Too Much on Our Plait

Remember me, ladies and gents? ;-) I'm back! There are some updates on the medical front, and I wanted to keep you all informed. The only reason there haven't been many blogs lately is because there haven't been many eventful things going on. My family has been busy, as always. My mother has been working her tail off, Dad is also working like mad, Kyle (brother) has been working and going to school. I've been student teaching and trying to get my tuchus ready for graduation. It has been a crazy last few weeks. I had to buckle down the night that most of my work was due for my portfolio and get it done. I got about 80% of it finished, but was freaking out about a certain project that really did not turn out as well as I had hoped. My advisor has been wonderful. She said, "Dori, calm down. Do the work over break. It will get done. Just take care of your family and relax." I'm like, "OK...I can do this!" So now I'm just trying to enjoy my sprin...

Since my last post, my niece had her surgery. Janina stayed with her in the hospital, and as everyone had hoped, she did beautifully. It was, of course, no surprise that her postsurgical biopsy confirmed papillary carcinoma. Although we had hoped otherwise, the odds were certainly stacked against her. Okay, that makes five…so far. I had my postop nuclear scan. I’m not much for lying still for a long stretch, unless I’m sleeping, but it was one of those non-negotiable tasks. Everything else has pretty much gone back to normal. Well, at least as normal as things can be for my family. We are all back at our jobs, managing well on our Synthroid, and appreciating the fact that it’s still cold enough outside to get away with wearing a turtleneck or scarf (to keep that scar under wraps for as long as possible). All of our scars are healing at different rates, so we tend to compare them. I’d say collectively we have about one foot of scar line – Wow! I am thrilled that both my sister and ni...

Mom is worried about her follow up with her endocrinologist about her scan. I don't blame her. I hated waiting for my own results. I had four nuclear scans in less than a year, and I can tell you right now, I despised the waiting game. I think that's a lot of what cancer is. Waiting. Waiting for results. Waiting for something bad, or good, to happen. Waiting for a miracle. Waiting for prayers to be answered. That stupid "W" word. We have lives to live, you know. I remember when my endocrinologist gave me every result from every scan. I remember going to her office and giving me the news. You feel so helpless, like the rest of your life is determined by an inanimate object. You have no idea what to expect, and in no way are you prepared for what will happen. Sure, you try to prepare, but in all honesty, how ready are you for results that could potentially change your life? I know my cancer wouldn't, and won't, kill me. However, I never thought past a few mon...

I am so sorry that it has been so long since I posted. There has been a lot going on. My student teaching has kept me extremely busy, and I have been trying to spend time with family and friends during my "free" time. It has been crazy, but fun. :-) So Melissa does indeed have papillary thyroid cancer. She was officially diagnosed last Friday, and her surgery was last Tuesday. And, so, the count has risen to five. Is it twisted to say that I almost feel like this is commonplace now? It almost feels as though this is one of those normal routines now, like brushing your teeth. Only, it's more obnoxious and involves surgery, and maybe, if you're oh so lucky, treatment. Right now we're not so sure as to whether or not Melissa will need treatment. Her nodule was the same size as her mother's, 3 mm, and Aunt Ree did not need treatment. Let's just hope the same goes for her. But, hey, at least we have a little apartment-like basement! Life has kind of become m...

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/...