#60 Whiplash: "Thoughts from the Back Deck..."

I sometimes feel like I am getting whiplash. 

Mr. Ritchie, there is something on your pancreas (*snap* head turns one direction)

Mr. Ritchie, it looks like you have pancreatic cancer (*snap* head turns opposite direction) we need more tests.

Mr. Ritchie, it's a slow-growing tumor, likely been there for years and will be there for years, but we need another test and a biopsy *snap*

Mr. Ritchie, it's slow growing. MRI every 6 months to keep our eye on its progression. *snap*

Mr Ritchie, the doctor, for some reason, did not do the biopsy. So, instead of every six months, we will do an MRI in three months as a precaution. *snap*

Mr. Ritchie, it's not slow growing. It grew from the size of a grape to the size of a walnut. *OH SNAP*

Enter new doctor/ care facilities 
*snap* *snap* *snap* *snap* *snap*

Mr. Ritchie, it still does not look like cancer but we need a biopsy to confirm first. *snap*. We also want a dietary consultant. *snap* We also want a genetic consult  *snap*.  We also will be consulting with a board of doctors about your case. *snap* 
Reguadless of the outcome, then cyst will need to come out. It's a procedure known as a Whipple. *OH SNAP!!!* We remove part of your stomach, intestine, pancreas, and gall bladder, disconnect the liver duct...then reconnect everything remaining. 
6-hour surgery
6-day recovery
6 weeks should be feeling back to normal.
*snap* *snap* *snap* *snap* *snap*

Me: Doc, that is 666, can you make that a
7-hour surgery
7-day hospital stay
7-week recovery?????

Sense of humor ✔️ intact! And no "snap" of whiplash.

Here is the deal as I try to process this. It's a weird sense of emotions of "bummer and Thanksgiving".

Bummer that I have this tumor/ cyst. BTW, the newest doctors are calling it consistently a cyst. 

I am so thankful that it is not likely cancer.

Bummer that it's not slow growing.

Thankful they caught this really early! I have no symptoms! 

Bummer that I have to have another endoscopy, this time making sure the biopsy is done! 

I am so thankful that it can be operated on and removed, that it has not formed around the major artery/ vein that runs up to the brain and makes these inoperable.

Having this Whipple procedure is going to be a bummer.
 
I am so thankful they can likely do robotically. 

Did I say having this Whipple procedure is going to be a bummer?!

I am so thankful that on the other side of this, the cyst will be gone, and I will be fine, and life will go on, and this is an excellent long-term fix.

I am so thankful to be a member of the body of Christ that supports and prays for me and my family. 

I am so thankful that "If I live, I live to the Lord, and if I die, I die to the Lord, so whether I live or die, I belong to the Lord." (Romans 14).

I am so thankful for my great physician, Jesus, brings the ultimate cure to what plagues me... He takes my sin away. 

Colossians 3:15
"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful."

I am, really I am thankful (but the whiplash *snap* is difficult!)

Peace out,
Andy

stpaullakeland.org. 

Join us Sunday for worship 8:30 / 10:47
Online or in person. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

#78 Thoughts from the Back Deck. Servant Leadership

Image
More of my orchids are coming into bloom. Once a week, I take time to carefully water each plant. I am careful that I don't get water in the plant's stem and where the leaf grows out of it, because it will often rot and destroy the leaf. In Florida's, "winter season" I make sure each plant gets exposed to colder temps for a week or more, but careful not to be exposed to freezing temps. That cold exposure allows the plant to reset and assures the plant to bloom in the spring. Sometimes I need to re-pot the orchids. A bigger pot. A change in the medium the orchids are potted in is not an uncommon task. I don't spend hours on the orchids but I do consistently care for them. Being faithful to little things gives me a beautiful benefit, and I enjoy the long-lasting blooms! As a pastor, I have had people come to me and express a desire to get involved. I try to listen and get a sense of a person's interests, spirit...
Read more

#77 Thoughts from the back deck of my friend's house in Michigan... Two Roads.

Image
Robert Frost The Road Not Taken Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. I have been at a pastor's conference this week in Michigan. The colors have been amazing. I have walked daily, as much for a chance to take in the beauty as for my health. I spent time with fellow church workers learning and ...
Read more

#15 Shorter Days, Thoughts from the back deck...

Image
#15, Shorter days?! I sit on my back deck at about the same time every morning but the morning light marks the changes of seasons once again. This photo is from a Keys sunrise fishing trip a few years back, I still hold to the premise that a bad day fishing is still better than a good day at work. Time appears to be short.  More darkness than light.  That is another premise I hear a lot these days. People who feel that way are not talking about the change of seasons. There is a certain amount of anxiousness we can feel as we look at the world. I feel it too as many of you do. I have to fight buying into that premise.  Why do I fight it and why should you fight it?  The premise is based in fear. And fear is a tool of the devil. He uses it to bring doubt in Jesus and that is never a good place to look at life from.  What if time is short? What does that mean? That Jesus will be coming soon. That is nothing to fear but to look forward to! What if time i...
Read more