Tumors, Surgeries & Swelling... OH MY!

     As most of you know, or have figured out through the Facebook posts over the last couple weeks, I had a tumor in my jaw. Yes, you read that right, a big fat ugly tumor the size of a grown man's fist! Gross right? The most important word in all of that was the word HAD. Past tense. Thank the Lord that big ugly thing is not in me anymore. 

The tumor would be the big red round thing inside my jaw.

                              

   To remove this tumor from my body, I had to go through surgery. 8 hours of me lying on a cold hard table while my surgeon cut into my neck. Removing bone, nerve, teeth, a joint, and finally that big tumor. Which he so kindly took pictures of in the OR and then proceeded to show them to me while I was in the hospital the next day! It was gross, I can feel my stomach getting queasy just thinking about it.

That is the lovely scar right before the stitches came out!

   So that of course brings me to the swelling... Ah yes, my not so very nice friend. It was the kind of swelling that made me look like I didn't have a neck or chin. The kind of swelling that when you look in the mirror for the first time, you start to cry because you can't recognize the person staring back at you. The kind of swelling that after you have pulled yourself together from crying, you tell your dad to cover all the mirrors so you don't have to look at it again, and god forbid anyone who tries to take a picture to remember this awful time.

   Yes I felt all of those things, but here is what actually happened. I did cry, I had a good cry for all that had happened to me and all that was taken away from me in 8 short hours that left me feeling broken. We didn't cover the mirrors and we didn't shy away from taking pictures. Because after that cry, I knew I wanted to  remember this. I wanted  to see the improvement. I want the pictures to look back on and remember where I had been and how God had brought me through it all. 

   One day this will all be a memory, a faded scar on my neck. I may not feel this everyday or even most days, but today I'm thankful I went through this. I got to see the love and support that I'm surrounded by everyday. I'm grateful for the gifts, balloons, cards, flowers, and food. The text messages and well wishes all over Facebook. The visits at the hospital and at home. Most of all, I'm thankful for the prayers. I felt every single one. My OR was covered in prayers, my hospital room, and now my home. Every step of this process you have been there in some way or another, and I'm thankful. It has been an interesting journey, and this is just the beginning! 

   TTFN (ta ta for now) 

           ~ Elizabeth