Surgery and Recovery

Hello all! I am so sorry I am just getting this post out! I know many of you have been asking how the surgery went and how Mama is recovering. I will let her tell you in her own words (marked by the italics):

Surgery – done!  Check that off the list!

We headed to the hospital around 8:45am.  At 9:45 in the Breast Center unit, they injected radioactive solution into the Breast tissue.  The solution works its way through and the Doctors watch for how the solution drains into the Lymph system.  This is how they determine the Sentinel node for the region of the Breast where the tumor would naturally drain. This step can literally take hours since every person’s lymph system responds differently  (based on circulation of blood, etc.).

Next, a small wire gets inserted into the tumor from under the armpit.  Once they confirm it is at the exact spot, there is a way to open up a hook at the end of the wire and have it catch on tumor tissue.  Amazing!  This wire serves as a guide for the surgeon to follow.

We had some wait time at this point and I was instructed to walk the halls to help move the solution along in my system. All of us were completely covered in liquid peace!  A handicapped patient was playing worship music on a grand piano out in the hallway.  As I walked back and forth, it seemed as if the Lord was tangibly singing over me as I got serenaded by the pianist.  My spirit was so full with the goodness of the Lord.  Half the nurses and imaging techs who were prepping me for surgery were Breast Cancer survivors themselves.  Such tenderness and camaraderie surrounded me the whole time – praise Jesus! 

After a while, we headed to nuclear medicine for more imaging and to watch which nodes light up with radioactive dye.  Those nodes get removed in surgery, so they can be biopsied.  Based on the pathology report of the tumor and nodes, my medical oncologist will determine the most specific chemo treatment for me and the type of Cancer that I have.  We will have that report back next Tuesday, (10/09). 

Highlights from the morning include having Pastor Steve and Cheryl and Pastor Larry meet us in the waiting area for hugs and prayers.  And all the texts, voicemails, facebook posts (on Pete’s facebook) and emails that kept coming through from friends all over the country letting me know they were lifting me up in prayer.  The Body of Christ is such an uplifting gift.  I’m so grateful to each of you and the way you have blessed me and are willing to take this journey with me.

After the node tests were complete we headed up to Surgical Services.  We then had about a 4 hour wait.  I rested while the family headed to a Café for a delicious lunch.  Around 4:15 pm they began surgery.  I honestly do not remember a thing!  When I awoke, I was in recovery and it was around 6pm.  My family was still in the waiting area and My surgeon (Dr. Marion Johnson) came out to visit with them and stated the surgery could not have gone any better!  She felt like she got really good margins, removed the isolated nodes and was able to insert the port for chemo. 

I have very little pain at this time and I have complete peace. I’ve been resting and worshipping since surgery and trying to be very specific in my thankfulness to the Lord.  He took care of so many little details it’s hard to remember them all.

Oh Mama! I just love her! She was an absolute champ on the day of surgery. She couldn’t eat or drink anything before the surgery, yet her spirits were high. Daddy and I laughed at our pathetic state because we were SO hungry only after 4 hours of waiting with Mama. She had more energy than we did!

Through this journey, I have been contemplating what exactly is expected and required of us in response to God. As a daughter who deeply loves my mama, I want to be responsible to do what needs to be done in regards to Mama’s healing. Yet, I am at a loss before that sweet Cross of My Beloved. If Jesus accomplished everything upon the Cross, what else is left for me to do? Must I pray long hours throughout each day to show my Daddy God that I really am earnest in my belief that He can heal Mama? Must I strenuously fast to demonstrate that I am hungry for our Healer to receive the glory? (I should mention that we believe in prayer and other disciplines of the church but not as means of assisting God or achieving our sanctification. We don’t believe they are methods of appeasing God, but rather means of enjoying Him.) What is it that God wants from us? “Jesus told them, ‘This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one He has sent” (John 6:29 NLT). It is a response of faith, crazy trust in an invisible God.

And yet, lately I have been thinking that it is impossible for me to make myself believe God. I cannot generate my faith through my own willpower, because even that would become a “work” that takes away from the finished work of the Cross. Therefore, even our faith comes by grace from God.

Sometimes I think the Gospel is too good to be true—Jesus died so that there would not be an ounce of separation between humanity and the Holy Trinity, that we might be perfectly unified for eternity with a Good God. Yet perhaps that is why it is called the Good News. And perhaps that is where faith is imparted: “So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ” (Rom. 10:17 NLT). Wow! Our faith comes from the continual exploration of how good the Good News truly is! We can leave our striving and “good works” at the Cross because Christ accomplished it all! This truth is what allows Mama to rest through the journey in sweet celebration and joy as she drinks deeply of this Good News! Halleluiah!

“We know very well that we are not set right with God by rule-keeping but only through personal faith in Jesus Christ” (Gal. 2:16 MSG).