December 21, 2025 -- A Date for Surgery

This past Friday, December 19th,  I learned that the tumor board at Johns Hopkins Hospital is recommending that I proceed with surgery. This is to remove the recurrent thyroid cancer tumor that's causing paralysis of one of my vocal cords. Typically, that happens because the growing tumor is exerting pressure on the laryngeal nerve. That nerve controls movements of the vocal cord.

When I met with Dr. Leila Mady, the Johns Hopkins otolaryngologist who will be performing the surgery, she delivered the unwelcome news that this surgery probably won't improve my recently-acquired vocal hoarseness (the laryngeal nerve is a fragile structure and may already be permanently damaged). But the surgery is necessary because the tumor could continue to grow, eventually invading my larynx or trachea.

The surgery is scheduled for a month from now -- Wednesday, January 21st. Between now and then, I get to enjoy Christmas and New Year's with the family. Both our kids, Benjamin and Ania, will be here in Baltimore, as well as Benj's wife Dhana and their infant son Isaac. (Yes, it's baby's first Christmas for our one and only grandchild, who is of course the most photogenic baby in history.) My brothers Jim and Dave will also be here, so we'll have a full house for the big day.

After Christmas, I'll have a number of routine pre-operative tests to go through -- all standard stuff for anyone preparing to go under general anesthesia.

Here's a photo of our Christmas tree where we'll gather on the big day. Hope your holidays are very special, as ours certainly will be this year!