Home & Continuing to Heal

Journal Entry #4

Colleen was released from the hospital Thursday around 4pm (her insurance company would not allow her to stay more than 24 hours after surgery). GInger (Colleen's mom) flew in from PA and was able to help get Colleen home and comfortable and has been instrumental in helping us with all of the little tasks around here. She is a source of strength for Colleen as they sing praise songs together and take many moments throughout the day to pray for Colleen's healing process. Colleen has been full of gratitude for the many blessings that have occurred post-surgery. She had a wonderful, sparkly-eyed nurse named Linda who was full of wisdom and compassion. She took great care of Colleen, praying over her, giving her words of encouragement (as she has been a breast cancer survivor for 9 years), and just being an all-around excellent nurse.

Throughout her whole time in the hospital post-surgery, the nurses and other providers who stopped by to check on Colleen kept expressing how impressed they were with her as she was recovering and how well she was able to manage the tasks they encouraged her to do: lung exercises, walking the hall, eating, drinking fluids, etc. She was assertive in getting to it and while on her first walk gave thanks to her dad who inspired her with his strength and determination after his own surgeries. (He was in a severe car accident in 1999 and lost both of his legs below-the-knee.) It was also a HUGE blessing that Colleen was able to do all this without having to experience a great deal of pain, and this was accomplished with very little pain medication. Each time someone commented on this, Colleen was quick to reply that it was the result of hundreds of people praying for her (Divine Medicine!)

Colleen continues to express deep gratitude and tears of joy for all the amazing people in our lives who have been supportive and encouraging in a myriad of ways: for the fact that the surgery went so well, the incision site was so well done that the Surgeon even seemed to have impressed herself with the outcome, and she got the results back from the genetic testing and it was negative for BRCA mutations!!!! Which was a BIG answer to prayers because if this was not the case, it would have been recommended that she have her remaining breast removed via a mastectomy and her ovaries removed as well. So for all of this and to each of you we are sending up a heartfelt THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!  

Prayer Request:
We are waiting on the pathology report from the lymph nodes that were removed. We are praying that they are in fact clear of cancer.