Surgery on the 19th

I apologize ahead of time for any misspelled words. I don't have much time to write.

 We have been praying that I would be a cantidate for a less invasive procedure called VATS (Video Assisted Thorascopic Surgery) for my lobectomy instead of having the old-fashioned rib spreading Thoracotomy. Well our prayers were answered on March 6th when we met with my surgeon Dr. Carr at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. First of all he has a great sense of humor which is one of the first things I was hoping for but most importantly he is the only surgeon in the surrounding 4 states that is qualified to remove whole lobes within the lung using this type of scope procedure. In fact he does this procedure 4 to 5 times per week for lobectomys. Having VATS means the recovery time will be about half of what was expected and the pain wont be as bad. What a huge relief for us! God is so good! It's awesome to sit back and watch His hands working in every little aspect of this journey. He never seizes to amaze me.....His GREATNESS....... standing in wonder and awe of Him.....

So surgery it is!  March 19th is the big day, God willing of course. Im expected to be in the hospital for 3-7 days depending..... I m kind of a wimp when it comes to physical pain and I dislike painkillers. Im hoping I can handle the pain without narcotics.

The amazing human body that our Father designed...  having a total of 5 lobes that make up our lung function, 3 in the right and 2 in the left. My lower left lobe will be removed but I will still have 4  :) Thanks to my Creator!

 Dr Carr said after I fully recover I will be able to do pretty much everything but I will just never have my "second wind" again as he called it, going from 100 % lung function to 80 %. Swimming and jogging are the best exercises for expanding and stretching the the lungs to their full capacity. So looks like Ill be doing a lot of that in the future if I want to have the best lung function possible...YES PLEASE! Sadly it took something life threatening to motivate me to be healthier. Unfortunately that is not uncommon in our society these days...We tend to not change our bad habits until we are forced too! 

*There is a good chance that I may not need Chemotherapy after the surgery but we wont know until the tumor and lymph nodes come back from pathology*

*********I love you all so much and words could never express the gratitude I have for all of your continued love and prayers. The Lord has blessed me beyond measure through all of you!**************

Good day & God Bless!