Update from McKinley 11.15.2025

Hi everyone,

Thank you all so incredibly much for your kindness!! 

The thyroid is often symbolized as a butterfly, and I am finding comfort in that. Like a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly, I hope this journey from diagnosis through surgery and recovery can be a process of growth, resilience, and emergence. Even though the path is challenging, I am holding onto the hope that beauty and renewal await on the other side.

Medical Update:
Waiting on my last CT scan results. Surgery is scheduled for bright and early on November 21st. It is expected that the surgery will be 3-4 hours followed by a 2 day stay in the hospital. The plan is for them to completely remove my thyroid and the surrounding lymph nodes that have cancer. If you’ve had surgery before and found something that made your hospital stay easier or more comfortable, I would love to hear about it. Any tips, small comforts, or practical suggestions would be appreciated as I prepare for mine.

How I’m Feeling:
Surgery is a big, permanent, and scary step, and it is teaching me to surrender and trust my medical team, who have all been incredibly kind, caring, and intentional. I feel my physical strength growing stronger every day, which gives me more confidence as I head into surgery.

Rose and Thorn- 

Roses-a moment of beauty or gratitude

The support from each and every one of you has been incredibly moving. I am so appreciative and feeling all the love!!

My medical team and Denver health have been so helpful in coordinating every step of this process

CT this week went much smoother than the last one 

Thorns: a challenge or hard spot this week

Emotions come in waves and some moments are easier than others 

The pace of everything feels uneven, moving fast and slow all at once, which can be disorienting

The unknown of how I’ll feel after surgery

What’s Next:

A successful surgery followed by at least 2 weeks of intense recovery. 

Support for the Week- 

Several of you have kindly asked how you can support me right now. As I head into surgery on Friday, I know the waiting period right before will bring a lot of nerves. If you’d like to reply with a note of encouragement, a prayer, a joke, a sweet memory, or anything that might lift my spirits I would be so grateful and will read while I am waiting to go into the operating room. 

With love,
McKinley