"That sucks"

Well, Aly had her surgery done today. I will try to explain things properly, but I am exhausted both physically and emotionally. In previous posts, we asked that you pray specifically that Alyson would "map" so that the doctors could easily find the lymph nodes. We thank you for those prayers. Let me just give you a synopsis of the day...

We got to the Hospital shortly after 8 am this morning, at which time we did all of the pre-op things. We saw the doctors before the surgery at which time they asked us if we had any last second questions. We had none. At around 11 am Alyson went into the surgery room, just after I was able to give her a kiss and a hug. After about 2 hours Dr. Benitez came out and said that Alyson was doing fine, but... There is that word, but. The good news was that Alyson "mapped", which is what we wanted so that the doctor could easily test her lymph nodes. The bad news is that the first lymph node they tested was positive for cancer. That meant that the doctor had to take the remaining nodes, which is what Alyson did not want. In that moment I was so devastated for Alyson and my heart sank deep. When the doctor first came over to talk to us I stood up to hear what she had to say. By the time she was done I was sitting down with great disappointment. The one thing Aly wanted was to keep her lymph nodes. She didn't care about the breast as much as she wanted to keep her lymph nodes. The remaining nodes are being sent off to the lab, along with the lump to go through the pathology process. We won't get the results until next Wednesday. Our prayer now is that the cancer only got to one node. At this point Aly is still in surgery with the plastic surgeon. That meant she did not know about the nodes.

When the plastic surgeon was done, he came out and reported that his part of the surgery was completed as planned and that Aly was in the recovery room. She still did not know about the lymph nodes. We were told by the doctors that the nurses would not tell Alyson about the Lymph nodes, but that we would have to do it with the doctor. We decided that I would be in there when the doctor delivered the news to Aly when she was a little more alert after the surgery. We waited a little over an hour to see her. I was the first person to see her and I was hoping that she would not ask me about the nodes. Needless to say, the first words out of Alyson were "tell me about the nodes". It was just her and I, and I had to deliver the news, that they had taken all of the nodes and that the first node was positive for cancer. Without any hesitation Aly said this, "that sucks". She said it in such a calm and matter of fact way, almost as if she was telling cancer, "that's all you got!!" I couldn't believe it. Here I was thinking that I was going to have to comfort Alyson, and then she says "that sucks". Then she looked at me and said, "Oh, well...how are you doing?" In that moment she encouraged me, not me encouraging her. That is just the way she is. Absolutely amazing.

Alyson is doing fine and her pain is relatively calm. Her only complaint so far is that it feels like someone is standing on her chest. She has two drain tubes that will drain the fluids from the area. We will have to clean them out about every 10-12 hours for about a week, as long as everything goes well. She will not be able to lift anything more than 10 lbs. I don't plan on her lifting anything. She is resting well right now and the nurses were going to let her rest for the night, so I came home to get some rest. I will pick her up in the morning and bring her home. At that point she will be well on her way to being pampered, which she so deserves.

I was greatly supported today by my family and friends. The Lake Orion Church of Christ was an absolute Godsend. Ken Mitchell, Doug Edwards, and Eric Magnusson came up to share a word of prayer with Aly and I. Garth Pleasant met me in the waiting room at 8:30 this morning and shared a word of prayer with Alyson and I. Kevin Kadrich came out during his lunch hour and shared a word of prayer with me an my family. Klint Pleasant and Kim Speck were there when the doctor told me about the lymph nodes. Klint and Kim, that meant so much to me that you were there in that moment. George Evjen sent me text messages all day that were greatly encouraging. Alyson's best friend Kindra Reed called and offered encouragement to me. Kindra you are a great friend to Alyson. Alana Logue and I shared tears on the phone today from Texas. I could go on and on with names of people who comforted Aly and I. Prayers were coming from all over the country.

God's Will is being done as we speak, even though we do not know what it is. Praise Him for today. We praise you Lord for today!!! Lord you will see us all on our knees tomorrow again pleading for your hands. You will offer them to us and we will again praise your name. Thank you for the courage that you have given Alyson and for the encouragement she gives to everyone she encounters. Praise, Praise, Praise...Honor and Glory. Amen.