Surgery is Scheduled
Last week I met with the surgeon to talk about removing my thyroid.
Firstly, removing the entire organ seemed like an extreme solution to an enlarged thyroid, but I feel real peace about the decision. I told you how much it has grown and how much the nodules have grown in a previous post. When the surgeon walked in the room, he said, "wow, I can see it from here." I know he has seen worse, for sure, but someone who knows what to look for can see this goiter (such a pretty word) from across the room. We talked about my two options: remove the entire thyroid, or try injecting it with radiation. He said injecting it with radiation to kind of shock it into chilling out was really the best solution for someone without nodules. The radiation doesn't do anything to the nodules, which could turn bad at any time. He also said radiation could not help/change anything and I could be right back in his office needing to remove the whole thing anyway. (Side note - I just wanted to mention removing part of the thyroid wasn't an option for me since all of it has grown so quickly. If we removed half, I'd probably be right back the next year to remove the rest.) He said, "well, if we remove the whole thyroid, you'll never get thyroid cancer!" It was kind of a joke, but I'm wondering if God had this happen right now for that very reason. He is so good.
Secondly, I feel the Lord's peace about this. There are several large things in my life that I have prayed hard through (some of which you have walked through with me on this blog!), and this was one of those big things. Should I do this? Was this wise? I felt God respond with total peace, no nagging questions (which this anxiety ridden girl is good at asking), no fretting. Every nurse, every friend/family member who had this surgery or knows someone who did has success stories to tell me. Every nurse says how great this surgery will be for me since I'm young (and will heal quickly), and have such great blood pressure (which will make general anesthesia a breeze for me). The nurses have hope that it will slow my fast resting heart rate, and *maybe* even help my anxiety and cool me off. Every appointment, every person I talk with, every prayer, I just feel calm. That is totally not my norm on any ordinary day, so I know it is supernatural.
Thirdly, I am deciding not to research the internet on this one because people rarely share how smoothly it went, nor do they show pictures of a beautiful scar with no infection. My mom had a similar surgery a few years ago and I remember her recovery and her stitches. I bought a lot of popsicles to prepare for my sore throat from the breathing tube. I'm going 1985 with this surgery and not over-preparing myself (aka freak myself out for no reason). So, if you know a horror story, please oh please do NOT tell me.
Fortunately it was scheduled super quickly - this week - so I won't have to think about it much. Let's move quickly and get this over with. The surgery will be Thursday and I'll stay in the hospital overnight. I'll be back on here to check in as soon as I can. I remember my mom's stitches looked super cool (and usually stitches freak me out). Of course, I'll have a drain, which isn't as pretty! lol!
Please pray for my doctor, my nurses, my family who will take care of me, and for my anxiety. For those of you who already are praying, I am more grateful than you know. I have 100% faith in the fact that those prayers led to the Lord giving me his peace and strength.
Firstly, removing the entire organ seemed like an extreme solution to an enlarged thyroid, but I feel real peace about the decision. I told you how much it has grown and how much the nodules have grown in a previous post. When the surgeon walked in the room, he said, "wow, I can see it from here." I know he has seen worse, for sure, but someone who knows what to look for can see this goiter (such a pretty word) from across the room. We talked about my two options: remove the entire thyroid, or try injecting it with radiation. He said injecting it with radiation to kind of shock it into chilling out was really the best solution for someone without nodules. The radiation doesn't do anything to the nodules, which could turn bad at any time. He also said radiation could not help/change anything and I could be right back in his office needing to remove the whole thing anyway. (Side note - I just wanted to mention removing part of the thyroid wasn't an option for me since all of it has grown so quickly. If we removed half, I'd probably be right back the next year to remove the rest.) He said, "well, if we remove the whole thyroid, you'll never get thyroid cancer!" It was kind of a joke, but I'm wondering if God had this happen right now for that very reason. He is so good.
Secondly, I feel the Lord's peace about this. There are several large things in my life that I have prayed hard through (some of which you have walked through with me on this blog!), and this was one of those big things. Should I do this? Was this wise? I felt God respond with total peace, no nagging questions (which this anxiety ridden girl is good at asking), no fretting. Every nurse, every friend/family member who had this surgery or knows someone who did has success stories to tell me. Every nurse says how great this surgery will be for me since I'm young (and will heal quickly), and have such great blood pressure (which will make general anesthesia a breeze for me). The nurses have hope that it will slow my fast resting heart rate, and *maybe* even help my anxiety and cool me off. Every appointment, every person I talk with, every prayer, I just feel calm. That is totally not my norm on any ordinary day, so I know it is supernatural.
Thirdly, I am deciding not to research the internet on this one because people rarely share how smoothly it went, nor do they show pictures of a beautiful scar with no infection. My mom had a similar surgery a few years ago and I remember her recovery and her stitches. I bought a lot of popsicles to prepare for my sore throat from the breathing tube. I'm going 1985 with this surgery and not over-preparing myself (aka freak myself out for no reason). So, if you know a horror story, please oh please do NOT tell me.
Fortunately it was scheduled super quickly - this week - so I won't have to think about it much. Let's move quickly and get this over with. The surgery will be Thursday and I'll stay in the hospital overnight. I'll be back on here to check in as soon as I can. I remember my mom's stitches looked super cool (and usually stitches freak me out). Of course, I'll have a drain, which isn't as pretty! lol!
Please pray for my doctor, my nurses, my family who will take care of me, and for my anxiety. For those of you who already are praying, I am more grateful than you know. I have 100% faith in the fact that those prayers led to the Lord giving me his peace and strength.
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