Monday, October 25, 2010

Ytterberg [Personal] Update...

hi friends and family!

there has been lots of bits of our story circulating and i am writing this as one [ahem, mass] update. i hate mass emails. i don't know that this is much better. but anyway...

the backstory...starting around this summer, i had been having a lot of nausea, stomach pain, etc. i finally went to the doctor and at first, thought that it might be an ulcer but had tests run on my gallbladder as well. the tests on my gallbladder came back borderline. i could live with it at its current function but it was clearly causing me trouble. the MD said it was fine, the surgeon said take it out. i really didn't know what to do, so i decided to go for a tie breaker and go to my ob/gyn.

she agreed with the surgeon (i guess, maybe because she is a surgeon as well) that it was a simple procedure and if my life was being affected that negatively, i should have it taken out. while i was there, i mentioned some cramping, but it wasn't bad. she decided to order an ultrasound to check up on a cyst i had had for a while, in case it needed draining. she could do that while i was having my gallbladder out.

one ultrasound later, i'm sitting in her office looking at a picture of something the size of a tangerine on my left ovary. she was very reassuring, though, given my age and my medical history it was nothing. but it did need to be removed quickly. i transferred to a general surgeon at st. vincent's so that my ob/gyn could do her part of the surgery.

that brings us to last thursday. i went in for the dual surgery. long story short, when they removed the tumor, she could immediately tell by the texture that it was not normal. it was a type of tumor that could potentially be cancerous. they did two tests that they called "frozens" and they both came back "borderline." to the best of my understanding that means that it wasn't completely cancerous yet, but there could possibly be parts of it that were. these tumors, left alone, eventually become malignant. my doctor was on the phone with an oncologist at uab multiple times during the surgery and she firmly believed the best thing to do was to go ahead and remove my left ovary and tube along with the tumor. when she went to talk to david and my parents, they said she looked like someone had punched her in the stomach.

they sent everything to pathology and we weren't sure when we would get the results back, but this morning she called and said that all the results that have come back so far are that there is no malignancy in the tumor! so they are sending everything to uab for more testing and i may have to have some more tests done, but for now it looks like we are in the clear!

this weekend (before getting the results) was full of some really high highs and really low lows. we have talked over and over again about how there is no explanation but God for me feeling the need to go see my ob/gyn for a gallbladder! and that she would make sure to get the ultrasound. because she even said, 6 months from now and we would be having a very different conversation. i have just been overwhelmed by His peace and promises. and having to remind myself that even had we gotten the very worst news, He is still good and will be glorified through it no matter what.

i know that this is a bit long (i'm tired just from writing it). but please continue to pray for us. we are still in shock a little bit. and just for the Lord to drive away any fear that may continue to persist. we are so thankful, though, and so happy to have such amazing friends and family that have come around us this past week.


6 comments:

Greta said...

Wow. Thanks for the update b/c I had no idea all that was going on. I knew you were having the gallbladder surgery but had no idea about the other stuff.

Praise God for his timing. It's always, always, always perfect. And I'm so glad to hear there's no malignancy. Crazy how quickly things can change, huh?

I hope your recovery is quick and easy. And when you're feelin all better, we still need to have our Krispy Kreme date with Elizabeth!

Design A-Peele said...

I am soo soo thankful for God's amazing grace. Thanks for updating us with the correct details. Love you girl!

Lele said...

Bek- I had seen your updates via twitter and wasn't quite sure what was going on. Thanks for the update. SO thankful everything is ok! Definitely praying for you guys!

Katie said...

Whoa. That must have been what was bothering you when you came and stayed with us. Hope that you recover quickly and so glad that your gallbladder was acting up! God is good.
let's catch up soon.

Katie said...

Whoa. That must have been what was bothering you when you came and stayed with us. Hope that you recover quickly and so glad that your gallbladder was acting up! God is good.
let's catch up soon.

Ericka B. Jackson said...

I had no idea you guys were going through this! I'm so so sory, and so glad they found everything in time and you're doing better. Praise God - He is such a God of detail!