GOOD NEWS FROM THE SURGEON

I was very early arriving at Princess Margaret Hospital Head and Neck Clinic. My 8.45 am dental appointment with Dr. Wood only took 1o minutes so my wait at the clinic ended up being about two hours until my appointment at 10.45 am with Dr. Gullan. I didn't mind though as there was a computer available and lots of reading material plus I use these down times to write my journals. Time passed quickly and soon I went into an examination room to see the doctor. He was very pleased with the way the incision was healing and carefully took the stitches out. He informed me that while they didn't have the pathology results back yet, they did have a very good look around in my neck and throat during the surgery and couldn't see any evidence of any cancer left. I was elated with the news and after I expressed my sincere thanks to the doctor and his team I left the hospital on top of the world. After a quick lunch at PMH lodge I was on my way home with my Cancer Society driver phoning and texting my family and friends with the good news. I will write later about how my neck and throat heals and how the nerves gradually start to reattach and regenerate. I cannot help but Praise my Lord and Savior for His mercy and grace. Thank you Jesus.

OFF TO TORONTO AGAIN SEP 21/22

Part 1: Trip to Toronto - The Cancer Society driver arrived at my door at 7.20 am with one other passenger in the van. We stopped to pick up three other people and then headed for downtown Toronto about 2 hours away. First stop was Sunnybrook Hospital and then on to Princess Margaret Hospital Lodge on Jarvis Street. One set of traffic lights before the lodge we noticed while waiting for the lights to change that there was blue smoke pouring from the right front side of the vehicle. We managed to drive in to the lodge parking lot and inspected the problem which appeared to be a seized brake. The driver called the CAA and made arrangements to have his van towed all the way back to Wasaga Beach for repairs. I felt sorry sorry for our driver as he is a volunteer and only gets paid mileage for these trips , therefore the expense of the repairs will have to come out of his pocket.
I had prayed the night before for a safe trip to Toronto and I couldn't help but wonder where on the highway we might have been stuck had the Lord not answered my prayer. I didn't think to pray for safety for the vehicle which I will do next time.
After checking into the lodge and paying for my nights accommodation, I stopped in to say hi to the wonderful nurses who work there. (Picture of 2 of them below.)


Click on photo for larger image











Part 2: - G-Tube Removal -After having the drainage tube pulled from my neck after my recent neck surgery, I was somewhat apprehensive about this procedure. I checked into the Toronto General Hospital Imaging department and after the usual questions and answers I sat in the waiting room until my name was called. After only waiting about 5 minutes I was instructed to go to waiting area 'B' where I was immediately taken into an operating room. (Picture below)
Less than 10 minutes later I was buttoning up my shirt and ready to leave This was another thing I had prayed about the previous night and again the Lord came through as I didn't feel a thing. PTL
It was a great feeling having the tube gone, although now I am forced to eat only regular food which is still difficult until my throat heals after surgery. I really cant afford to lose any more weight as clothing has become a problem - Weight 200lbs down to 150lbs and waist size 42 down to 36.
I feel wonderful but I wouldn't recommend this form of dieting to anybody though.










Tomorrow I'm off to Princess Margaret Hospital to see the surgeon for a review after my surgery. I am believing the Lord for GOOD NEWS.

MORE TRIPS TO TORONTO

I moved to the Georgian Bay area to get away from Toronto never dreaming that I would one day spend so much time travelling back and forth to in the city again. This coming week I am scheduled on Monday to go to Toronto General Hospital to have my G tube (feeding tube) removed. Then on Tuesday I am to meet my surgeon Dr. Gullan at Princess Margaret Hospital for a follow up to my surgery. Unfortunately I couldn't get the appointments changed to the same day so I decided to stay over Monday night at PMH lodge. This worked out well as lately I have been having tooth ache so I was able to get an appointment with my dentist Dr. Wood at Princess Margaret Hospital also on Tuesday. This makes it a little easier on the Cancer Society drivers who fit their driving schedule around my appointments. These drivers are amazing and always so friendly and helpful, and yes they are volunteers who only get paid gas mileage. My trip usually takes about just over two hours each way and the driver waits around if I am coming back on the same day. This makes for a long day for these volunteers but I have never heard one complain, except about the Toronto's traffic.

RECOVERY AND THEN HOME

Toronto General Hospital - 6th Floor Ward
Aftermath of my neck surgery
(Click on photos for larger image)


View of the neck surgery - Cut runs from just above the ear to the centre of my throat.

The next few days were spent recovering from the surgery. I found myself sleeping a fair amount but I guess that is part of the healing process. I walked a fair amount and also spent time on the computer. The nurses were constantly checking in and taking my blood pressure, heart beat and temperature and during the night they checked on us every hour. The key to getting home was the amount of fluid my neck drain put out. As soon as it puts out below 10cc's over 24 hours, the drain will be removed and the discharge papers issued by the doctor. My room mate lives in Brampton so had numerous visitors although he confessed that it was quiet tiring entertaining people all the time. In my case as I live 2 hours north of Toronto, I had no visitors so was glad that I took my DVD player with me. I spent the evenings watching some good movies which passed the time. Saturday I was unhooked from my IV drip which made it a lot easier to move around and on Sunday morning I had my neck drain removed and got my discharge papers. My son drove down to pick me up and by 1.30pm I was back in Wasaga Beach in my own home. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all the Doctors, Nurses and hospital staff who made my stay as comfortable as possible. One lovely young lady saw my Bible on my bed and brought me a whole list of healing scriptures. My main nurse was Celeste who was just an amazing lady. Always happy and smiling and nothing I asked her to do was too much trouble. Thanks and God bless you Celeste for everything.

SEPTEMBER 10TH, 2009 - SURGERY DAY

In true Lawrence tradition I arrived at the Toronto General Hospital admitting desk at 5.45 am 45 minutes early to find the only people around were security and the cleaning staff. I found a seat in the waiting room and did just that -waited proudly claiming to be number 1 in line.
I had stayed at P.M.L the night before and after a nice roast beef dinner, I went to bed early to prepare for an early start. It was still dark when the taxi picked me up and the traffic was almost non-existent which all helped to make me so early arriving. It was not long though before the hustle and bustle started, patients arriving with family members, nurses, orderlies and then doctors, doctors and more doctors.
We were all lined up on stretcher beds with a curtain separating us and all curious to know who would be the next chosen one to be wheeled off to the operating room. I was as usual, at the end of the list and after an I.V. needle was put into my hand, I too was wheeled away to the operating room and the land of nod for the next three hours. On the way my Surgeon gave me the thumbs up and said, "60% clear to 40% cancer, don't worry it's going to be OK". I awoke to a nurse calling my name and realized that it was over and I was still alive and on earth. It was rather a wonderful feeling to see the smiling faces and hear happy voices again. I was soon off to the sixth floor which was my home for the next three and a half days. I met my room mate Dan Rose who had similar but more extensive surgery than mine. It's a small world as it turns out that Dan's Mom runs the Post Office in the Shopper's Drug Mark in Wasaga Beach, the very store that I use to get all my medical supplies and prescriptions filled. My neck and throat were quite sore which made it hard to sleep and swallow but with what was done, it was quite understandable. My neck looks a little different due to the amount of tissue that was removed but I am told it will fill out somewhat as it heals. (More to come including photo's taken by nurse. )

SURGERY HAPPENING THIS THURSDAY (9/10/09)

Today after cutting clients lawns, I started to put a few things together for my stay in Toronto. I am staying overnight tomorrow at Princess Margaret Lodge as I have to be at Toronto General Hospital at 6am Thurday for surgery scheduled at 8am. I am told that the operation will last for about 2 hours. God willing I will be home by the weekend.
Please pray for my quick recovery.

COINCIDENCE OR GOD-INCIDENCE

After hearing that I had to have surgery on my throat I could not help but be concerned. But I kept telling myself, the Lord gave me Psalm 118 verse 17 to stand on. "I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done." As well He told me through a word of knowledge from Evangelist Gordon Williams that although I was concerned about the time it was taking to heal my throat, He (the Lord) was doing it in His time and was doing it thoroughly. However the 'what it this or what if that' kept floating around in my mind.
I had just finished my hearing test in Toronto this past Tuesday and was ready to go home when Bob, my Canadian Cancer Society driver announced that we had to back to Toronto General Hospital to pick up a lady who needed a ride back to our area. After she got settled in the van we started chatting. To my absolute amazement she told me that she had just had the exact same surgery that I will be having next week. She was on her way home about 30 hours after her surgery, no bandages, just a thin red line where the incision was made and a rather sore swollen neck.
Isn't God wonderful - He knew my concerns and cared enough about me to arrange for that lady to be discharged at the exact time we were ready to leave Toronto. I never cease to be amazed at God's awesome kindness. Praise the Lord. JDL

RADIATION AND HEARING DON'T MIX

Since my radiation treatments I noticed a loss of hearing mostly in my left ear. This seems to be more noticeable when listening to women's voices, although that could be a man thing. An appointment was arranged with the Hearing Clinic at the Toronto General Hospital to determine the actual extent of the damage. After the completion of rather interesting audio sound tests it showed that I have in fact lost some hearing in both ears. The next step will be to met with an audiologist to discuss the results and see what can be done. In some case hearing does return to almost normal after a period of time, therefore it was decided to forward the test results to Dr.Hope at Princess Margaret Hospital. He will no doubt talk with me after my throat surgery has taken place next week. JDL