The surgery went well. I was in and out. And I am now at home, recuperating from the ordeal for the next few days.
I described my nemesis as a lump of ‘mass’ about the size of a marble below my vocal chords. It turned out to be a very large marble – more like a grape. Not one of those Food King grapes you get at your average grocery store. This was more like a Costco grape – you know, those really big grapes that look like they were nourished with steroids. Except this huge grape was dressed up (appropriately) in a Halloween costume to go trick or treating as a cauliflower. The monster practically filled the diameter of my entire throat passage. Looking at the snapshots the surgeon took of it, I don’t see how I could breathe, and I know why I couldn’t talk.
With regards to talking, the ‘mass’ had grown very close to my vocal folds. In fact the surgeon found it necessary to remove a sliver of my vocal chords with it. And I was anxious to give my voice a beta test as soon as I made my dizzy reentry from anesthesia. “Hello,” I said – and was pleased with the result. I have tried not to talk a lot since, in order to give my throat and voice box a chance to heal. So, I’m not sure, at this point, if I’ll ever sing grand opera again. And trial runs so far indicate that my voice may settle in a tad higher than it used to be and may never be as resonant. But time will tell. It’s a little early for conclusions.
And it is much too early for regrets of misgivings. I feel tremendously blessed, and I do not intend to give a whimper of complaint. I have struggled and survived a misfortune that 150 years ago would have killed me. In all likelihood, most of us have. I can breathe again. I can talk again. I can teach again. I am grateful to a kind Heavenly Father, to a skilled surgeon, and to the faith and prayers of so many thoughtful friends who implored the blessings of eternity on my behalf. Thank you for your mindfulness of me in my adversity.
Life goes on. May we all continue to enjoy its bounties – and to bask in the affection of caring friends and the kindness of a loving Heavenly Father.
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So glad to hear that your surgery went so well and that your recovery is speedy!
I note that you mentioned that you “struggled and survived a misfortune that 150 years ago would have killed [you].”
This of course opens our eyes to the vast array of blessings Heavenly Father has poured our upon all of us…blessings that were promised to accompany the restoration.
How often do we recall that for thousands of years the fastest way to travel was by horseback, and the best way to read was by candle or oil lamplight.
Then came that “sweet spot” in time…(an optimum point or combination of factors or qualities) where in remarkably quick succession the world suddenly had trains and electricity, telegrams and factories and cars and trucks and motion pictures, and airplanes and radio and television. Amazing advances in medicine and technology that would boggle the mind of great-great grandparents.
A lot to be thankful for indeed.
Especially gratifying is the increased outpouring of the spirit and all accompanying blessings that open our eyes to the workings of the Lord. These things testify of Christ. All things testify of Christ, and increase faith.
Back near the end of September, my Dad had a stroke on his birthday. The stroke occurred in a part of the brain where it was not readily noticeable. That, combined with the symptoms of a pre-existing thyroid issue masked the danger he was in. It was almost impossible to notice. Heavenly Father increased my awareness, I did notice. After a hospital stay and a few weeks in physical rehabilitation, he’s been back home for a few weeks now (released into my Mom’s and my care.) He can walk and talk and he still has his personality and intelligence and wit.
Before he was healthy enough to stay home permanently, on one of my Dad’s overnight passes home for a great-granddaughters birthday, my brother-in-law was wrestling around and hurt his own knee. He was taken into the hospital in extreme pain. In the emergency room they discovered that he was in the midst of a heart attack from a clogged stint that was surgically placed previously.
He had an emergency operation and a stay in the hospital as well. Now he is home recovering, and with a broken knee. A broken knee that saved his life. For which we are all grateful.
I am the only member of the Church in my family. I take my responsibility to exercise faith for blessings on their behalf seriously. For some years now, they have been increasing in their own prayers and faith. And they all know that two miracles have occurred. (Even the medical practitioners are recognizing that.)
Awareness and faith is increasing.