Another turn in the road...

Today marks 12 years since Heather and I got married! In some ways it seems like it has flown past, and in other ways it seems like we have been together forever! We have certainly covered a lot of ground in our time as Mr and Mrs Swanson; we have lived in 5 homes, on three continents. We’ve been blessed with 3 beautiful children. I have had 4 different jobs, while Heather has had 6 if you include being a stay-at-home mum, and some of the part time ventures she has had whilst raising the kids. We’ve had the joy of making new friends, and we’ve felt the pain of loosing old ones. All that said, if you had asked us how likely we thought it was that we would be living in Africa when we first got married, I don’t think we would have believed you! Life has lots of unexpected turns along the way.

Last night I got another unexpected turn that I would appreciate your prayers about.

A month or two before we came back to Scotland this summer I noticed a spot on my right ear, which was growing and changing shape quite quickly. I wasn’t hugely concerned, as it didn’t match any of the other criteria for suspicious moles (other than the changing shape) so I made a note to discuss it with the doctor when I went for my medical exam back in Scotland. That doctor also seemed not overly concerned, as the shape change was the only suspicious thing to notice about it. He did however urge me to speak to my GP and ask for a referral to a specialist before coming back to Uganda. I did that and was thoroughly impressed by the NHS and Glasgow Royal Infirmary, getting me an appointment in just over a week, and seeing me before my flight back to Uganda. Again, there wasn’t a huge amount of concern by anyone who looked at it, but a biopsy was taken and sent off for analysis as a matter of course.

Right before bed time last night I got an email from the dermatology department at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, explaining that 4 pathologists had confirmed it was a malignant melanoma, and that I would need to have further surgery to remove what is left of the lesion. It still all feels a bit surreal as I have spent today talking to MAF-UK, health insurance people and doctors about what happens next. Whatever way it all pans out, I will need some sort of surgery in the next few weeks, and my preference would obviously be to have that done in Scotland. Until further checks and tests are done, we aren’t sure exactly what that will involve. There might be a need to do a “Sentinel Node Biopsy” to confirm that the cancer has been caught before it could spread into my lymph nodes. There will need to be discussions about the type of surgery needed to remove the cancer; can the cartilage of my ear remain as it is with a skin graft, or will I have a “shark’s bite” left on my right hand ear? All these things (and lots of others!) are rattling around my head just now (now’s the time for jokes about there being lots of room in there for the ideas to bounce!), fuelled by my good friend Google, who kept me up far too late last night, looking at pictures of cancer on the ear!

 'Chuffed' with my newly dressed biopsy!

I suppose I now have a fine opportunity to live out Phillipians 4 v 6&7 (Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus), although it is always far easier to say those first six words than it is to live them out.

I will try to keep blog and Facebook pages up to date with my news, as and when I have anything new to share, and in the meantime, I would truly value your prayers as we set off down this new and unexpected turn in the road. We felt incredibly encouraged by so many people during our time back in Scotland this year, and I feel blessed to have so many people supporting us in so many ways.

Right now I am off to bed before 'Google Images' sucks me in again!

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