The rain before the storm

On August 28, I woke up not having any idea that I would be in the position I am today… 
I woke up that Saturday morning with a sharp pain in my side.  It felt different, but was manageable so I went about my day.  Mike and I decided to go golfing because it was beautiful, so I played 9 holes, still experiencing some pain but still trying to ignore it.  That night Mike and I went out to dinner and that is when the pain got serious.  I knew I was experiencing something, but had no idea what it was so I called my mom.  My mom wasn’t sure and my grandma, who used to be a nurse, wasn’t sure either.  So, I decided that maybe it would go away and ignored it.  Monday I went to work and knew I was still feeling off.  Since it hadn’t got any better, I decided that after work I would go to urgent care. 

I arrived at the urgent care facility around 5 p.m.  They told me I immediately needed to go to the hospital because they suspected it was my appendix.   After a lot of waiting and tests, I was admitted to the hospital.  At this point, they were not convinced that I had appendicitis.  The surgeon came in the next afternoon and said that I had a “stone” wrapped around my appendix and that they were going to remove both my appendix and this stone. 

A week or so after my appendectomy I returned to the surgeon’s office for a check up.  I sat on the table as she told me that the “stone” they removed was actually a tumor that was malignant.   The good news was that the tumor was small and they removed it all when they removed my appendix.  I was told to make some appointments with the GI doctor and Oncologist, but that I would be fine.

Several weeks and tests later I found out that I was not fine.  They did not get all of the carcenoid cells like I was told and that I would need to have surgery. 

On Friday, November 5, I will be going into surgery at Mayo Clinic to remove 1/3 of my colon.  The doctors (and myself) are very confident that this will be the end of my treatment and that all of the cells will be removed with the surgery. 

God has taught me so much in the last few months.  He continues to be good and reminding me of the many blessings in my life.  I have learned to trust Him in ways I never have.  I have grown in my faith and am thankful for that. 

All I ask of you is to pray for me.  Please lift me up in prayer this week and especially Friday during surgery.  You can pray for a fast, speedy recovery.  Pray for the doctors to do good work and pray for no more cancer cells! 

I will update all of you on my recovery and will keep you posted as soon as I can.  Thanks and Gods blessings to you!