in the remainder of my lymph nodes and just how many lymph nodes the surgeon had to remove.
I'm doing a lot better than I thought I would be at this time though I'm still not able to get around super easy. I'm incredibly blessed to have friends coming over with meals!! I'm truly so grateful, beyond words. I am not able to leave the house with this drain attached, and my muscles under my left arm were cut to remove the lymph nodes and tissue. I'm not able to open doors or even pick up water bottles with my left arm, so I have to be extra careful. It's just such a blessing to know I don't have to worry about how I'm going to get food or where dinner will come from. I'm incredibly humbled by the selflessness of people around me, especially how God is working through them to serve me for Christ's glory!
I have to say, doing mission work for three years has been such an immense blessing as I've walked through this. God has used my experiences in going to share the Lord with people who do not know Him in third world countries and experiences teaching orphans to really show me how beautiful His plan really is, and how He orchestrates everything for His glory. I'm beyond blessed to have access to modern medicine, clean food, clean water, and quality medical care. God is so beautiful, and I'm so thankful for His love. I'm also even more thankful for the encouraging messages I've received from so many friends/family, all of which help keep me focused on the character of Christ Himself.
We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. - 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3, NIV
YOU are a blessing to me! God is so faithful, and as I lay fighting the pain of the incision and drain tubes running through my left side, I am reminded of Jesus in the Garden of Gesthemane. Jesus prayed for Himself, and knew His suffering would count for a greater glory. If Jesus can be so loving to lay down His own life so that we may know the love of God and be reconciled to God, enduring my own pain seems so minute and small. I pray God uses my own suffering for His glory and to bring people to Himself, and looking at my circumstances through that lens makes it all so very worth it.
I was completely knocked out for the surgery, but unlike last time I was awake when they wheeled me back to operating room 19. It made me a little nervous, so I was praying along the way just to trust God and know He is in control of all things. They wheeled me in and everyone in there was in full scrub gear, they had music playing, lights overhead, and all the equipment laid out for the surgery. They had my name written up on the board with all my information, and just then, Kayla the anesthesiologist nurse grabbed my IV and said, "You'll feel this in a few seconds." ...and then sure enough, the whole room was spinning. I laid back and they put this mask on me and Kayla asked me to breathe into it, and shortly I was out.
I woke up with a scratchy throat, because they put me under with general anesthesia they had to put a large tube down my throat to breathe for me while I was "asleep." The anesthesia also made me so tired (and so frustrated, lol) because when my friends/family came back to visit me after surgery, I couldn't keep my eyes open! I wanted to sit up and socialize, to talk and joke around, but my eyes just would NOT stay open no matter how hard I tried. The nurse was trying to explain to me how to take care of my incision, and praise the Lord my Mom was there because I can't remember much at all.
Last night was kind of tough trying to sleep with the drain attached, and I was pretty restless. However, praise the Lord for anti-pain medication! I took one at my scheduled time and was able to sleep for a few hours, then Mom had to wake me up to empty the drain. I have to take the anti-pain medication every six hours, and the drain has to be emptied every eight hours. I'm SO hopeful that the drain will not have anymore contents by Wednesday, so I can go and have it removed earlier than Friday. The results from the surgery are not due back until Friday time frame, which is when we should get the pathology report telling us the amount of cancer found in the remainder of my lymph nodes and just how many lymph nodes the surgeon had to remove.
I'm doing a lot better than I thought I would be at this time though I'm still not able to get around super easy. I'm incredibly blessed to have friends coming over with meals!! I'm truly so grateful, beyond words. I am not able to leave the house with this drain attached, and my muscles under my left arm were cut to remove the lymph nodes and tissue. I'm not able to open doors or even pick up water bottles with my left arm, so I have to be extra careful. It's just such a blessing to know I don't have to worry about how I'm going to get food or where dinner will come from. I'm incredibly humbled by the selflessness of people around me, especially how God is working through them to serve me for Christ's glory!
I have to say, doing mission work for three years has been such an immense blessing as I've walked through this. God has used my experiences in going to share the Lord with people who do not know Him in third world countries and experiences teaching orphans to really show me how beautiful His plan really is, and how He orchestrates everything for His glory. I'm beyond blessed to have access to modern medicine, clean food, clean water, and quality medical care. God is so beautiful, and I'm so thankful for His love. I'm also even more thankful for the encouraging messages I've received from so many friends/family, all of which help keep me focused on the character of Christ Himself.
We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. - 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3, NIV
YOU are a blessing to me! God is so faithful, and as I lay fighting the pain of the incision and drain tubes running through my left side, I am reminded of Jesus in the Garden of Gesthemane. Jesus prayed for Himself, and knew His suffering would count for a greater glory. If Jesus can be so loving to lay down His own life so that we may know the love of God and be reconciled to God, enduring my own pain seems so minute and small. I pray God uses my own suffering for His glory and to bring people to Himself, and looking at my circumstances through that lens makes it all so very worth it.
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