Surgery Day....

I watched as the signs went by...first signs for Chicago then signs for Indianapolis. All the while I kept quietly to myself thinking about my mother. What was she doing right now? Is the surgery on time? How is my mother holding up? Is she ready to burst into tears as I am right now? I would pick up my book (Just get me through this! A practical guide to coping with breast cancer), given to me from a close friend (thanks Katie), flip through it and read until I had my fill of information. I finally mustered up the courage to read about the surgery- the very thing my mother was going into in just a few short hours. I read about the process- the healing and the possible complications. I closed my eyes and gave into God's hands- I prayed for her- I prayed for her the whole trip- 6+ hours. And then I prayed some more as we finally entered Kentucky and the hotel room. I held onto my phone; watching as time passed and day turned into night. I called my sisters- they hadn't heard anything either. I continued praying- it was the only thing I could do- the only thing that made sense for me to do in a time like this. Then it rang! I lunged off the bed- throwing myself to the table where my cell phone lay. I could see it was my sister Jen calling. I answered. "How is she???" There was no time for chit chat- I needed to know and thankfully my sister understood my bluntness. My sister replied, "She's in the recovery room and doing well. She has little pain- but that's probably due to the morphine drip they have her on. She will be staying the night in the hospital tonight." Finally I felt like I could breath!! She's out and doing well....

I must have some sort of nack for calling at just the right times- or maybe the 'wrong' times. I called my parents after much procrastinating on my end- or at least what felt like forever. My father answered and told me that they had just gotten home! Leave it to me to call right as they are walking in the door. My mother later told me that as the phone rang and not knowing who was on the other end my father commented, "How do they know right when to call?" Anyways- my father told me my mother was going to lay down and then he would pass the phone to her. I always knew but tonight was different- I KNEW my father loved my mother. It was all in how he described how beautiful she was as she was lying down and covering up with a gray sheet- well- it reminded me of Christ's love for us. There she was lying bruised and battered after her surgery- not feeling well emotionally or physically. And there he was- encouraging her- and just loving her. What a great feeling came over me- knowing that even though I can't be there- my father was there to care for her and show her Christ's love.

She sounded tried and drained. I expected no less from someone who had just endured such trauma less than 24 hours ago. She described her surgery- how she was asked all sorts of questions over and over by surgeons, doctors, and nurses. And finally, she just fell asleep...it seemed, to her, that the surgery only lasted a half hour but finally she woke up. She described feeling groggy and unable to talk although she tried. Finally she uttered to the nurse, "My throat hurts." The nurse went on to tell her that she had a tube down her throat during the surgery. "I'm just happy to be home," my mother said. She told me about the drain under her armpit from having the lymph nodes taken out. "It's sore." Then she told me about the shock. She knew she was going to have her whole left breast removed but it's a whole different thing to experience and see that it's gone. "I got choked up and and lost it," she said describing how it was when she finally put on her shirt to get ready to leave the hospital. You have to understand it just doesn't fit like it used to anymore. I sat there on the phone trying to grasp what that must be like to go through- and I still can't even begin to imagine it. Her nerves are numb down her arm- this is relatively normal considering they took lymph nodes out but it's still something to keep in prayer. She's hoping that most if not all feeling comes back to that arm. On Thursday they want to remove the drain from the lymph nodes. And then Friday is the BIG day. Big as in- the day for the report- the pathology report should come in and be complete by Friday. It should give us more information regarding the cancer- the type- how long chemo will be- and what type of chemo. My father had sent an e-mail just before I left for my trip. He said that the dr. said on a scale from 3-9 for aggressiveness, my mother's cancer was a '9'. It is an intrusive carcinoma which means it loves to spread to other surrounding tissue. So after the pathology report comes back we will know even more about this monster.

Prayer Request-

- Pray for my father as he steps into a new role now and as he deals with the idea of his wife having cancer

- Pray for the numbness to subside and for feeling to resume in the left arm

- Pray for a quick recovery

- Pray that my parents keep God's peace

- Pray that lymphedema doesn't occur- that is a chronic swelling of the hand and/or arm caused by blockage in the lymph system to the arm.

Praises-

- My mother found a local place in Salmon Arm that can administer the chemotherapy! That means less time spent in the car!

- That she is at home and recovering!

- That we have such a strong support team in all of you who keep her and us in your prayers!

My mother has survived her mastectomy; the war against cancer has just begun....

Psalm 29:11

"The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace."