I can tell you, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I can’t think of anyone in this whole world I’d rather go through these trying times with than Mr. FixIt. He is mellow and easy going and it takes a heck of a lot to ruffle his feathers. He’s…steady. I, on the other hand, am not always….ummmmm, even keeled. I try, but it is the Gemini in me that sends me on tangents and I know…if I were him…I’d want to have a break from me once in a while.

I occasionally grant him this unspoken wish by heading out to the farm for a couple days of no TV…no real noise of any kind. Just the regular cycling of the furnace and the gas heaters and the sounds of the sun heating up the tin roof making it shift and pop. I came out yesterday afternoon after my video visit with my endocrine surgeon. He was reporting the results of the Selective Venous Sampling that was performed a couple of weeks ago at OSU.

I love the electronic charts that are available now. I can go in my patient portal and look at the results of my blood tests or x-rays on the same day they were drawn and not have to wait for a week to hear from the doctor. This works well if you have a background in medicine and can interpret the results. It’s not so good if you don’t really know what you’re looking at and resort to WebMD to diagnose yourself. 

I could tell by the results that there were three veins (out of the twenty sampled) that showed a much higher concentration of parathyroid hormone than any of the others. That indicates the parathyroid tumor is A) on the right side and B) in my neck and NOT my chest…which is a major relief. We can do one of two things. Wait and keep retesting my blood which is not a desirable option. This disease will not go away on its own. The only fix is removal of the offending parathyroid gland(s). So, the option of removal is where we are headed.

I’ll need a couple of visits before surgery…one with the anesthesiologist and the other with a voice specialist who will test to make sure my vocal cords haven’t been damaged from the initial surgery. Going in a second time in the neck is not as easy as the first. There is scar tissue from healing, and not everything is where it used to be because someone’s been in there moving things around. 

It takes an extremely skilled surgeon to re-do a parathyroidectomy and I have every faith in this surgeon’s skills. From his training, to his years of experience, to his research in parathyroid disease, he checks off everything on the list. He not only does endocrine surgery, which is very fine work. He also is an oncological surgeon. So, I am in good hands as far as my medical team. And…I am in the Best Hands because God’s got this.

I enjoyed my afternoon…sitting in grandma’s chair in front of her window, knitting the next pair of socks. A beautiful mix of sea and sand colors in 100% Merino Wool…soft as a baby’s bottom and a joy to cross my needles. I’m letting my mind embrace another surgery with great hope that I’ll be relieved of this disease once and for all and can live a longer, happier, healthier life. All while giving my sweetheart a little space of his own to rest and recuperate. We all need that from time to time.

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“But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.”

Psalms 56:3 NLT