An update on Jake

I wanted to give everyone a quick update on Jake and his surgery and recovery. He went in for surgery last Tuesday afternoon to have his thyroid removed and a neck dissection. The doctors said that the cyst that led us to discover the cancer, was the size of about 2 golf balls. They also removed a bunch of lymph nodes and about half had cancer (papillary carcinoma). The surgery took close to 4 hours and according to the doctor, went really well. Jake was seriously uncomfortable after the surgery and kept saying that his throat was so dry. It was torture to watch because his throat and lips were burning but it hurt him so badly to drink or swallow or breathe. I do not think I was quite prepared to see him right after the surgery, it was so sad. He came out of surgery at about 7 pm and had a really rough first night. His oxygen was low so he had to keep on the oxygen for most of the night and nurses came in every half hour to check his vitals. He was pretty nauseous and weak and in pain. Day 2 was much better, he was eating and walking around, Lila even came to visit. We thought he would be able to come home on Wednesday but because the Doctor removed 2 of Jake's 4 parathyroids, his calcium was low and kept dropping. It was so frustrating but it was probably a good thing that he had to stay another night, he was still in quite a bit of pain. They tested his calcium again Thursday morning and it had gone up so we were able to go home Thursday evening. Our girls were so happy to have him home and so was I. He had a tube that allowed extra fluid from his neck to drain removed on Friday and we were all happy to see that go. He has been a little tired and still in pain here and there but he is doing wonderfully. He had a doctors appointment yesterday and they said that everything looks great and is healing beautifully. He still cannot pick up our girls or anything that weighs more than a gallon of milk. He isn't quite comfortable moving around his neck just yet, but gets a little better everyday. He starts meeting with an oncologist tomorrow and they will figure out treatment from here. He will have to do the radioactive iodine stuff which won't be fun but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

This a spicy picture of Jake right before he went in for surgery, he was of course trying to squeeze in every little bit of work he could.

Another one of Jake before he went in, you can totally see the cyst in his neck just bulging right out.
My poor husband when they brought him to the room
He gave me a smile but couldn't open his eyes yet.
This is day 2 when Lila came to visit. She was terrified at first but once we let her try on some of his "silly" clothes, she was loving it. She cried the whole way home from the hospital for her daddy, it broke my heart.
That is the lovely chair that I had the pleasure of sleeping in 2 nights in a row.
We just found out we got to go home...wahoo!
This is a lovely picture taken after we removed the bandage.

All in all it was a crazy week and an adventure we hope never to have to go through again. That being said, there were some definite positives that came from this whole thing. Lila and Launi were able to spend a week with their Grandma Coco who Lila now cries for on a daily basis. So many family, friends and neighbors were wonderful to us and we realized how lucky we are to have such incredible people in our lives. I was also reminded of what a strong and faithful husband I have and that the best thing I ever did in my life was marry Jake. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us and serving us right and left, you all have made this a bearable experience.