Ruth Sundermeyer

There’s always been an old adage which said that spouses become more and more like each other the longer they’ve been married.  Guess I’m taking it to the extreme=:/  I’ve developed a tumor in my left parotid gland, same as Joe’s, just different side.

Everything has happened very fast.  I discovered a small lump mid October, saw enough doctors and testing to ensure I’ll meet my deductible this year L   It is a fairly fast growing tumor as I now look like a chipmunk on that side. November 28th I was admitted for surgery to remove the tumor, but once Dr. Rhodes opened me up, he said it was some abnormal tumor which has invaded my nerves.  They took some samples for pathology, and those results should come back shortly to tell them exactly what it is.

 As a result of the surgery they have to snip the nerve that goes to my ear so I have no feeling in that ear which is weird.  I also have some nerve damage to the left side on my face which means no wrinkles on the left side of my forehead (yea Botox) and my lips don’t work well which makes eating difficult and affects my speech a little.  The Dr. hopes this will get better but is making no promises.  My sister says my ear looks like Dumbo!  I assume some of this will get better once the swelling goes down. I have a lovely scar running along the ear and down the jawbone.  Next year I’ll be a pirate for Halloween!  Other than that, I feel fine.

This type of tumor is normally treated with some radiation or chemo, depends on what it actually is.  I have an appointment with an oncologist in a couple of weeks.  Plus I’ll have some more tests to see if anything else shows up elsewhere.  As I know more, I’ll update this site.

God’s got my back;.  In fact, the first TV channel I turned on after the Dr. broke this news to me had a nun talking about trusting God to bring good out of bad.  Was so timely.  But please keep me in your prayers; just like chocolate, you can never have too many J