Glo's final update (long, for the brave only)

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone

As you might imagine I have had a lot of mixed feelings

lately...disappointment in not having the surgery, gratefulness to

Dr. Ren and Gio for taking the lump seriously and acting so quickly,

shock in just hearing the word " cancer " , etc. I guess I've always

been a " can do " type of person, I think I must have been born with

the words " I can do it myself " coming from my tiny little lips,

LOL!So I'm a bit ashamed to admit that Dave & I are having a hard

time coming to terms with the news that cancer has invaded our

family, as it has so many others. The first thing I wanted to do when

I got home from NYC (except sleep, lol!) was to post to this list. At

that time I hadn't got the biopsy results back yet and every day was

like torture, waiting to hear. It was just too painful, emotionally,

to come on here and post, I hope you all understand. I want to thank

and for pinch-hitting for me there and letting everyone

know what was going on. How can Dave and I thank all of you for your

prayers and thoughts? It has touched us both so deeply...so much so

that I'm typing through my tears right now...honestly I have never

felt so loved in my life.

I think summed it all up but if you want the unedited version

here goes...Gio was going over my medical history and asked if there

was anything else he should know. I told him the only thing I could

think of was this lump on my neck, but that I'd had my pcp look at it

on 2 separate office visits and he said it was nothing to be

concerned about. Gio took a look at it and was immediately concerned,

enough to tell Dr. Ren about it. As soon as Dr. Ren saw it she

ordered a CTscan. She went out of her way to find a lab that accepted

our insurance. Then she got me an appt, that very day, with a neck

cancer surgeon who took 5 biopsies on the spot. He told us he was

pretty sure it was thyroid cancer but the biopsies would tell for

sure. Dave & I were trying to absorb all of this. Normally thyroid

cancer is one of the easiest to cure. However, mine has been growing

for a long time and apparently from what the cancer surgeon told us

has spread into the lymph nodes and my chest cavity. Dave & I decided

to return home and await the biopsy results.

Wed morn, they day we were expecting the results, Dave's brother had

a heart attack and we rushed to the hospital. They lost him twice but

were able to resusitate him. He had an artery that was 100% blocked.

They put a stint in and he's doing great for what he's been through,

this isn't the first time for him. We were concentrating on Dave's

brother so much, I think it helped, in a weird way, to ease the

anxiety over when " the " phone call would come. The surgeon's office

called later that day to let us know the biopsies showed metastatic

thyroid cancer. Before we left NYC, Dr. Ren found out the best

surgeon to go to in MI and told us that when we got home and made the

appt, if it was a long way off, to call her and she would get us in

sooner. The appt is on the 17th, which we and Dr. Ren felt was very

reasonable.

As mentioned, I am a Christian. But I am human too, lol! I am

trying to come to terms with all this...many times I feel like I'm on

sensory overload. In spite of this storm, I know the God who I have

put my faith and trust in all these years is very aware of what I am

going through and what is happening in my body. I trust Him so

completely with my life and know that all your prayers for my healing

will be answered whether it be here on this earth or when I'm face to

face with my King, Jesus.

And , thanks for trying to make me feel younger...I'm really 43,

but I probably just LOOK 37, huh? LOL! Must be those pillows we

bought at K-Mart, Bob...a better night's sleep shaved a good 6 years

off me, hee hee! Let me know if it worked for you too Bob

One last thing...you knew there was one, didn't you? There is a moral

to my story, you know. If you feel a lump and your dr doesn't take it

seriously, don't automatically trust his judgment like we did. GET A

SECOND OPINION. If I hadn't seen Dr. Ren (and Gio), when would I have

found out? Even if this takes my life, at least now I have time to

plan how I want to spend the rest of it. Our family is forever

grateful to Dr. Ren and Gio.

So now friends, this is the last " update from Glo " as it just

wouldn't be appropriate to post here further. Feel free to email me

anytime though. And continue to pray for us...we have 3 sons,

(16), (9) and Kent(soon to be 7 this coming Tues.)

Much love to you all

Glo & Dave