Too Much on Our Plait

On day two of isolation, I’m finding that it’s really no big deal. I feel perfectly fine, just as before the treatment, as if nothing ever happened. I thought I would have some awful symptoms, but I’ve had none, nada, zip, zilch. Yippee! I’ve been keeping myself busy doing some organizing and cleaning up. I have a nasty habit of changing purses and taking out only the things I want to put into the new purse, leaving all of the extra “stuff” in the old one and tucking it in the closet. Last evening and today, all of those purses came out of the closet and all of the “stuff” was gotten rid of. I did find a few goodies though…jewelry I’d forgotten about, lots of spare change, even a gift certificate. I’m making out like a bandit! Actually, I think this radioactivity has put me into warp speed. I went on a vacuum cleaning binge—even vacuuming the laundry room and, get this, the furnace AND the oil burner! That big ‘ole noisy thing has accumulated an ungodly amount of dust on and around i...

Getting my radioactive iodine treatment today was totally uneventful. Kind of fun actually. The nuclear medicine department at the hospital was buzzing, having four patients getting similar treatment at the same time. The lovely gal next to me was suffering from Graves’ disease – an overactive thyroid. A smaller dose of radioactive iodine works for that as well. We wished each other luck and blessings, took our respective treatment, and were on our way. Now, I’m in the comfort of my basement. My trusty laptop is keeping me company. Drinking water like crazy to flush the treatment out faster. I can hear the television going upstairs, the pitter patter of feet, and my family’s voices. Thank God the isolation part is short. I can come out into the world on Sunday which is, coincidentally, my baby boy’s birthday! Kyle will be 19 years old on the 21st, so we’ll have much to celebrate on that day. Good news today! My younger sister, Grace, heard from the endocrinologist. Her thyroid nodule...

I'm still coping with Xander's death. I listen to the same song over and over again: Keane's Bend and Break . It's a great song; the lyrics in the chorus are the ones I quoted in the letter to him in my previous entry. I think about him every day. Mom is officially a hermit in our basement. Fun, right? I really wish I had been able to be with her, at least this morning before she got her radioactive iodine. It sucks, though. That's one of the really sucky things about thyroid cancer. The only treatment is RAI, and NO ONE can be around you. No comfort, no hugs, no kisses, no nothing. Just whispers of "I love yous" and "Get wells" over the phone or, in my mother's and sister's case, yelling down the steps. I hated being isolated, so I know exactly what my mother and sister have/had to deal with. I miss Mom already. :-( I think I'm going to apply to a First Descents camp for this summer. It's a phenomenal camp for cancer fighters/...

I had my two shots of Thyrogen--one on Wednesday and one on Thursday.  It was a terrific way to start the day.  Nothing like a shot in butt to get you going in the morning.   Now, it's my turn for radioactive iodine -- the next phase of treatment for thyroid cancer.  In two hours, I will take a pill that will hopefully do its awesome task of ridding my body of stray thyroid cancer tissue and cells, wherever they be.  Afterwards, I"ll need to go into hibernation for a few days, so I'll retreat to my basement with my laptop, cellphone, iPod, and a few good books.  Truth is, I am a little scared, but I just have to stop stalling and get on with it.  More later...

Recently, Dori lost a friend to cancer. I cried when I read her post. That’s the funny thing about cancer...you gain - and you lose. You gain the support of so many, as this blog has proven. So many people, some that we will probably never even meet, have rallied together through this blog to encourage us, pray with us, and lift our spirits. Unfortunately, some of those people are cancer victims as well. They have supported us with the same enthusiasm as the others, even though their time with us is short. It’s a tough loss, particularly with the young. Dori has lost a friend, a fellow online gamer, someone to laugh with, and share stories about their commonality of cancer. As a mother, I think of the other mother and what she must be going through. How many tears she must have shed, nights that she couldn’t sleep, and prayers she must have offered up from the day of her child’s diagnosis until the moment of his death. It’s easy to say, “He’s in a better place”, but I’m sure that ...

Wow, I'm amazed I've been able to get to 30 posts. :-) Thank you to everyone for reading! I am sorry, all, for the lack of updates. I have had a very rough couple of weeks. It has gotten very busy with student teaching, and a lot has happened lately. Last Friday, my aunt had her surgery. She looks great! I got to see her yesterday when she stopped by to see us. Her scar looks so good! Our surgeon never ceases to amaze me. He is a magician. Since her biopsies never gave us a definitive diagnosis, her thyroid had to be sent to pathology. She doesn't get the results until her appointment on Wednesday, which I find to be ridiculous. If you get the results, why not call up your patient? In my opinion, the wait stinks. Why make people suffer more? I think the wait is worse than the results, honestly. So, we won't be finding out those results until the 17th. Ugh. Janina's doing great. Her treatment went well, and she had her nuclear scan on Friday. Let's just hope ...

I miss milk…and I hate snow. The only thing they have in common is that they are white. But for me they represent much more. In preparation for my radioactive iodine treatment on the 19th, I am following a low-iodine diet. I can’t have any dairy products…a real bummer. Milk and cheese are my friends. Who knew they contained iodine? No egg yolks, canned food, most breads, processed food, fast food, salt, and a host of other “staples”. Oddly, I can have sugar until my heart’s content – no iodine in that. I’m pretty much subsisting on fresh veggies, meats, natural peanut butter, no-sodium bread, whole grain pasta, nuts, and fresh and dried fruit. With any luck, I’ll lose a few pounds, but I’m not holding out any hope for that. I’m not complaining – I am eating well, and more of the things that I should. With 30 inches of snow on the ground and nowhere to go, I did attempt a low-iodine recipe for chocolate cake. Didn’t turn out so great, so I smeared peanut butter on top and enjoyed it a...

Janina's been here since Thursday. She got her radioactive iodine dose Thursday afternoon, and was hibernating in our basement until today. Finally, she came out of her hole and is currently spending some time with us. :) It's really nice living with her, if only for this small bit of time. I haven't lived with her since I was a baby and she was living with me, Mom, and Dad (Kyle was not even a thought yet) in an apartment. I just wish I could be closer to her than 4-6 feet away. She'll be able to go home on Tuesday, I think. That is, if the weather clears. The snow is up to my waist! Aunt Rea's doing wonderfully! She had her surgery yesterday, and all went well. They removed her whole thyroid and sent it to pathology. Hopefully things come out positive. If not, OY. Her daughter is scheduled for surgery on the 23rd. One of the other daughters came out fine, but the third is still working with her doctor. Her doctor is saying that he wants to look at all of our p...

Just got the word that Janina’s TSH is 38…which means that she’s more than ready for her radioactive iodine treatment. Poor thing has no thyroid and no thyroid replacement hormone which has resulted in major hypothyroidism. For most, this equates to a feeling of “looking up to the curb”. However, Janina has remained her cheery, helpful self, so it’s been hard to tell how bad she really must be feeling. Her voice has become much deeper and hoarse, somewhat reminiscent of a scene from the Exorcist, minus the attitude. At any rate, in a final attempt to eradicate any and all stray thyroid cancer tissue and cells, she’ll take a whopping dose of radioactive iodine on Thursday and camp out in my basement for a few days to “deactivate”. It won’t be all that bad as we refinished the lower level a few years back. There’s a comfy bedroom (with an amazing pillowtop mattress), sitting area complete with two recliners, flat screen television, Wii game system, DVD and VSH players, bathroom with jet...