Getting Set for Surgery #2

This morning Dave and I met with the surgeon and had our pre-op appointment for Thursday's surgery. The surgeon described his role as one of a "technician", grabbing some lymph nodes at the behest of the oncologist. I think he is very skilled at laproscopic surgery, but he was pretty straight-forward with us regarding the largest possible bad side-effect: no clear diagnosis. Apparently the two "hot" lymph nodes from the PET-scan in this area are in a series of 15-20 lymph nodes on my outer iliac (outside branch of my aorta/femoral vessel just before my left leg). Only two of the nodes there showed up on the scan, but there won't be a good way of identifying which two they are once he gets in there, since they are only slightly enlarged. He will attempt to take out 5-10 of them, and also swing around possibly to take a look for another one close to my liver (also hot on the Pet-scan). Depending on how difficult it is to find them and get to them, surgery should last from 15 minutes to an hour or so. I will have three tiny incisions, and they will fill me up to some specific pressure with CO2 gas to give him room inside my abdomen to work. (Sounds uncomfortable to me!) The recovery should be similar to laproscopic gallbladder or appendix removal: 4-5 days of laying pretty low, then gradually increasing activity until I'm back to normal in 2-3 weeks.

The surgeon said he would do his best to get us a good sample of nodes, and I told him we would be praying for him to get just the right ones. He replied that we should, "Pray very specifically." So, here are some very specific prayer requests for those of you willing to pray the specifics with us:

• Pray that the surgeon (Dr. Barker) would, indeed, pull out just the perfect lymph nodes for us to get a diagnosis of what's happening in all those pesky nodes.
• Pray that Dr, Barker would be skillful in navigating the minefield of my abdomen, the scar tissue from an ectopic pregnancy and fallopian tube removal on that same side, and keep from any inadvertent damage to organs and vessels he passes by and moves around.
• Pray for my peace of mind and resting in Christ as I enter the general anesthetic again, and come out of it again, and that my asthma would be well managed again (as it was last time).
• Pray for Dave: the stresses at work and at home are great, and he is being an excellent care giver and faithful friend.
  
• And pray for my kids (notice how I can't say "the boys" anymore? I have girls now too!) as they are concerned and trying to care for me from far away-- that is hard!

And let's praise God specifically, too!

• Praise for an excellent surgeon and excellent care.
• Praise God for a great prognosis for the breast cancer so far.
• Praise God for peaceful sleep almost every night.
  
• Praise Him for not letting me go my own way, but getting my attention and calling me to remember to fix my eyes on Him.
  
• And most of all, praise Him that He has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we might live with Him. (1 thessalonians 5:9-10) That is the most amazing praise of all!