Update: Post-Op visit is tomorrow

All things considered, it's all good.

I got the attend our staff worship planning meeting this morning at the Heritage campus, my first "more than a couple hour" venture from home. It was an awesome meeting, and I'm very, very (did I say "very?" Can I get an "Amen!") excited what will come our of our frank, open, and honest discussion about worship. As of today, I just can't wait to get back into the ebb and flow of daily ministry. I very much miss working with John, Cindy, Armando, Nathan, Wren, Jenny, Trudy, Melissia and all the rest.

I was also blessed today by my barber, Joe Sheppard. He bought me lunch, gave me a haircut and a shave, and then drove me home (I'm still on driving restrictions). Joe has been my friend for almost 8 years. Floyd Diehm told me about Joe's shop, and no one else has cut my hair since. A good Christian man who counsels and mentors many in his daily walk. And, it's a "Barber Shop." Not a "salon." It's about the only estrogen free place I have left to go to anymore (remember, I have 2 daughters ...).

I did have my first "I no longer have a thyroid" fatigue episode on Sunday, as well as bit of it today. Simply put biologically, I no longer have a thyroid to produce for my body what a thyroid produces when the body wants it.

What? Did that even make sense?

It does to me. I can feel the consequences ...

On Sunday, Liz and I attended worship at 11:15 am, and then were invited to lunch with Jesse and Annette Sowell (Happy Birthday, Annette!) After eating we were talking away about family and church stuff when WHAM! It felt like I hit a brick wall! I just had no energy. I had a very sudden bad headache, felt completely de-energized and told Liz to get the car. After an afternoon nap, I was better.

The worse part of all this, as I'm told by both doctor and others who have gone through this, is the constant episodes fatigue (with no rhyme or reason to them ) until after radioactive iodine treatments are completed, because only then can my ENT start my hormone therapy (the little pill I will take daily the rest of my life). A low iodine diet comes first with weekly blood treatments before iodine treatments ... which look now to start in 4-6 weeks.

That's a long time to experience fatigue, especially when you drive a lot to Dallas and Ft. Worth to visit in hospitals. Glad we have Amelia Beasley interning with us. Her helping us, especially these past 3 weeks, with visitation and funerals has been a blessing.

So, it looks like I am going to have to carefully plan each day with a shorter to-do list than normal, including limiting my driving. Another frustration is that I have not been cleared to again resume visiting in hospitals. A "clarification" of that comes tomorrow, I hope.

Please keep praying for my family and I. This has all been harder on them than I expected or have come to realize. I'm sort of use to people being worried about my mental health (a joke! at least I hope it's a joke ...) but not so much when your loved ones are worried about you having cancer. If my family's love can get me through anything, it will get me through this, as will the love of my friends like Joe Sheppard, and my church family.

I'll blog or Facebook something tomorrow after I see my ENT.

God's grace still amazes me ... ><>