One year ago on this day, Jonnie Renee endured a life changing surgery. She was in the operating room all day. We knew some of the grim details of what the surgery would entail before she went in. The plan was to cut her neck from below her ear all the way around to below her chin. The incision would then go up her chin and through her bottom lip and gum. Essentially doctors were opening her face up like a book so that they could best access the tumor to be certain to get it all. They would then take veins, arteries, and tissue from her wrist to put in her mouth in the place of the tongue they had to remove. A skin graft was taken from her thigh to cover the wound on her wrist. Theres an incredible amount of swelling associated with this surgery, so she had to have a trache in order to breathe and a feeding tube for nutrition and medicine. It required at least a few days stay in the ICU, and then a step down unit for a few more. We knew all this going in. But she was in excruciating pain, and she did what she had to do to give herself a fighting chance and get relief from the pain this cancer was causing. Talk about bravery. I would have fallen apart at the mere mention of the surgery she was facing. Not her. She trusted God and knew He had His hands on her and that everything would work out according to His will. What we didnt know going in to this is that we could only see a small part of the tumor that appeared to be about the size of a quarter, but when they got in there doctors removed a tumor the size of an egg. So while we expected a small portion of her tongue to be removed, she had to have a near complete glossectomy. She lost almost all of her tongue. We were devastated for her. How will she eat? How will she talk? The answer we were given is that she probably wont. Doctors cant explain it, but we know it was by the grace of God that she was back to eating solid foods and speaking clearly just weeks after her surgery. It was simply amazing.....just like her.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 00:53:00 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015