Day One.

Today we met with the first surgeon, Dr. Frei. He will be performing the first two surgeries, the parathyroidectomy and the removal of the adenoma on my thyroid.

We initially met with his Physicians Assistant, I can'[t recall his name. He was abrupt, businesslike and honestly scared me to death. The first question I had for him was whether or not I would be meeting the surgeon today .... you know, the one with the degree and training, the one to hold the knife.

He came in shortly after and sat directly across from me, almost knee to knee. He was in his 60's, grandfatherly but totally honest about everything we were looking at.

Needless to say, there was alot of detail we didn't get yesterday in our fist run through with Dr. Feldman. And the devil, as they say, is in those details.

The risks and potential complications of this first surgery are huge. Dr. Feldman had initially thought we could do these procedures, and put in the hemo graft, all in the same surgery.

Dr. Frei put the nix on that for one reason, mainly. This surgery is so delicate, and unpredictable- and add the issue with the adenoma on my regular thyroid, and we could be looking at over 6 hours of time under anesthetic. The longer you are under, the more risk you take.

So. BOttom line?

In the next three months, I am looking at a minimum of three major surgeries.

If the last recovery is any indication, I should be on bed rest for the better part of those three months.

After this first surgery, I Will be in hospital for several days on a calcium drip. Since this set of glands they are removing monitor your calcium levels or something, they have to blast me full of calcium between now and the surgery (2-4 weeks out) and then watch me closely for the first several days.

The dangers of losing those glands are evidently pretty substantial, so the plan of action is detailed..

Scared?

You bet.

We all are. Stunned, actually.

If I can lay out some specific prayer requests, please?

1. Peace for all of us. And the ability to absorb enough to understand and make good decisions.

2. Solid recovery after each surgery for me. Quick recovery with no complications.

3. Peace for John. As you know, he has been blessed enough to work from home these past few years. That is coming to an end, and he need to find a job that will provide for us financially, be the hours he needs (swing shift- so he can drive me to and from hemodialysis three times a week for the next several months), provide he and the kids with insurance, and not be such a taxing job that he can just walk out at hie end of the day and leave that stress behind him.

 4. Peace for the kids.  I fear Kati is taking on too much around here, but I'm powerless to  help. Jonathan just wants to make sure everyone is ok.

It's too much for teens. And unfair.

5. A more complex request. We moved here to be near the best medical care. We have no physical support system here. Things that concern me with long term recovery are things like transportation to/from Dr. visits, meal preparation and those day to day things. If God could find a  way to take the burden of some of these day to day things off the shoulders of John and the kids, what a blessing.

I may have left a lot out, but I'm still absorbing and processing ....

I think I need to now go tuck my self into bed and just forget today for a few hours. Enough reality awaits me in the morning....

Good night my dear friends.