Saturday, February 27, 2016

Experience Junkie

I’ve never wanted a boring life, and God has blessed me abundantly.  God is good!  Life is good!  My sister, who shares my desire in this regard, calls us “experience junkies”.  We’re always looking for something new and exciting that we haven’t tried yet.  It’s one of the things that drives my insatiable appetite for travel.  It’s also the thing that, for example, when I go for a snowmobile tour with my brother-in-law and nephew as I did a few weeks ago, has me reluctant to admit just how much I love that kind of thing:  I’ve done it a few times and love it, but we can’t possibly afford to get into that kind of hobby!
 
A couple of weeks ago I had my normal, routine, every-so-often PET scan.  When we got the results, the oncologist was a little bit concerned:  there was a pea-sized “nodule” showing up in one of my lungs that had grown from the previous scans.  He referred us to a thoracic surgeon.  Today (Friday) Sue accompanied me to my appointment.
 
Here’s an interesting tidbit before I get to the gist of this post:  I don’t think I’ve ever seen a specialist (let alone had any other medical appointment) that was as timely.  My appointment was for 9:45 AM.  While I was walking from the car to the appointment, too busy to answer the phone, I got a voicemail from the nurse.  Time?  9:46 AM.  They were worried I wasn’t coming.  I got there at about 9:46:15 and didn’t even get a chance to sit down.  They whisked me through the usual height/weight/blood pressure directly into the “small back room”.  We hadn’t been there for more than about 10 seconds before the doctor entered.  Despite the subject matter, we were out of the office by 10:15, and didn’t feel like we’d been rushed!
 
Anyway, the doctor described the situation by saying they weren’t that worried about it, but given my history and the fact that it had grown, they recommended surgery to remove it.  They wanted both to get it out of there (stop further growth) and to determine if it actually is more cancer or something benign.  The surgery was described as relatively straight-forward, with just some small incisions and probably only a couple of days in the hospital.  It sounds like it will be much less invasive than the surgeries I’ve already had.  It helps that there’s only one “nodule” of concern, and that it’s right at the edge of my lung.  Also, when I got my first liver surgery, the doctor had explained how they sometimes “cherry-pick” these things for years.
 
Well, I can’t explain my reaction without referring to the subject of this post.  My first thought was “cool – I haven’t had a lung surgery yet”!  I have something new to look forward to. J
 
Unfortunately, it’s not quite as easy on Sue.  Especially given some of the other challenges she’s facing, she has a bit more trouble with this roller coaster ride.  So, if you’re so inclined and you think of her, please pray for her.
 
So… I’m headed for another surgery.  It will likely take place at the beginning of April, after my San Francisco trip (conference for work – another exciting adventure!).  As always, I’ll keep you posted.
 
By the way, I’d love to hear what’s going on in YOUR life, too!

No comments: