Today we went to see Dr. Willard. We had prayed the night before that if she was the surgeon that God had in mind that we would receive a peace about it. Our appointment was at 2:30 and we got there at 2:00 so we walked over to see Harry Lackey who is a sweet man from our church in a nursing home across the street. We visited with him and Carl pushed his wheelchair outside so he could enjoy the sunshine.
When it was time for our appointment we waited in the waiting room for a few minutes. She has a huge dog in her waiting room. Some find that strange but it didn’t bother me. Carl had his doubts about the dog. But he was keeping an open mind until after we had seen her. I had my Gator shirt and jacket on (as usual). Soon Dr. Willard came in from the hospital wearing a red scrub top and black pants. She told us she would be right in to see us. We went back into the room and when she came in she had changed her shirt and was now wearing a gator scrub top I LIKE HER!
She went over all my history and the ultrasound reports. Through all of it she stayed positive but didn’t give us any warm fuzzies. She basically said we wouldn’t know if it was malignant until she got in there. She will do a lumpectomy and axillary node dissection. She will have some idea while I am on the table with a frozen section but wouldn’t know 100% until the pathology reports were in. She said that she would try to preserve the muscles in the arm as best as she could and try to reduce any major swelling from taking out lymph nodes. I told her I really appreciated that because I didn’t want to not be able to play my harp.
By the time we left her office, having spent an hour and 45 minutes with her we knew that she was indeed the right surgeon. She not only cared about me but about Carl also. She continually looked at and talked to both of us.
Surgery is scheduled for Monday morning. But whatever happens, I know that it is all part of His plan. I hope for the best but know that whatever the outcome He will give me His peace.