Wednesday, November 4, 2015

The Scalpel's Reflection

I am now two weeks post op.  In my previous post, To God Be the Glory, I spoke about the possible outcomes of the operation.  I've given myself a little time to 'defog' my brain, and now  here is the updated story!
I was accompanied by my husband Steve and my brother, Karl, the morning of the surgery.  I was so glad to be able to see the surgeon before they gave me any 'happy juice'.  I wanted to be able to clearheadedly ask if I may pray with him.  How blessed I was to find out that he was very open and willing to do so.  Afterward, I think I surprised him when I started reassuring him that he was going to do fine. He looked at Steve and said this was a first time a patient was making HIM feel better about what was to happen! I told him that no matter what happened, God was the ultimate One in charge.  He agreed.
Upon studying the situation before beginning, the doctor discovered that he did not need to make an open incision around my side from the ribs to the abdomen, as previously thought.  He made an approximate 11 1/2 inch vertical cut down the middle of my stomach.  He told Steve that at first glance, he was amazed at how good everything looked inside.  Apart from some organs being misplaced, due to the pressure from my massively enlarged kidney, everything was not nearly as deformed as thought.  He was able to perform the first option, of cutting out the 5-6 inch bad section of ureter and reattach the two ends.  There was no need to use any of my intestines to make a new ureter.  No need to stretch my bladder to compensate for the missing tube. A simple 'cut and paste' if you will. 
He capped off my nephrostomy tube, inserted a stent and attached a catheter for about 4 days.  My surgery was on Tuesday morning, and I was home by Saturday evening, urinating on my own, with no artificial help.
As for healing, I am slowly feeling better, day by day.  Today, I get my staples removed, and possibly my nephrostomy tube, also.  That will enhance my healing process very rapidly, I'm sure!  I've had numerous abdominal surgeries, similar to this, in the past.  But they were over 20 years ago.  I can tell there is a difference at the age of 55!! I'm definitely taking it easy, and letting myself heal properly.
As I anticipated, God was right in the middle of that six hour surgery, and He was Glorified.  His Mercy and His Goodness shone through.  His Glory was reflected in the gleam of the surgeon's scalpel.

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