Teresa Suarez’s Battle: Surgery and Recovery

Hello, my name is Teresa Suarez and I am a teacher in Colorado Springs. In June of 2024, I got really sick with pancreatitis and was in the hospital for over a week. Since then, I have had pancreatitis five different times, requiring me to be hospitalized and to have many different surgeries. In the past year, I have had five surgeries to try to figure out what is going on with my system. My doctors have finally figured out I have high-density dysplasia from my stomach throughout my small intestine, and I have some type of tumor affecting my pancreas, as well as lesions on my liver. My doctors have decided that it is in my best interest to have all of this taken out as soon as I possibly can in a modified procedure called a Whipple. For most people, this would require two weeks in the hospital, but for me, I will need to be there for at least three weeks, with one week being spent in ICU. Needless to say, this is going to be a big deal for my family. My husband is going to have to take time off of work, my daughter will need to be with my other kids when she is not with me (so she will not be able to work), there is just a lot that is going to be needed in those three to four weeks. My recovery is going to be long. Depending on if half my pancreas can even be saved, I may need an insulin pump immediately after surgery, plus they will be opening me up completely to take biopsies while they reconstruct the whole area. I will be down for months and may need to do chemotherapy when I am strong enough. I am waiting until after the end of the school year so I can finish out this year with my students and be there for my son’s graduation. This, unfortunately, is giving these cells time to grow and do more damage. It is giving me time to prepare our family for what might come. This is a dangerous surgery and recovery is going to take a lot of time.

I would appreciate your prayers in this time for me and my family. God is good and He is faithful.