To start at the beginning, J looked into increasing his disability/life insurance last August in preparation for a new baby to care for. He had a physical and had to see an endocrinologist, and it was a second endocrinologist who discovered the lump on his neck. Between August to November, Jonathan lost about 30 pounds (this is a whole different story, about how J lost weight while I was packing on pounds for not one, but now TWO pregnancies!) and has been getting in shape physically. The doctor was not concerned, and said thyroid lumps were very common and it was probably benign. So, unfortunately, we didn't worry too much about it. The hospital took a while to schedule him for an ultrasound, which was inconclusive, then the biopsy. We were dismayed and in shock when he got the news. Jonathan took this much better than me in the beginning, but I still think it took its toll on him - it's sobering news to take in.
To be faced with the possibility of something as serious as cancer has been difficult, but it's also a reminder of how precious is this life we are given, and how a single day should never be taken for granted. I cannot imagine life without him; he is my husband, my partner, my best friend, and the love of my life. I will say that it has been humbling and wonderful to hear from so many friends and family letting us know they were praying for him/us and sending well wishes our way. We are blessed, indeed. He has been on several prayer lists and I wholeheartedly believe in the power of prayer. After just a few days, I felt more at peace knowing that God was in control; my quiet time journal entries were also powerful messages at a time when I needed to know God was watching over us. I am thankful for good, faithful friends & family who have supported and encouraged us with prayer. I also have felt that through the string of incidents that led to his diagnosis (which otherwise might have gone unnoticed) God was watching over us and ensuring that it was caught and taken care of in time.
We visited with Jonathan's surgeon yesterday, where we learned that Jonathan has the most common of the 4 types of thyroid cancer, which is also the most treatable and has the best outcome percentages. He also told us that based on his examination and review of the ultrasound, he does not believe the cancer has spread. We will not know definitively until he has the radioactive pill/full body scan a couple of months after surgery, but it was reassuring to hear the doctor's opinion. Jonathan's lump is on one side of his thyroid, and the entire thyroid will be removed. The recovery time is about one week, and he will take medication to replace his thyroid once it is removed. The process sounds fairly straight-forward/routine, and we are eager to have this behind us. We scheduled his surgery for the end of the month, to hopefully give us a couple of weeks home to acclimate to life with 3 little ones.
Jonathan made light of things with some humor, which I didn't fully appreciate at first (!) but I feel like I can now relax a little bit. He refers to the lump as "Fred." Hence the title of this post :)
We have taken this time to pray twice as often in thanksgiving for our blessings, and our sweet boys. In a time when I am overly emotional with pregnancy hormones, faced with worry about the baby and for him, it has been especially nice that the boys have been so good and loving lately.
This verse has been in my mind frequently over the last couple of weeks, and it is times like these that I am especially grateful for my faith and for God's grace.
