First of all let me apologize for not doing an update in so long...I do have a good excuse though! We cancelled our annual Christmas trip this past December because we just were not sure how Rob would be feeling. We were able to reschedule this trip and just got back from 2 weeks with family and friends in Ontario. Some of the highlights of the trip was seeing my sister Janet's new bakery in Peterborough, spending a night at Great Wolf Lodge with my childhood best friend and her family, spending time with family and friends including celebrating my Grandpa's 90th birthday, and having a family day with the 3 of us in Toronto at Ripley's Aquarium. We came back from the trip more tired than when we left! We had a great time away but it is always nice to come back to your own home and pillow! So now that we are back I will try to be better with updates.
As you know we have been waiting to hear when Rob would have his debulking surgery. We have also known that we may get one weeks notice or more but it all depended on when they had openings. We got a call Monday afternoon this week saying they would do it next Tuesday. This seemed super quick but we made all the arrangements we needed and were all ready to go...then it was postponed! The nature of an elective surgery like this is that if there is a more urgent case then Rob's surgery gets bumped. They had an emergency cancer case come up that would take the whole surgery day and we understand the importance of it because just less then a year ago that would have been us. So it has been moved to April 14th and Rob says that he is actually a little relieved because now he has some time to prepare. The actual surgery is a day surgery and he will be in the OR for 2 hours at the most. Once he is awake and stable they will send him home however he will be on a liquid diet for about 7-10 days. He has done this diet before but this is not something he looks forward to. The hope is after he is healed up from the surgery he will have better mobility of the tongue and flap because the excess that is there now will no longer be in the way. This surgery will be minor compared to what he had in the past but the thought of more surgery and recovery and the unknowns is not fun. Please pray that the surgery would happen on April 14th as planned, that it would go well and that Rob's recovery goes quickly as well.
We had been told that radiation is the gift that keeps on giving and we are really seeing results of this now. The last time we saw the doctor in January Rob was feeling pretty well but over the last month he has started to experience neck pain. It bothers him all day and often wakes him up at night. Unfortunately radiation does not just attack the bad cells but if affects everything in the neck including the muscle and tendons. As time goes on the muscles stiffen up and can cause a lot of problems and this is what Rob is experiencing now. In January he was on no pain meds but now he takes Tylenol and Advil daily. In January we had asked about massage therapy but the doctor didn't feel it was needed then. When we go back in April we will inquire about it again and hopefully it will give Rob some relief. In the meantime he does stretches through out the day and takes some pain meds as needed. It is the worst in the morning after sleeping and even with a special pillow he can`t always get comfortable. Please pray that Rob would have some relief from the pain and the doctors would be able to help him.
This morning I was listening to Third Day and a song came on that I have listened to many times however today the lyrics really hit me. The song is called Mountain of God and the chorus goes like this:
Even though the journey's long
And I know the road is hard
Well, the One who's gone before me
He will help me carry on
After all that I've been through
Now I realize the truth
That I must go through the valley
To stand upon the mountain of God
I feel sometimes that our journey has been long and hard and I wonder if I can handle all of this another day but then I am reminded I am not doing this alone. We are not doing this alone. God will carry us through every valley. If there is something good to be said about going through a hard time it is that you really realize how much you need God. If life is going well and as you planned it is easy to forget we need God. When you hit a valley you need God and therefore truly rely on Him, which is what he wants all of us to do. I have said many times that I cannot imagine going through this journey without my faith. Our prayer is that people around us would see how God has carried us through this valley and that we can stand on the mountain of God with all of you one day.
Thank you for continuing to pray for us and for Rob to be completely healed.
Love Karen
