SAM has been cut off!
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Jamieson Family Health Journey
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Jamieson Family Health Journey
This unrushed lifestyle is foreign and not guilt-free but clearly needed and, in some ways, very enjoyable!
Thanks to Larry’s diligent care and Carly’s faithful staff, I have spent these first two weeks of recovery entirely without agenda except to rest and do whatever self and soul cares are needed. Even with things like drain care, some difficulty sleeping, and getting shaky when I’ve been up for too long, I’m reading some great books and catching up on tv shows I like. I’m really enjoying visits with friends too, in person or via FaceTime. SLOWLY my energy is building but I’m still tender and happiest when I can visit from a reclined position.
We celebrated Mother’s Day on Saturday with yummy food supplied by a friend and a whole afternoon watching our grandson Milo play like crazy. My arms wanted to snuggle him so badly but lifting restrictions and protecting five incisions required that I keep some distance. He does seem to notice something about Grammmie is different but I still got a few great nuzzles and plenty of entertainment!
I’ve had a couple of visits with the surgeon in the last few days. Healing is generally on a good trajectory but labs indicate my system is stressed and inflamed. Also, my pancreas is still leaking so the drain cannot be removed for at least a week yet. The surgeon needs more assurance that I’m out of the woods for complications like a fistula, absess or infection.
NOTE: Larry explained all of this really well in an update yesterday but the notifications don’t seem to have been working. So, if you missed it, please go back and read the 5/11/26 update if you have another moment.
As Larry explained in yesterday’s update, we already have the really big news — the pathology results say I am now CANCER FREE! Phrases like “grade 1” and “tumor negative for malignancy” and “5 reactive lymph nodes with no evidence of malignancy” are music to our ears!
Bear with me while I share a silly story. (Or just skip to the end for praises and prayer requests.) You could say weird spiritual humor.
Back in mid February, I gave my tumor a nickname. It was during my San Diego trip and brunch with our friend Carmen. Erin and I were reminiscing with Carmen about her own recent cancer journey and God’s faithfulness to heal and restore her. She had named her tumor “Roger” and, praise the Lord, “Roger” is officially OVER AND OUT!
At first I giggled and shrugged the idea off as a great story for her. But the name “Sam” did immediately come to mind for my own tumor. While Carmen, Erin and I ate pancakes, we prayed “Sam” out of the building. By the end of the meal, I was realizing that Sam is actually short for “Samson.” I recognized a loose comparison to how Samson of biblical history lost all of his strength when his hair was cut off. I know, it’s a pretty convoluted application but it brought good laughs, prayers of conviction and reassurance that God wants good things for us.
Laughter is good medicine after all. And God was assuring me that all of my cancer’s strength was going to be completely cut off from my body.
Right before I was taken to surgery, I prayed with my surgeon and the team in the room. I didn’t mention “Sam” by name but I was grateful to share Christ and who was holding their skilled hands.
I am very grateful there was an abundance of clarity about what surgical route the surgeon chose. Though he did need to do the full distal pancreatectomy AND splenectomy, that option shortened my surgery to 5 hours.
Praises
- Pathology results that caused my surgeon to say “best case scenario” at least twice
- Dramatically reduced itching of those allergic areas
- Healthy appetite and decreasing post-meal pain
- Super scrumptious and healthy meals provided by friends and a neighbor
- A very precious hug from the neighbor girl, nuzzles from my grandson, long snuggles with Carly while we watch tv together
- A sweet “date night” with Larry to a favorite restaurant after my post-op appt tonight then birthday gift shopping for Carly
Prayer Requests
- Protection from post-surgical complications
- Improving energy, mental focus and sleep
- DRAIN REMOVAL at just the right time
- Fun celebrations of Carly’s 28th birthday TOMORROW, May 13th! (Watch for some pictures of our happy girl!)
2 Corinthians 4
17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
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