~ Chad's Surgery ~

November is a month for giving thanks, and I am so thankful for all of God's blessings!  I'm grateful for being able to be with Chad during his surgery, for my wonderful husband's support and encouragement, for my sister Julie and all my family support and love (Renstrom's, Robertson's & Gallagher's), for the surgeon's steady hands, and for Chad coming through the surgery so well.

A couple of weeks before the wedding, we found out that Chad had a tumor on his thyroid.  He went through a series of tests, scans, biopsies, and they determined it must come out.

I flew into Las Vegas on November 4th to be here for the surgery the next day. After a rough night and little sleep, we made our way to Summerlin Hospital to check in.  The wait was hard on Chad... he was hungry and thirsty after a night of fasting.  They finally took him in for prep and we spoke with the surgeon, the anesthesiologist, and the nurse.  It was good to meet them all and ask some questions beforehand.  

The surgeon anticipated 2 hours in surgery, so by 3, I was a little concerned.  The next hour was hell for me and I'm so thankful for Craig & Julie, who did their best to keep me calm!!  Finally, the doctor came for me after 4 hours and 20 minutes ~ Chad was doing well... and was in recovery.

The tumor was the largest mass he'd seen... growing on his thyroid, nerves, and vocal cords.  It was crushing his trachial tube... and they found a second, smaller growth on the other side.  They removed  a large part of his thyroid.   There was also a possibility that his voice could change due to the tumor  being on his vocal cords. They decided to keep him in the ICU for a day or two to monitor his condition and recovery. 

It was so good to finally be able to see him and talk to him ~ although it was hard to see him with tubes and an oxygen mask and the bandages around his neck.  I stayed by his side til they kicked me out... and I was actually thankful he was in the ICU because I knew he'd be monitored constantly during the night.

His night in the ICU was uneventful and he looked good the next morning! =)  After checking his incision, they decided he could go home that day!  They removed the drain from his neck along with the bandages and we got our first look at his incision.... wow!!  It was truly frightening to see... about 4 inches across his neck, staples, puffy, swollen... it looked like a Frankenstein scar across his neck!  We know it will heal and fade in time and will someday just be a memory... and thanks to some of Chad's friends, decided it would make for a great "story" about a fight with a ninja warrior =)  

Chad is getting stronger every day... and today we're venturing out to another doctor's appointment (this one for his back injury!).  His voice seems to be just fine... and we don't hear any difference, so that makes me smile too.  We see his surgeon on November 11th to find out the results and remove his staples.   Prayers continue for the prognosis to be good...  and I thank God every day for the beautiful and amazing son that I've been blessed with, my sweet, wonderful husband, who would give the shirt off his back, who has been my rock throughout, my entire family... and Chad's friends who showed so much love and support.  I love you all.