Surgery delayed; I'm learning patience.

The pictures on the blog today are of the apartment where we will be spending the next three months. Yesterday was a shot of Judy and I on the sofa, which you can see, again, in the picture beside the TV in today’s picture. The first picture is taken looking toward the kitchen with the desk and the laptop on the wall on this side of the kitchen. You can see Don’s leg in one of the recliners in both pictures. The second picture is taken toward the dining room. That takes care of the kitchen, living room and dining room. Another time I’ll put on pictures of the bedroom and bathroom. It’s a great place to stay! We are so blessed to have it, and we thank God for it.

The surgeon called today to tell me that she doesn't want to do the surgery on Monday. She said the ultrasound showed there may be some change in the size of the tumor. She said she hopes it is a technical issue and if it is, then we'll schedule the surgery for Wednesday. I asked what a technical issue means; does that mean the technician did something wrong? She said that the numbers can be reported differently and the measurements can be taken differently and she wants to run some more tests just to be extra sure. I asked if a change in the size means that it's bigger and she said that it could be a little bigger, but what concerns her is that maybe it has spread to somewhere and she wants to check my liver and bones and chest before she does surgery. She said she has ordered a bone scan, a cat scan and a chest X-Ray. If all of those are clear then we'll go ahead and do surgery on Wednesday. I asked what if they aren't clear and she said we'll do more chemo before we do any surgery. She said not to worry; that she expects it will be simply a technical issue. That kind of baffled me, but I immediately called my good friend who was there with us for all the tests. SHE is the alert one, and she said, "Oh, Mary Jo! That makes so much sense because, remember their computers were down all week!" Of course I had forgotten THAT. How COULD I forget that? I do understand, though. They were so far behind that the doctor was in the office today just going over tests that were run all week. We did tests on Thursday that were scheduled for Tuesday and they couldn't do because of the computer problems. They told us how they could do some things with the computer, but most things had to be done manually and they couldn't send reports from one department to the other but had to run them around manually. So, indeed, it does make sense that this issue could be a technical issue rather than a difficult issue for me. Judy also reminded me that I'm at MD Anderson and they are number one because they are extra, extra careful and thorough. I do find comfort in that. However, I find the most comfort in the fact that I am here doing my best, but I trust my future to God and His best is all that really matters. He can overcome anything if it's His plan and whatever His plan, I'm good with it.

So, that’s the news from Houston. Keep the faith; don’t be discouraged. This is all for my best care and God is seeing to that! I love you for caring and for watching.

I talked to our preacher and neighbor in Hobart, today, and he wisely reminded me that this delay of a few days will give me time to heal more from this cough I have. He said after surgery, a cough like mine could be very uncomfortable, so this delay could be a real blessing! He’s so right. Two more days can be very healing, so I can be patient and continue to thank God, and I AM!