Workers In The Vineyard - Update

This is a blog site for those who are interested in knowing my health updates.  It is for those who will be committed to prayer and being positive.  Please, no over-anxious and energy-wasting worry.  No doom and gloom comments.  No jumping to conclusions based on emotional reactions.  

We are followers of Jesus Christ.  I am His disciple and spouse.  He is the center of my life, not health, not cancer, not treatments, not myself, not you or anything else in this life.  I strive to see all things through Him, with Him and in Him.   And in Him, I love all of you.  If you are a true follower, you do the same.

  

As disciples, we are all on the same road. It is a road that leads to Calvary, and then to Resurrection and transformation.  There are always little Calvaries on the way, personal stations of the Cross.  But sooner or later the road will take us to the top of the hill which is Golgotha. And we will mount the gibbet of the Cross to suffer in one of two ways.  We will be fastened to the Cross as the bad thief who suffered with such a self-centered, bitter and accusatory spirit that he could not receive the life-giving words of Jesus into his heart and soul.  Or, we will suffer humbly and with contrite spirit so that we can be made worthy by Christ to share His company forever just as the Good Thief did. 

Suffering does not come directly from God, but He uses it to help detach us from whatever separates us from Him, whether that be sin, or weakness, doubt or fear.  Suffering is meant to conform us to Christ who is our light and our life and who freely chose, out of love, to suffer unspeakable torments for us, that we might be free and have the right to call God our Father because of the ransom He paid for us with His very life.

So the ground rules for this blog site are to strive to see all things in the light of faith and in complete trust that God is in control and His plan, whatever it is and will be, is the best one for me, (and for you too incidentally).  I don't know exactly where He has me on the journey, but I will continue to do what I have been given to do while managing my health as necessary.  

This blog spot frees me up from having to respond multiple times to the same questions and requests for updates. I am grateful for all the love and care and concern.  But I also hope my friends will be mature disciples who are not so easily shocked or scandalized by the realities of life in this world because they have their eyes fixed on eternity, our real destination.

The name of this Blogspot is purposely chosen:  Workers in the Vineyard.  Suffering is a work of disciples, perhaps the most important of all labors in the Vineyard of the Lord.  It certainly was in Jesus’s own life.  And it will be in ours too if we let the Cross of Christ do its work in us. Jesus says if you don't pick up your cross daily you can't be His disciple.  You won't be able to follow Him.  

I have no sense that I am near the top of the hill (Calvary) yet.  I have dealt with several kinds of cancer over the last 15 years and have been working a ministry for people with cancer for the last 3.  I am not afraid of it.  Which is not to say I'm happy to have it.  But Jesus is Lord over everything.  And I trust Him to walk me through this newest development. 

My "new" diagnosis, I believe, has been something of a Divine intervention.  I am receiving treatment at the Mayo Clinic, an amazing place.  PBS has a documentary on the history of Mayo which I highly recommend to anyone who has the chance to see it.  Very inspiring, especially for me to see the part a religious community (Franciscans) played in founding Mayo. Mother Alfred had a vision of the hospital God wanted her to build and saw it would become world-renowned.  She was the one who persuaded Dr. Mayo to staff it if the Sisters could get it built.  The good doctor did not think they would be able to do it, but within five years the Sisters had the money.  They built the hospital thus beginning and staffing what was to become the Mayo Clinic, today a huge operation which serves over a million people a year, and does so, from what I can see, with incredible efficiency.  Mother’s prophecy of its place in medicine has proved overwhelmingly correct.

So, on to the personal health issues.  Some of the problems I am having have been long-standing for years, even decades.  I have always had a sense that they are all interconnected and that appears to be true.  Mayo is putting all the pieces together, and they seem to be very much parts of an endocrine puzzle.  The  Endocrine system includes adrenal glands, thyroid gland, pituitary, hypothalamus and other organs that are part of the internal chemical messenger system inside our bodies. 

I'm having adrenal and thyroid issues.  This is what we know so far.  My symptoms have been: unmanageable blood pressure, chronic, crazy-making insomnia, restless legs, tremors, skin issues, fatigue, muscle weakness, numbness and tingling, irregular heartbeat at times, anxiety, all from an overproduction of aldosterone from the adrenal gland (longstanding), and within the last year, overproduction of thyroid hormone as well.

I was diagnosed with hyper-aldosteronism, an adrenal condition, and Graves' disease, an autoimmune thyroid condition that causes thyroid hormone overproduction.  They also found three suspicious nodules on my thyroid.  One turned out to be a benign cyst.  The other is abnormal but not cancerous.  The third nodule tested positive for cancer.  

Thyroid cancer is relatively rare but occurring more frequently now.  It is highly treatable and for me will probably involve the removal of my thyroid.  It will mean taking thyroid medication for the rest of my life, but my understanding is that treatment does not usually require chemo or radiation.  Thank God!

My adrenal glands are in the process of being evaluated.  They are, without a doubt, producing too much aldosterone which is toxic to the arteries in one's body and the cause of many symptoms.  I have had adrenal vein sampling now, among other tests, to determine if some benign cysts or a benign, fatty tumor are the culprits causing the overproduction of aldosterone.  A surgery will probably be needed there, but I understand that both the adrenals and the thyroid can be done at the same time by the same surgeon.  I have already met him, and he is very experienced and reassuring. 

One of the things I love about Mayo is that the doctors are all salaried. They get paid the same no matter how many patients they see or what tests they order.  So they are not in a hurry to see the next patient to fill a quota.  They take time to make sure you understand everything thoroughly and are not left with unanswered questions.  And they get no personal profit from recommending surgeries or procedures that might or might not be necessary.  It's an amazing place with an impressive collaborative system and a positive and encouraging spirit.   

I want to say at the same time, that I have had wonderful doctors these past 20 years and especially here in Carroll.  We have been cared for by Dr. Tina Flores Schechinger in a very special way.  She is a great doctor and we are so grateful for all she has done for us.  We support her and commend her for her efforts to practice her profession according to our Catholic Faith.

So prayers for the right direction ahead are gratefully appreciated.  I keep you all in my prayers that you may know the sweetness of Jesus in your own trials and sufferings.  I know many of you right now are dealing with your own Calvary challenges.  May Our Lady walk with each of you on this way and sustain you in the deepest faith, hope and love!

In the Heart of Our Mother,

Sr. Anne Marie