I knew today would be long. I knew it would be difficult. I had hardly slept in two days, and was hardly on top of my mental game. But I made it through. Here's a rundown of the day's events.
Mom, Dad and I got to the hospital bright and early at 6:45am. Terri was already there waiting for us, and Pastor Tommy arrived shortly after. They sent us to the waiting room and Alicia was there to take mom back and help prep her for surgery. It was great to see a familiar, smiling face! They let us go back in pairs to wait with her, as we had a couple of hours before the surgery was to begin. While Dad and Pastor Tommy were back there, the surgeon, Dr. Majors, came in right as they were about to pray. He asked to stay there for the prayer (awesome!) and Pastor Tommy said that in all of his years visiting people in the hospital, that was the first time a doctor had requested to be included in the prayer. What a great start to the day!
They finally wheeled her into surgery around 9:00. After two very anxious hours in the waiting room, Dr. Majors came out and went over the details of her surgery. She did well. They performed the masectomy and removed some suspicous lymph nodes, and he expects about 30% of them to be cancerous. But we will have to wait for the pathology report on Tuesday or Wednesday to know all the details, what stage she is in, and where to go from here. For right now, we think chemo is going to be the next step.
After an hour in recovery, they put her in a room in the outpatient surgery unit. She was still pretty out of it. She was trying to wake up to see all of her visitors, but she just couldn't keep her eyes open. She couldn't even stay awake long enough to tell the severity of her pain to recieve pain meds. After everyone left and it was just me and Dad there with her, it hit me pretty hard. She just looked so small and weak.
The doctor had told us that she could go home today, but he recommended that she spend the night. Unfortunately, the nurses understood the orders to be her leaving today. Well it became pretty apparent that she would definitely be spending the night. So, two very trying "roomates" later, we finally got her in another room by herself to spend the night. It was a pretty rough evening. She was starving, but she couldn't hold anything down. At one point she decided she really needed a donut and coffee so, against the nurse's advice, we gave her some...only to see it again a few minutes later.
We finally got all her nausea meds, pain meds and IV regulated, and got to spend a few comfortable hours with her. She obviously wasn't feeling 100%, but it was the best she had looked or felt all day. We all left and Dad is spending the night with her tonight, hopefully both of them getting some much needed rest.
I owe a great deal of thanks to everyone who called, commented, and came to visit. It's so important to both her and I to know that she is greatly loved, thought of, and covered in prayers. I especially want to thank Terri (mom #3) and Jeanine for everything...particularly just being there. I wouldn't have made it through this 14-hour day without you!
Sorry this has been so long. I'll keep posting as she improves and comes home tomorrow.
3 comments:
Brittany, Spud and I are thinking of you'all and praying. Your mom and dad have been on my mind all day and I would really appreciate if you let them know we are praying. We love them so much - they are like family to us. I want to come see your mom but I will wait a few days for her to get some strength back. I can't imagine the difficulty of this sudden event. It brought me to tears tonight as I was driving home thinking about how scary this is yet how faithful God is to his children. We are believing for a complete and speedy recovery and that God's goodness will be seen through this. We love you, Cathy and Spud.
I'm glad to know that you got your Mom settled into a room so that your Dad could stay with her tonight. I know you are all thankful that this long day is behind you. Many, many prayers have already been prayed for Nancy, and many more will be prayed as she recovers from surgery and continues through whatever process the doctor deems necessary. How awesome it is to know that the Joyner family is in the strong and loving hands of the Lord through this ordeal. Love you! Mom2
Brittany, thank you so much for the updates! We have and will continue to pray for your mom and your whole family. She is in the palm of HIS hands and we are believing with ya'll for great reports! Please let us know if we can do anything! Love you all!
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