As you all know I went to surgery yesterday at Iredell Memorial in Statesville for my lumpectomy and lymphadenectomy. I have had a lot of people checking in on me and asking how I am doing which is very appreciative and encouraging. I know several of you enjoy the in-depth descriptions I offer and so this is for you and anyone who might be curious about what all yesterday entailed. I would like to start off by saying I am and my family are so grateful for the support system God has given us and each of you. While the surgery may have been more in-depth than we anticipated I am still grateful God guided the doctors and surgeons and nurses in their job and I am here to see another day. Thank you to those who are watching and have offered to watch our children as I am essentially out of commission for two weeks due to not being able to lift. We are very grateful and thankful and of course, blessed. God is good ALL THE TIME. Amen! 

Yesterday morning Dylan and I arrived at Iredell's same-day surgery center around 8:30 am and spent thirty minutes in the car on our phones, talking, and praying together before heading inside. We checked in at the desk and gave the lady Dylan's number so he could keep track of me throughout the process. Iredell has a really cool system where they give whoever came with you a piece of paper with a number on it and it shows them where in the process you are at so they aren't just sitting there for an hour and wondering or bothering the nurse. It shows sections from "Pre-Op", "In Surgery", "Waiting", " Recovery", etc. As we sat down my mom and Rusty came in and my mom talked to me and hugged me and prayed with us. I think she was more nervous than me, but as a mom, I don't blame her. The nurse came and got me around 9:15 for my pre-op. They took me back and had me undress and redress in all their garments and a gown to make sure everything was sterile. They tried to hook me up to an IV using a size 20 needle, but my veins were not cooperating so I gave in and let them use my port. They accessed my port on the first try-thankfully- but could not get it to give blood back despite it flushing and taking in the saline. I also couldn't taste the saline, which I always can. This of course freaked me out a bit more that something was wrong. I started praying and talking to God silently while the nurses assured me we would know if something was wrong. After they set me up, had me sign the paperwork, and got everything going they allowed visitors back. Dylan came back with Pastor Eric and we all talked about everything going on Pastor Eric read and prayed with us before they took me back which was helpful and encouraging. We are thankful for him and all of Bethel. My mom ran in and snuck in another hug and then they took me back for more pre-op. 
A really sweet nurse rolled me back into Radiology for a mammogram. We talked about God, my pastor, and my children. Once we got into the room they had me sit in this chair and positioned me against the mammogram machine. Once they had me in the machine and my breast squished in it, they took pictures to be exactly sure of where the cancer bed from the original lump was. As I was still in the machine, another doctor came in. He had three push-pin-type things. I had to sit really still as they aligned up my breast to coordinates on the machine press so the doctor could stick each one of these push-pins in my breast to the aligned coordinate so my surgeon would know exactly where to go. It did not feel great but the nurse let me squeeze her hand, and they all said I did great and I started to wonder what was the worst someone had done. After they had the three pushpins in my breast they repositioned me again and put me back in the machine as the doctor threaded three needles where the pins were. There was a lot of pressure and he had to move the pins around a bit more, so I was moved in and out of the machine a lot. Finally, after he finished they helped me back into the bed with the needles still in me and taped down so they wouldn't poke my face ( if I had to estimate the needle thread they had in me was about 4 inches and 2 inches of it was in my breast with the other two inches sticking out).
They then wheeled me into another room. This room was technically a stress-test room and had a treadmill and heart monitor machine in it. They had me sit on a bed in the room and brought in the doctor. The doctor had two needles that he would stick to the edge of my nipple and breast skin. These needles were full of dye that would essentially allow my surgeon to see the path of my lymph nodes and how they generate so she could better remove them. Luckily, earlier they had given me some numbing cream so it wasn't too painful but still didn't feel great. My two nurses there, Lisa and Kim, were really kind. Lisa had the same middle name as me except she spelled her Rene and Kim had also had breast cancer and had a lumpectomy 2 years ago. She encouraged me and prayed I would be healed and be okay. 
After all this, I was taken back to my original room. Now it was probably right at lunchtime. Dylan was passed out in the chair in the room. He had been up the night before working and had not been to sleep yet. He is a kind and caring husband and I am very lucky to have him. My mom came back in and hugged me before we went back. Dylan hugged and kissed me and assured me everything was going to beo okay. The injected me with two things, one was an antibiotic to make sure I don't get infections and the other was medicine to help me relax. All I realy rememember after that is getting took into the surgery look and realizing how cold it was and looking over at the bed. After that I guess I passed out because when I woke up I was in recovery. The nurse explained I did great but that they had to take more lymphnodes than originally planned. This meant I had a drain sowed into my underarm to help fluid drain out to prevent swelling. It is just like a tube with a bulb on the end. The liquid is a mixture of fluid and blood. It is kind of gross but Dylan is kind enough to help me empty it every eight hours. I have to sleep with an icepack under my arm and a pillow to prop it. The pain lastnight was kind of bad but not too bad today. I slept a lot of yesterday afternoon and only ate two crackers all day because the anesthesia made me nauseous. 
I can do task like typing and things but I am not suppose to lift anything with my right arm and can not bathe or shower for a week till they romve the dressing, since I have the bulb. The doctor will remove the drain in a week on the 9th, until then I just have to prevent swelling and make sure Silas doesn't rip it out lol. Thank you again for checking in and I hope this answered any questions anyone had.
I am thankful God has worked in me and reached so many of you. I am blessed to serve Him and for Him to use my story and for His guidance and protection. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.