“My Thyroid Lobectomy” Surgery

Dear Big Sis,

About 6 months ago, I went to get a sonogram of my thyroid which indicated a 2cm nodule on the the right lobe.  My primary doctor sent me to an ENT for further review which resulted in a FN (fine needle) biopsy. The results came back as “indeterminate” which meant they were not sure if it was benign or malignant. The next step was to send my “cell draw” to Afirma Genomic testing for further genetic review. It took another week to get the results back which indicated the same term, “indeterminate” which meant it was still not clear with the findings. My ENT doctor said he would have to remove the right lobe in order to find out if it was malignant or not. He gave me a 40% chance, either way. I was completely in shock and very apprehensive about having my throat “cut” open...

I was so distraught that I postponed the inevitable, requested to have another sonogram in 3 months and scheduled an appointment for a second opinion. The deciding factors were: the sonogram revealed the nodule was still present plus another one had appeared and the second opinion concurred with my physician to remove the right lobe. I just sat as I listened to the doctor and sobbed. I was so hoping for an alternative solution.

As the surgery date was scheduled, I struggled with my PTSD feelings of deep-seeded fear and dread which stemmed from my youngest brother losing his battle to oral cancer. I had to really dig deep and remain in constant prayer for strength to endure the surgery plus the outcome of results. I also had an army of “Prayer Warriors” who provided comfort and encouragement. It was a huge comfort to me that you, Big Sis and my youngest sister had the same procedure which was instrumental in giving me the detailed information I needed to muster up the courage to proceed with the surgery.

On February 22, 2018, I was admitted to the hospital and my surgery began at 7:30 a.m. It took approximately 1 1/2 hours and then I was in recovery for a few more hours. I was supposed to stay in the hospital for 23 hours for monitoring but the doctor advised my daughter that I should be released after a total of 6 hours due to the higher risk of contracting the flu. The surgery went well and the doctor informed my daughter that we would have the pathology results in a week. I have a vague recollection of that first day because I was so “drugged up” with anesthesia plus morphine shots. I just wish the discharge nurse would have taken me to the restroom before booting me out the front door. Evidently, I had an accident and my daughter needed to request a pad for me to sit on in her vehicle. I was unaware of any feelings of embarrassment or humiliation at that point.

The first night was really rough. I was so severely nauseated from the anesthesia and afraid of getting dry heaves that might tear my stitches apart. My daughter had to walk me to the bathroom each time due to the dizziness. I was also having difficulty swallowing without pain but when I survived the first 48 hours and the nausea subsided, I felt very hopeful that I would make it through plus a huge sense of relief. I do not tolerate pain medication but I was able to withstand the pain without it. I’m not sure what caused it but I developed hives plus I was allergic to the electrodes that they attach to your chest during surgery which was more bothersome than the incision itself.


One week after the surgery, I had an appointment with my ENT who removed my sutures and told me  to see him in 3 months. I was instructed to apply Mederma with sunscreen on my incision site 3 times a day for 6 months. It is a very tender area. It has been a constant challenge to adjust how it feels when I swallow. Each day that went into the following weeks was an improvement. Although it has been 7 weeks already, I’m still experiencing that strange sensation which feels like a lump in my throat. They say in time that it will go away. I’m certainly looking forward to that day.

I am extremely thankful that the surgery is behind me and that the results were benign. I am thankful for all of the love, support and encouragement from ALL of my loved ones. I will keep you posted on my continued progress and healing process. I will be following up with an Endocrinologist to assess my numbers. I may have to take a low dose of medication to support my thyroid.

I’m hoping that my experience with having the Thyroid Lobectomy might help someone who might be struggling with the decision to have it done. The thought of it plus the location of incision was much more overwhelming than the actual procedure. I truly believed that God was in complete control and that he would see me through and HE did.  God is SO GOOD, all the time.

Much love, hugs and blessings...Always
Little Sis

Malawi Miracle

My little sis and I usually share our thoughts and events, but today I would like to add someone else's story. This Blog Link is written by Luke Voight who is a missionary in Malawi. We've been supporting them for several years and so are interested in what God is doing in their life. This story so amazed and encouraged me that I wanted to share it with all. Enjoy and be blessed!

Luke Voight's Blog: "Why are we here"?

Time Out

Dear Little Sis,
I came up with a solution for our dog Karlie's incessant barking at the door when someone knocks I say ..."Time Out"!  When I hear her barking ferociously, I point to her bed near the fireplace and say "time out".  When it's time for her to get out of her Time Out, we say the word, "Free".

After a few weeks and much patience, we finally achieved this training feat. I proudly show off our dog to visitors, family and friends that she was laying in the corner of the house when they entered. When we were ready, I then released her with the command "free" and she comes over and greets our guests.  Most everyone is really amazed that she is so well trained, but for me it was mostly a selfish desire to just have some peace and quiet in our home.

The other day I noticed that she was lying in this time out bed and I was happy that she was feeling comfortable with it.  But I also noticed that she didn't look very happy.  If I was heading outside to get the mail or another task, she would just lay there and look at me.  So I would call her and tell her to come along. She jumped up and joyfully joined me.

The other day she again went to her time out bed and I heard her whining.  I thought this was strange, and I wondered what was wrong. It then dawned on me...she went to lay down in the comfy bed but after a while she forgot she had put herself in Time Out and didn't know how to get out of it!  She laid there miserably until I finally said the command "free".  I released her from her self made prison.  I laughed hilariously, but later I felt a little sad.  All along she laid there, feeling constricted, imprisoned and condemned, but she had the power to leave the bed but didn't know it.

Thoughts crowded my mind as I thought of how much this was like us as Christians: imprisoned in our own self made "Time Out" bed.  We may have originally gone there to find comfort but we found we couldn't get out by ourselves. We dwell in our anger, fear, or habits, and find ourselves imprisoned.  We lay there in what was once a comfy bed until we realize we don't have the power on our own to get out... Who can release us?  We see our Master and then realize, He has the power to get us out of our prison. We wait patiently for Him and then we hear the Master's voice, say "Free".   Joyfully we jump out of our self-made confinement.  John 8:36 "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed".

After hearing His voice,  we realize we had His Power all along to leave our self-made prison and live in His Freedom.

No more time outs little sis!

Think, Write, Delete

Dear Little Sis,

Today I did something for the first time, I wrote a letter to my grandson. Oh, I've written him many times via Facebook and Texting, but this is the first time I've actually written him a letter. I had to. He is now stationed at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas and is in his first week of Basic Military Training and the only way to correspond with him is to write a letter. I had already begun to "create" his letter when yesterday I received his address from his mom.

The reason I use the word "create" is because it was more than a letter, I decided to write it in a newsletter format. You know that I've been doing newsletters for the past 10 years at my employment, but this newsletter took on an importance beyond all those I created for my work. My husband couldn't believe how much time I spent writing, searching for graphics, and looking on my Thesaurus for just the right word, all the while imagining how happy he'll be when he receives it. Often these young recruits will read and reread letters from home since its the only communication they have for weeks while they are being tested both physically and mentally for the first time in their lives. All these thoughts ran through my head and challenged to even work harder on my project.

I decided to keep my Newsletter to one page, since I was purposing to make this a weekly issue. After writing about family news events I had a few inches at the bottom of the page. I wasn't sure what to add, maybe a picture, a joke, or leave it blank. Then I thought about the opportunity I had before me...a chance to share my heart and leave my grandson with some of my thoughts that he might even remember, so I entitled the article "Granni Thoughts". I decided to share my thoughts on the significance of writing a letter and how permanent it can be in the world where most correspondences are shredded or deleted. Below is "Granni Thoughts"

*  *  *

In the old days, everyone who was separated by distance would write letters. I remember my mom telling me of when my dad was in the army and the letters they would write each other. These letters kept them in each others thoughts, made them feel close & were kept for a lifetime. Imagine that, words and thoughts remembered years later. In these days of Texting, Facebook, Chatting, etc. where all our communication is instant and then instantly gone with a click, none of our thoughts, ideas or expressions remain in the future, all “deleted”. Writing letters is a wonderful experience, it teaches us to think about the words we are going to use because we know that they will last. Maybe this experience will also help us to speak more carefully, for those words can also last a lifetime. You’re always in my thoughts & prayers, and I’m looking forward to your letters that I will keep for a lifetime!  Love you much, Granni 

Her "Final Lap"

Dear Big Sis,

When my granddaughter invited me to go swimming at the neighbor's house yesterday afternoon, I had no idea that I would become a "surrogate" grandmother to a 6 year old, beautiful chocolate Labrador  named "Princess"...Her owners are on their vacation in Mexico and left Princess and her brother, Jack in my grandson's care. They believed that her health was improving before they had left and they also had installed camera's to monitor her in their absence.  My daughter had informed me that "Princess" had cancer but she neglected to tell me that she was in her most advanced stage of this despicable, cruel disease.

As I approached the swimming pool, I was greeted by Jack who was barking uncontrollably and nervously.  In the corner of the house, on the porch is where I first laid eyes on" Princess."  At that moment, she did not even have the strength to raise her head up to greet me and my heart just sank with a familiar heaviness of the forthcoming dread that was inevitable...

I decided to get into the swimming pool where her brother Jack followed and went in for a little dip but when he got out, he continued on with his non-stop barking as if he were trying to tell me something that I didn't already know and sense.  As I was trying to calm Jack down, I noticed that Princess had gingerly gotten up and was slowly making her way to the pool.  It took every last bit of her failing strength to get to the first step of the pool.  As she was getting into the water, she glanced up at me for a few seconds as if she were letting me know that this would be her final lap to the other side of pool.  She struggled every inch of the way but remarkably made her way back to the first step. She could go no further.  I went over to her to hold her, gently stroked her beautiful brown fur and spoke to her as only a grandmother to a grandchild or granddog would do to reassure her that everything would be alright, very soon....I felt a very intense bond towards this amazing creature that I had just met. Not once did she ever whimper a sound from the obvious pain that she was enduring. She displayed such amazing dignity and sheer courage as her imminent death was approaching...Since her family was unfortunately not present, I felt like I was giving her the "okay" to GO...In retrospect, I only wish that I would have had the courage to stay with her throughout the night but I was too overcome by my emotions having lost two brothers to cancer.

I truly believe that God puts us right where we need to be on any given day or time so that we may experience and learn what HE wants us to learn....I prayed throughout the night for God to spare her. God answered my prayer and took Princess home.  The suffering has finally ceased for her.  Her brother Jack is grieving and crying for his sister. We are all grieving for her as well, along with feelings of relief for her suffering. Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Matthew 5:4

 I have learned that it doesn't matter how long you know someone, even if it was just for one day...Love and compassion for all is God's way of helping us through on our journey or our "final lap"..... Rest in Perfect Peace, "Princess"...... You will be remembered, loved and missed!!!

Big Sis, since you raised chocolate Labs previously, I knew you would understand her greatness and that they are true family members.

Love, Hugs and Blessings,
Little Sis

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalms 34:18