Update: Surgery

As many of you already know, life since my last post has been...well, normal for me. It has been truly great. Catherine and I have been able to enjoy life together as a married couple like you are supposed to be able to do as a newly-wed couple. I have been able to work full-time and I believe that I've actually accomplished a lot in the past few weeks (although I suppose that statement is highly relative seeing as how the previous few months I was only able to work in scattered doses between treatments). I've been able to run, actually run. It has been amazing to me how quickly running is coming back. I was out for months, almost on my death bed literally. When I started running at the beginning of the month I could barely make it 20 min and at a pace at which I used to warm-up and cool-down. Now, although it's still not where I was, I'm able to go run 4-7 miles at 6:40-7:00 mile pace pretty comfortably.

It is great to get back to normalcy. For so long it seemed as a mere illusion. I was caught in-between what seemed like a distant memory and a dream for the future, just to get to the point in which I am now in regards to feeling 'normal' again. And perhaps that is the very reason why this next part is so hard. We found out at the end of last week that I am going to have to undergo the surgery previously mentioned to remove what remains of the masses in my abdominal cavity. It is scheduled for next week.

I won't go into detail, but if you want to know what the surgery will be like...I believe the post before this describes it. They will cut me open, take out my 'guts' and put them aside to be able to get to the mass. Then they will remove the mass that started out over 12.5 cm and is now 4 cm. They will also remove any of the other smaller masses. Basically, anything that is not supposed to be there, they will remove (might as well...since they have me open right?).

After everything that needs to be removed is cut out, they will slice the removed masses to obtain sections to perform biopsies on them. If they are simply scar tissue (which we are believing they are) then they will be done. They can put me back together and sew me up. However, if they find any teratoma or perhaps some other form of cancer that went undetected, they will have to go back in and remove all the lymphatic tissue in my abdominal cavity.

THIS IS NOT GOOD.

To make a long story short if this happens then it would jeopardize Catherine and my ability to have children.

So please...continue in prayer. Pray that there are no complications in what will be an invasive surgery. Pray that all they find is scar tissue (or even that they open me up and find nothing at all! That would be pretty cool huh?!). Pray for a quick recovery. Pray for no infections. Pray for Catherine and my family.

Thank you all for your support through this entire journey. Although it isn't completely over yet, and surgery isn't the most exciting news...it is nice to be at the end of the journey.