On the Other Side

I am home recuperating after a 4 day hospital stay in Boise following my thyroidectomy.  God is good and has been so faithful to me over the past week.  My only complication thus far has been that my calcium levels dropped due to trauma to the parathyroid glands during surgery.  This necessitated my longer hospital stay as IV calcium was sometimes needed to give in addition to the massive quantity of oral calcium I am currently taking.  This has somewhat elongated my recovery --- calcium depletion leaves your muscles feeling tingly, shaky, and weak -- and keeps me living a balance of life on AND off my feet right now.   Of course, God probably allowed this knowing that "rest" is not exactly in my vocabulary :-)

A few tender mercies along the way have included:
-- my home town pastor (Kent Conrad - currently at Nampa First Church of the Nazarene) who baptized me as a teenager and married Joe and I -- just "happened to be sitting" in the pre-op waiting room with his comforting smile and sustaining hug when we arrived last Monday morning :-)  He shared and prayed with us before we entered this ordeal .... and has been praying for both Dyana and I from the pulpit for a few weeks now.  Such a blessing to have such amazing support and encouragement.
-- the pre-surgery male nurse who, in full boldness in Christ, offered me hope in a Lord who has a purpose for all things (he didn't know we were Believers at the time).  This was especially tender as, it was during this time, as he was reading to and clarifying with me exactly what was to happen that day, that it suddenly hit me all that I was to face .... and I began to cry.  The poor man didn't quite know how to respond, but did his best to bring comfort by sharing his faith.
-- my sweet surgeon (Dr. Matthew Schwarz) totally engaged as a physician, who daily came to check on my progress or digression and offered me, through a kind smile,  just the words I needed to hear as my hospital stay needed to continue, "Just go walk.  Walk all over the hospital if you need to.  I give you my full permission."
-- the nurse who one day, after seeing the traces of tears and watching me look longingly out the window, snuck me to a patio garden 4 floors down with benches and herbs and beautiful, glorious sunshine and heat.  I made a total of 4 trips to that garden, IV port still in my arm -- and laid on the benches, absorbed God's medicine, picked and inhaled the lavender, read my Bible, and wrote words of thanks to those who've loved on me through service.  That garden was God's gift to me this week.
-- a doting male nurse who stayed with me through my worst night as my calcium levels bottomed, my head pounded and ached, my blood pressure plummeted,  and my legs and arms tingled and shook the whole night through.  It felt so good knowing that I was being looked after in the midst of feeling so powerless and weak.
-- friends and family (old and new) who showered me with emails, flowers, phone calls, cards, and visits .... not to mention the myriad of servants who helped feed and love on my family this week.
-- my Mom who was willing to put aside her discomfort and instead chose to walk the unknown path of "substitute homeschooler" to my two youngest children during the week.  Thank you Grandma!
-- a lifelong friend who rearranged her entire week so that she could meet any needs that I might have -- speaking and emailing on my behalf; protecting my time for recovery; visiting and offering thoughtful gifts, opportunities to laugh and smile, and lots of hand holding and building up in the face of difficult circumstances.  I am so blessed.

Thank you for your prayers on my behalf.  God (and no one/nothing else deserves this honor or glory) has sustained me and given me peace beyond my years or my maturity.  He has answered our prayers, and of the 21 lymph nodes removed along with my thyroid, none had cancer.  I move on now to another phase -- eventual radiation and then thyroid replacement medication necessitating a lot of blood work and physician visits -- all likely within the next 6 weeks.  God is good and will continue to carry us all through these days of unknowing.