9.25.2010

There's no title to do this story justice

I figured since you all have followed this story for months now, I should tell you about the appointment that gave us life back.
Yesterday at 8:45 we were at Emory. We were there to see a doctor who holds a title which I can't even pronounce. And on top of that, he teaches others about cancers of the neck So he's a pretty smart guy.
Normally when we go to see him, we wait. And wait. And wait.
But yesterday was different. We only waited about 15 minutes for Dr.W.
And for 10 of those minutes we talked to the funniest nurse I've ever met. She asked us questions about our kids, told us stories and we really enjoyed her company. She also had pink hair which was interesting.
And I got into my own head and convinced myself that this lady was being nice to us because God had placed her there to create a "calm before the storm". She made us at peace and we almost forgot that we were there to find out how cancer was going to change our lives again.
And so our pink haired nurse left and Dr.W came in almost immediately.
The only way I can describe him is grumpy.
I'm sure there is a better word, I just can't find it.
He really just a no frills type guy with little that makes him change his expression.
That's ok, he's smart. He can be grumpy.
And the first thing he says is that he had not received any paperwork from Evan's endocrinologist. Luckily for all of us, we brought a copy with us of his latest results as this is not the first time this has happened.
He scanned over the first page. "You didn't have a stimulated thyroid test?".
"No I did." Evan said.
"No you didn't." the doctor said.
And basically he explained to us that something must have went wrong with Evan's bloodwork after his last scan because his numbers for TSH were not where they should be. So that test was void.
Fabulous I thought. We have wasted time, money and effort.
Nope. As it turns out, the important number on Evan's bloodwork was his thyroglobulin level.
The other test could be repeated in a few months and dealt with.
But the thyroglobulin level is zero. And really that's all that matters.
As long as the thyroglobulin is zero, there is no active cancer growth.
He had no concerns because of that.
And he looked at Evan's worrisome ultrasound and scan and said "So you have lymph nodes!"
"Everyone has lymph nodes."
"If you have a 2cm. cancerous lymph node like this scan implies, I can feel it."
So he went around to Evan's neck, mushed around all over it and said, "I can't feel anything. And you have a skinny neck that's easy to feel stuff in. There's nothing unusual there. You have lymph nodes."
And he proceeded to tell us that if the scan showed lymph nodes and Evan's thyroglobulin was up, we would talk surgery. But that's not the case.
And at that point, he told us to stop worrying and move on with feeling good about Evan's health.
He did want us to understand that Evan will always be followed and always be monitored. He said we have 20 more years of this every 6 month business.
But who cares.
He told us to go celebrate.
He told us he'd see us in 6 months.
And I'm fairly certain that for a few minutes I was floating. The weight of the world had been lifted.
It was surreal. 10 months of pain and hurt was taken away in a 10 minute visit.
And we are new people.
Refined because of a struggle that no couple should have to go through.
But hopeful, wishful and thankful for the opportunity to use our story to share our faith and belief in prayer.
We are new.
Evan is healthy again.
Our love is solid.
Our faith is strong.
Our God is good.

4 comments:

  1. Favorite post ever. Ever. I was on such a high after you called yesterday--I felt like the world was new and there was nothing to be concerned with. Happy and full of joy can't express it. Love you both so much.

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  2. We wept over this this morning. Sooooo awesome!!! You should have a party to celebrate!

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  3. Wow. Just wow. Much love to you and your now cancer-free family!!!

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  4. I've been gone the last two weeks on vacation/business and missed this oh-so-important update! Ack! What fabulous, wonderful, best news ever!
    xoxo,
    Jeni

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