A couple weeks ago, my dad was diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer in his thyroid and the lymph nodes surrounding it. It is a really rare cancer, only about 1% of people get it. It is not effected by radiation or chemotherapy. The only thing they can do is remove it. Once they had done a body scan, they reserved the OR so that they could remove the masses in his throat.
On Monday of last week, I sat with my mom for 8.5 hours as my dad went through surgery. They removed 46 lymph nodes and his entire thyroid, 15 of the lymph nodes being cancerous. The cancer had begun to move down into his chest. The Surgeon had removed one lymph node containing traces of tumor from right above his aorta. It was a long surgery and a little taxing on our patience but with close friends around us and all the prayers we had, we felt God’s faithfulness all around us.
He was released from the hospital later last week and is doing really well. He is still sore from the uncomfortably long surgery and he still has some numbness where nerves were pinched. The doctor was amazed by how fast he recovered and he was also amazed how calm we all were through the entire ordeal. We couldn’t have been calm without the reassurance of God’s goodness and faithfulness and the prayers of all of our amazing friends.
I documented some of our time in the hospital. I know some people might consider this weird or odd but it is my way of remembering and I want to remember the time when God was so good to my family. We have faith that the cancer is all gone. They are still monitoring him and doing tests to see. Thank you to all of you who kept us in your prayers. We felt them and we still do.
prepping for surgery
my dad. . . the continuous jokester. This a very accurate depiction of my dad.
waiting. . . .
post op
The look on his face so accurately describes our day. .
