official surgery plans

Today The Hater and I went to see the surgeon. He, too, told us about the good prognosis. The plan is to have surgery on Thursday, the 20th, at 1130. We are going to do what is called a modified neck dissection -- which means he'll go into the side of my neck, scoop out all of the lymph nodes he can find, and then put me back together like Humpty Dumpty.

He says this surgery won't be as hard for me as the last surgery, the thyroidectomy. He should not have to dodge parathyroid glands or major nerves due to the location of the angry node. I will be in the hospital Thursday night and will be able to go home on Friday.

Mom and Dad will be driving to OKC tomorrow and should get here tomorrow evening. They plan on staying in town until Saturday morning, if everything goes as planned. Bryan is still off of school this summer, so he'll be my very own home health nurse.

I will go back to work on the 28th. I'm very fortunate that I still have my emergency leave, so I'll be able to take those five days off of work with that time. This way I can still save my regular time off fund to go towards my next radiation treatment, which should still be sometime this winter.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers -- for Mom and Dad to have a safe trip to and from OKC; for an uneventful surgery that does not upset any major nerves; for a quick, uncomplicated recovery; for us to have the grace and peace to get through this smiling at the end. We love each of you and thank you again for your support and good vibrations.