A Testing Couple of Days.....

Hello Family & Friends...
Valerie has been posting my updates the past few days! Thank you Val! She has told you about our "testing days" and our good news from Dr. Novick today...answered prayer! I know we still have to deal with 10% chance of losing the kidney but I love our odds! 90% favorable and an army of Prayer Warriors. Dare I say....I'm feeling good!

The Cleveland Clinic Guesthouse was a wonderful place. We met people from all over the world and the United States! Everyone had a story to tell and they were so friendly and concerned about each other. It was incredible.

Hello to our friends from Arkansas...The Benish Family! We are going to keep in touch through email and blogging! Keith, you continue to be in our prayers along with your wonderful family. Michelle, let us know when that granddaughter is born and give Bryan our love, as well as the rest of the Benish Family that stayed back home this trip.

I had a bit of a panic attack as we arrived for our first test on Wednesday....molecular imaging... and was told that we were to have no tests until we met with Dr. Singh! (across campus) My blood pressure shot up and I went into the yucky cry! Mom kept telling me.."remember your song, remember your song!" Val gave me hugs and reassurances that everything would be okay. And it was....

My blood pressure never really came back down which is a concern for surgery so I'm asking my Prayer Warriors to pray for God's grace and a calm heart on surgery day.

Everyone seemed to have a difficult time with my veins and my arms are pretty bruised. There is a possibility they may put something in my neck...Ginger & nurse friends, you probably understand this more than me. He said they would use that instead of sticking me continually to get blood. OOOOOkay...let's move on!

The best meeting was with Dr. Novick. He said my tumors are side by side and he is 90% sure he can save enough of my kidney so no dialysis will be needed. We all wanted to stand up and cheer but he is so quiet and proper....we didn't want to overwhelm him. The yucky stuff...my incision will be the "flank" cut....belly button to back and they will remove the end of the 11th rib.

Scheduling had also forgotten to do one test. It is a 3 hour test and is only done in the morning. So, Mike and I will head to Cleveland a day early to finish that test on Tuesday morning. I was also a bit (only a tiny bit) disappointed that I have to stay in Cleveland even when I'm dismissed to return to the hospital on June 28th to have my staples and drain tube removed. June 28th is my birthday. It will be a great gift to come home that day!

For my Greys Anatomy fans....The group in molecular imaging were the cutest bunch with one particular Dr. McDreamy. It was like a college dorm in there....they all seemed so young and I loved that they talked and talked during the test! I felt like a fraternity mom again! I might send them all some sugar cookies! There was a cute blond girl too...reminded me of Val!

So many nice people and so many stories to tell....some sad, some encouraging, so brave and all on a journey.

We have decided to do something out of the box and take a weekend trip. We are all off work and the surgery is moved to next week so we are going to go sponge off our son in Cary, North Carolina! Get ready Chad! Here we come! We are going to swim and laugh and eat and play cornhole and visit with our pregnant, adopted daughter, Suzy whose having her baby shower this weekend! Val & I had originally planned a mother daughter road trip before the kidney thing developed. We were sad to have to miss her baby shower! Not anymore....we are going and we are going to squeeze as much fun as we can into 48 hours! It's nutty!

Thank you to my prayer team who were all prepared to pray this Thursday and Friday and now have to change to next Tuesday and Wednesday. Dr. Novick was called out of town. He is one of three doctors who do this procedure....pretty amazing and I know how blessed I feel to have him in my corner. I'm glad he could be there for someone who must have a great need for his expertise.

Thank you to everyone for the encouraging cards and notes and to my church family for your love, prayers, and gifts. Words cannot express what I feel when I think of you all. I am truly blessed.

Thank you Mom and Val for traveling to the clinic with me and "holding me up" the last 3 days. Nobody can replace Mike and I missed him terribly, but I felt very supported & loved in his absence. Thanks to Dad and Donnie and Ida and the rest of the gang for checking in for daily reports and encouraging words! hugs for everyone!

Have to go pack for my weekend escape to North Carolina. I will take you all with me in a heart that is bursting at the seams!

to be continued....

In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world! John 16:33(I love that verse!)