Thank you for the valley.

Thank You for the valley I walked through today.
The longer the valley, the more I learn to pray.
I found You where the lilies were blooming by the way.
So I thank You for the valley I walked through today.

Thank You for every hill I climbed,
For every time the sun didn't shine.
Thank You for every lonely night,
I prayed 'til I knew everything was alright,
And I thank you for the valley,
I walked through today.

Life can't be all sunshine, or the flowers would die.
The rivers would be deserts, all barren and dry.
Life can't be all blessings, or there'd be no need to pray.
So I thank You for the valley I walked through today.

Thank You for every hill I climbed,
For every time the sun didn't shine.
Thank You for every lonely night,
I prayed 'til I knew everything was alright.
And I thank You for the valley,
I walked through today.

Follow up appointment.

Saw my naturopathic doctor yesterday and got a lot of good information and nutritional advice, along with some supplements.  He works with Cancer Treatment Centers of America.  I am not supposed to eat any sugar, corn, potatoes, pasta, bread, or grains.  Does that rule out the Chinese buffet for my birthday ;)

J & I saw the surgeon tonight for a follow-up.  He said I can schedule my second surgery 3 months and 1 minute after the first one, lol!  He went over the pathology report.  The tumor had not penetrated the colon wall.  All margins were clear.  They believe, though can't be certain, that the colon ruptured above the tumor.  Since it was too difficult to tell they want to treat it as a ruptured tumor.  I will also have a colonoscopy before the second surgery.  He said I should be in the hospital a minimum of 5 days again.

The children are doing well and I think J is caught up on his sleep.  My mom is working on some new curtains for the girl's room before she goes home.

Next up is an appointment with an oncologist.  We've chosen one, but don't have a date set yet.

Cancer

On Sunday, April 10^th, I went into the hospital with severe abdominal pain. I had spent Friday and Saturday in bed with a low grade fever and occasional cramping. Sunday morning I felt better, but in the afternoon the pain returned suddenly, only much worse, and my fever went up. I had never experienced pain like that and began to think it could be my appendix. I called my doctor, who agreed, and went to the emergency room. After hours of blood tests and CT scans it was determined I had diverticulitis that had ruptured. I was scheduled for surgery the next morning. Before the surgery the surgeon told me he would take about 10” out of my colon and I would have to have a colostomy for three months, until a second surgery to reattach my colon after everything had had time to heal.

After the surgery the doctor said he’d removed an inflamed mass from the colon that would be sent to pathology to determine why it had ruptured. When the lab report came back we found it was not diverticulitis, but the mass he has removed was cancer. The colon had ruptured. Thankfully, the twelve lymph nodes that were taken out with the tumor were all negative, so the cancer had not spread. Because my colon ruptured, however, he said I would probably be treated as if the tumor itself had ruptured since they didn’t know about any spillage.

At this point I don’t know any more than that. I will go see the surgeon again next week and an oncologist a few weeks after that.

I was released from the hospital Saturday, the 16^th, which was earlier than we expected. I have no physical restrictions except on lifting. I am still feeling the effects of all the IVs, but am getting around fairly well. My mom came to stay the day after surgery. She will be here a total of three weeks. She has managed/is managing the household very well! I’m so thankful for that. We are also blessed by many meals from friends and family.

Right now I am changing my diet, reading, and talking with people who have been down this path. Jeff & I will have many decisions to make in the coming months. I covet all your prayers, especially for him. He has gotten worn down over the last week.

From the first day in the hospital I have been privileged to see God’s hand at work in so many things I can’t begin to count them. I am so thankful for this opportunity. So often we don’t even recognize the ways that God is working in our life. We may go about thinking everything’s on autopilot when it’s not ! God is in control all the time and he is working everything together for HIS glory and for the good of those who love Him.