"Honey, do you feel this in my face?" was the question that Donald asked one morning after shaving. That was the question that started us on this journey.
After he noticed a knot in his cheek, he went to see our family doctor. She looked at it and said, "I have no idea what that is. It is up to you, you can leave it in or take it out, but I am going to send you to see a ENT."
A few days later we went to see the ENT. He looked at it and said, "I have no idea what that is. It is up to you. You can leave it in or take it out, but I am going to send you to an otolaryngologist (yea.. say that five times fast!)
We went to see him and he said, "I have no idea what that is, but let's biopsy it." After 4-5 needle aspirations, he picked up the phone and said, "Call University and have them send a pathologist over here right now. We are going to look at this before he leaves the office." After a little while a pathologist walks in with his handy dandy microscope and equipment where they evaluate the cells and declare that everything is fine. He says, "It is up to you. You can leave it in or take it out. If you want to take it out you can see the plastic surgeon."
In my mind there was no option, God didn't give him that little knot so let's get rid of it. We went to see the plastic surgeon specializing in otolaryngology. Dr. Jordan.... we cannot say enough about how amazing he is and what a gift from God he has been. He scheduled the surgery. My family came over and sat with me and we took a groggy Donald home expecting to sit on him during the recovery period. (Sit on him because they told him not to do any lifting, strenuous or even sweat during the three weeks following surgery. Almost impossible for my husband who our friends nicknamed the "Energizer Bunny".) We still are not sure who was more shocked, Dr. Jordan or us, when the pathology report came back as cancer. Dr. Jordan had multiple pathologist read the results. He consulted multiple experts. He presented our case before the head and neck tumor board of University Medical Center. He wanted to be 200% sure that what he was seeing before he let us settle in on the diagnosis. Donald has a rare and aggressive cancer. They have dug through fifty years of medical documents trying to find another case like his and it simply does not exist.
At Dr. Jordan's recommendation, we are working to get an appointment with another hospital (most likely MD Anderson in Houston, Texas). Until that appointment happens, we are meeting again with University Medical Center's team to discuss all their treatment plans that are available here so we have a full understand of what they offer. They want us to be fully educated before we go somewhere else. Again, so impressed and truly thankful for Dr. Jordan and how amazing they have been since day one.
We continue this journey knowing God walks beside us and before us.... Thy Will Be Done!
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