JENNIFER C from Toronto, Canada
Chapter I: She is an RDH diagnosed with SCC of the right tonsil and scared about the treatment.
Chapter II: Jennifer’s surgery is successful and she feels gratitude.
Chapter III: One week post surgery Jennifer writes:
Just up in the middle of the night and reflecting on some of what your post-surgical reality must’ve been. The air is so exceptionally dry that I think my epiglottis glues itself shut between feedings. Had to stand in the bathroom with the hot water tap running and tent a towel around my head encompassing what little steam I can to unclog my poor little nose and throat. You see, they removed my feeding tube yesterday, as well as my drainage tube in my neck. All sounds very exciting, doesn’t it? Let me assure you, all is not joy. I am now required to crush my pills, and stir them into my plain yogurt. Who knew it could take many exhausting efforts in one whole day, just to manage eating a 1/4 of a cup. But I’m thankful that I’m mending fast, and am quickly grasping how to do these things without the aid of my nurses. It has been one week since surgery, and I’m deeply appreciating that one day very soon, I will be home sleeping in my king sized comfy marshmallow bed again!
I commented to one lovely young nurse, a couple of days ago, that the patients I see here are such dear souls….so brave after undergoing far more complex surgeries than mine. She assured me that she thinks I’m very brave. I never thought of myself that way before…more like I’d been forced onto this train that has no brakes. I decided that what if every day, I wake up with sound resolve to be brave, and happy…even if it’s just for today.
God bless you Eva for all you strength and hard work!
Jennifer
Jennifer,
Great to hear from you!! You are just stepping upwards each day!
Here is a story that makes me think of your success:
A farmer’s donkey fell into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours. Unable to find a solution, he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway. So, the farmer invited neighbors to help him shovel dirt into the well. After a few shovel loads, the farmer looked into the well and was astonished. As the dirt hit his back, the donkey would shake it off, and step on the dirt as it piled up. The farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal and soon the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well, and trotted off!
The ‘dirt’ thrown at us during our lifetime, depending on how we cope, is an opportunity to leave a legacy about how to live through adversity.
We installed a humidifier system in our bedroom so the winter air is much moister. It helps 🙂
Let us know when you get the lymph node biopsy back. We pray it didn’t spread.
Keep the spirit high and your heart in love with life!
Eva
