The Final Pre-Op Word

From: Joel
Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2002 10:08 PM
Subject: The Final Pre-Op Word

I am sending this email to many, many people.  Some of you may have absolutely no idea what is going on, and so I will go ahead and briefly recount about the last forty days of my life for you.

On Saturday December 15th, I graduated from college with my music degree.  I am still continuing classes in pursuit of my teaching certification, but I have the non-education classes all out of the way.  On Tuesday December 18th, I conducted “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” on the Christmas concert with the Middle School Band where I’ll be student teaching next semester.  Other than being a drum major in high school, this was my first public conducting experience, and I had a lot of fun with it.

On Thursday December 20th, I was sitting in the band office grading practice records and just ready for the semester to come to a close the next day.  Suddenly, I was overtaken by extreme pain, the likes of which I have never before consciously experienced.  I was fortunate that a field representative from Ridglea Music Store was there at the time and was available to serve as an ambulance for me.  Huguley Memorial Hospital is only a matter of miles from the school, and so I went to the emergency room there, with the prevailing understanding being that I was probably passing a kidney stone.  After putting me on an IV and giving me two shots of morphine, the X-Ray results came back showing no sign of a kidney stone, and the hospital was ready to send me home — the only problem was that I was still in pretty severe pain, even with the two shots of morphine.

So another X-Ray was ordered, this time on my chest.  The doctor later came in and told me that they had found some kind of mass of unknown composition and unknown origin in or near my left lung.  Friday morning, I was taken down to radiology for a needle biopsy.  I didn’t see a doctor after that until Saturday afternoon around 1, when he came in and told me that I was leaving the hospital.  The biopsy results would be ready on December 26th.  As you might imagine, my Christmas holiday plans were somewhat less than festive with this huge question mark over my head.  When the doctor called us the morning of December 26th, he told us that the results of the biopsy were inconclusive and that we would have to have another one done to find out.

A second biopsy was scheduled for January 2nd, this time at Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth.  This experience was much better, and the doctors and nurses were way more forthcoming with offering information than they had been at Huguley.  I was out of the hospital the same day as the biopsy.  Anesthetics were used a whole lot more, and I was also on a sedative when the procedure was done.

School began again on January 8th.  On the 7th, I was at the school getting ready for the beginning of the year, when my dad called me and told me that the pulmunologist had called him and said the biopsy results indicated that the thing inside of me is either lymphoma or thymoma: various forms of cancer.  He suggested that I make an appointment with a thoracic surgeon for the next step.  The next day, my parents were able to get me set up for an appointment with a thoracic surgeon who is a friend of a doctor for whom my aunt works.  So on January 8th, I went to see him.  My parents met me there, and before the appointment, they went by Harris to pick up my X-Ray and CaT scans, as well as the second biopsy report.  In looking over the report, it came to our attention that the second biopsy again was inconclusive.  The thoracic surgeon ended up telling us that we could do a few other tests but more than likely, whatever it was would have to come out one way or the other.  So before we left his office, we had the office make me an appointment at Baylor All Saints Episcopal for January 24th to have it removed.

On Monday of this week, I went to another thoracic surgeon for a second opinion and, although slightly more conservative, he concurred with the course of action that has been planned.  So I sit here now on the evening of Wednesday January 23rd prepared to go in for surgery tomorrow.  For some more information on what I have told you above, you can go to my website at and find the “Hospital Saga” link. [NOTE: These posts have all been compiled here now]

Through this whole ordeal, I have been blessed by so many family members, friends, teachers, co-workers, and students who have expressed in one way or another their care, concern, and love for me.  Every card, every phone call, every email, every prayer, and every kind word is appreciated far more than you will ever know.  I have had many questions on specifics, and so I will give as much information as I currently have.

The surgery will be sometime between 8am and 10am tomorrow.  It will be at All Saints in downtown Fort Worth.  I am getting there at 6am.  I have been told that I will be in the hospital from 3-5 days.  It will take around 2-3 weeks for recovery.  I don’t know the phone number for my room yet, as they don’t know to which room I will be assigned.  I will have my cell phone with me in the hospital, and it has voice mail if it is not answered.  Any phone calls are welcome.  Any visitors are welcome.  Any extravagant gifts are welcome. <grin>

It was worth a try anyway!  I will send out another email when I get home from the hospital, which I don’t expect to be before Sunday.  If you have any other questions, I probably won’t be able to answer them through email before I get home.  Thank you so much for the outpouring of love that I have experienced as a result of this thing!

I have no doubt that the amazing grace of Jesus Christ will be powerfully demonstrated in my healing.  Thought I don’t know why all of this has happened, I do “know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.