.... my forearms and fingers are so SORE right now! I did Ok, but there were a few walls I wasn't able to finish. Next time. Hopefully next week!
Added:
I knew rock climbing would be challenging, but I didn't think I'd have a such a hard time getting my legs/arms to do what I wanted them to do to advance further up the wall. Part of it was because I was tired. The first wall I tried was so exhausting, and made me sweat the most. Serena and Magness warned me that I needed to use my legs more than my arms. There is a certain way you need to position your body so you can adequately propel yourself upward, but I found that many times I couldn't manage to do that. I could see the grip where I wanted to place my hand next, but for some reason I couldn't get my legs to get me up there. A bit frustrating. I had to take a few breaks to rest my arms/fingers and figure out the best places to place my feet and legs so I could move up easier. On half of the walls I gave up when I got half way up the wall because either my arms were too tired and/or I couldn't figure out another way up the wall. There was one I tried twice, but couldn't get past the part where the wall went in a slight reverse incline, so I was hanging off the wall a bit.
That's just going up the wall itself. One person remains on the ground to belay the rope for you. That was a process as well. I think by the third time I belayed I finally got the hang of it. A few times it felt just as hard belaying as it was trying to get up the wall!
They say the next time you climb it's a lot easier - the climbing and the belaying. Looking forward to it.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
How does my neck look? 8/30/10
I had lunch with a co-worker this afternoon. It was good to see her and catch up. I know, I'll see her in two days at work, but I missed my office visit last month, and we've been trying to go out for lunch since the beginning of the month. Better late than never. Seems somethings at the office have not changed. And it looks like we may be swapping offices with another department. Well, the decision has not been made by the other dept yet, so I guess there is still a chance we will be stuck in that tiny closet of an office a bit longer. Although, my fortune cookie said "You will soon make a change at work", so either that means we move, or maybe the 'annoyance' will be removed?!?
Before I went home I did some shopping. At the last two stores, I caught myself yawning more and more. I didn't think I was doing that much, but when I got home, I ended up falling asleep watching the 6pm news. This was surprising, especially since I managed to get 6 hours of sleep last night. This makes me a little nervous about my first day back at work. What if I need to take a nap at 2pm?!? Or, could this just be me PMS-ing again? I guess I'll know either way later this week.
My rock climbing outing was moved to tomorrow night, so nothing to report about that yet. Still very much looking forward to it. I hope I'm not too sore on Wednesday.
Anyway, when I was getting dressed this morning, I decided to put on my necklace. I took it off the night before my first surgery, almost four months ago. When I look at my neck in the mirror, sometimes my necklace camouflages the scar, but mostly it hangs about 1/3" or so below my scar. Close enough. So what do you think? - how does my neck look?
Before I went home I did some shopping. At the last two stores, I caught myself yawning more and more. I didn't think I was doing that much, but when I got home, I ended up falling asleep watching the 6pm news. This was surprising, especially since I managed to get 6 hours of sleep last night. This makes me a little nervous about my first day back at work. What if I need to take a nap at 2pm?!? Or, could this just be me PMS-ing again? I guess I'll know either way later this week.
My rock climbing outing was moved to tomorrow night, so nothing to report about that yet. Still very much looking forward to it. I hope I'm not too sore on Wednesday.
Anyway, when I was getting dressed this morning, I decided to put on my necklace. I took it off the night before my first surgery, almost four months ago. When I look at my neck in the mirror, sometimes my necklace camouflages the scar, but mostly it hangs about 1/3" or so below my scar. Close enough. So what do you think? - how does my neck look?
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Things I wanted to do
Have been thinking about the many things that I had hoped to accomplish or do during my time off, in addition to recovering from surgery and just getting over the whole ThyCa thing. I was supposed to:
- Read and work on things mentioned in the "Cancer: 50 Essential Things To Do" book.
- Adapt an anti-cancer diet. This pretty much died after my ENDO said he didn't think it would make a difference for my cancer.
- Reorganize my room. I managed to work on parts of my room, but it's still a pretty big mess!
- Take a relaxing trip. All my money has been going to my medical bills, so I wasn't able to do anything 'nice' for myself
- Get more hours of sleep each day. I am still having problems sleeping for more than 4 or 5 hours each night.
- Have a better attitude about my ThyCa. I actually think I have accomplished this. I still have moments where I break down and cry, but not as often. Depression doesn't help.
- Take on a few different activities, namely rock climbing and capoeira. I'm actually going to get the chance to do the rock climbing tomorrow night! And I can't forget that I actually read a few books (including the Hunger Games trilogy) during and after RAI, so I am starting to enjoy reading (which I normally associate with studying, not entertainment).
- Take better care Frankie, with daily walks and weekly baths. I'm getting there on this one.
I'm a little depressed thinking that I didn't do that much during my time off, but then I remember part of that time my energy was focused on my dad and his health issues. The entire month of May I was dealing with recovery from two surgeries and two ThyCa diagnoses, the scar on my neck, the soreness of my neck and body, the uncertainty, telling my closest friends and a handful of co-workers of my diagnosis. In June I was worried about preparation for RAI and my on-going treatment - meds, blood tests, annual scans....all the things I'd have to incorporate into my life to make sure it doesn't come back, or what to do if it did come back. The beginning of July was consumed with RAI/WBS, isolation, puffy neck, non-glowing pee, having to take thyroid meds for the rest of my life, the Hunger Games books, starting to exercise again. The beginning of August was the closest I got to a vacation since I had family in town, I watched a lot of swimming, had significant worries about my WBS results but all turned out to be Ok. Now, with just two days left of my four months off I'm struggling to hold on to something that tells me I'm normal again, something that proves to me that I didn't squander my time off on self pity/loathing. I'm starting to feel depressed again, but I still don't know if that's me really just being depressed or if I'm starting to PMS again. Things are so not 'normal' yet.
I have been working on my back story for the past four months. People in my personal support group have been giving me ideas of what I should say to people when they ask me where I've been for the past couple of months. It has ranged from giving the most absurd story ('I was attacked by a plastic knife wielding crazy lover, hence the scar, so no I won't be marrying him'), just tell them 'it's none of their damn business', a nicer version would be to tell them 'it was a personal matter and I have a lot of work to catch up on'. I could also say 'I was out for a personal family matter; I used to cover my scar with concealer make up, but in light of the personal stuff going on I decided to stop covering it up'. I could also just tell them that I don't know WTF they are talking about and walk away. My boss told me that if I don't want to talk about it people will understand and respect that. So the last idea just might work.
Regarding the scar itself, everyone tells me they can barely see the scar, but I can see it, and I know it is there, so I have a hard time not paying attention to it. When I look in the mirror, I look right at it every time, I rarely look at my face anymore. How does everyone not see it?!? I know, don't get ahead of myself.... breathe in and out...try not to think too much about it.....
- Read and work on things mentioned in the "Cancer: 50 Essential Things To Do" book.
- Adapt an anti-cancer diet. This pretty much died after my ENDO said he didn't think it would make a difference for my cancer.
- Reorganize my room. I managed to work on parts of my room, but it's still a pretty big mess!
- Take a relaxing trip. All my money has been going to my medical bills, so I wasn't able to do anything 'nice' for myself
- Get more hours of sleep each day. I am still having problems sleeping for more than 4 or 5 hours each night.
- Have a better attitude about my ThyCa. I actually think I have accomplished this. I still have moments where I break down and cry, but not as often. Depression doesn't help.
- Take on a few different activities, namely rock climbing and capoeira. I'm actually going to get the chance to do the rock climbing tomorrow night! And I can't forget that I actually read a few books (including the Hunger Games trilogy) during and after RAI, so I am starting to enjoy reading (which I normally associate with studying, not entertainment).
- Take better care Frankie, with daily walks and weekly baths. I'm getting there on this one.
I'm a little depressed thinking that I didn't do that much during my time off, but then I remember part of that time my energy was focused on my dad and his health issues. The entire month of May I was dealing with recovery from two surgeries and two ThyCa diagnoses, the scar on my neck, the soreness of my neck and body, the uncertainty, telling my closest friends and a handful of co-workers of my diagnosis. In June I was worried about preparation for RAI and my on-going treatment - meds, blood tests, annual scans....all the things I'd have to incorporate into my life to make sure it doesn't come back, or what to do if it did come back. The beginning of July was consumed with RAI/WBS, isolation, puffy neck, non-glowing pee, having to take thyroid meds for the rest of my life, the Hunger Games books, starting to exercise again. The beginning of August was the closest I got to a vacation since I had family in town, I watched a lot of swimming, had significant worries about my WBS results but all turned out to be Ok. Now, with just two days left of my four months off I'm struggling to hold on to something that tells me I'm normal again, something that proves to me that I didn't squander my time off on self pity/loathing. I'm starting to feel depressed again, but I still don't know if that's me really just being depressed or if I'm starting to PMS again. Things are so not 'normal' yet.
I have been working on my back story for the past four months. People in my personal support group have been giving me ideas of what I should say to people when they ask me where I've been for the past couple of months. It has ranged from giving the most absurd story ('I was attacked by a plastic knife wielding crazy lover, hence the scar, so no I won't be marrying him'), just tell them 'it's none of their damn business', a nicer version would be to tell them 'it was a personal matter and I have a lot of work to catch up on'. I could also say 'I was out for a personal family matter; I used to cover my scar with concealer make up, but in light of the personal stuff going on I decided to stop covering it up'. I could also just tell them that I don't know WTF they are talking about and walk away. My boss told me that if I don't want to talk about it people will understand and respect that. So the last idea just might work.
Regarding the scar itself, everyone tells me they can barely see the scar, but I can see it, and I know it is there, so I have a hard time not paying attention to it. When I look in the mirror, I look right at it every time, I rarely look at my face anymore. How does everyone not see it?!? I know, don't get ahead of myself.... breathe in and out...try not to think too much about it.....
Friday, August 27, 2010
ThyCa group meeting - Aug 26, 2010
Despite the fact that the ThyCa meeting lasted longer than usual, I'm glad I stuck around until it ended. We had four more people attend this evening. One or two had not been to a meeting in a while, and the rest were new to the group. I liked the small meetings, but it is always nice to hear more/different questions from different people. Of course the best part about these meetings is just being about to talk to other people that are going through the same things as myself.
One lady was just diagnosed a few weeks ago. She also found out this month that she has fertility problems, so she isn't planning on having RAI so they can work on starting a family. Wow. That is a lot to have to deal with in a month. She has appts with a few different surgeons, so I hope she finds one that she is comfortable with. We gave her a lot of info and told her about some good experiences and some not so good experiences that members have had with the surgery. Not to scare her, but it's just good info to have. I hope everything works out for her and she doesn't need to have RAI. It is nice that some people don't need to have it, but it was recommended for me due to the fact that I have HCC, yes, despite the fact that HCC doesn't necessarily get killed off by RAI. I still wonder about the wisdom of it, but am very happy that my WBS came back clean.
Interesting: When I walked in, I learned that our facilitator had to quit. I didn't get all the details, but I was really bummed about that - who would take over for her? Mary and Walt were trying to pass the responsibility to each other, and then to me. I declined it since I'd be coming from downtown and may have problems getting there on time. But after the meeting I started to rethink my decision. I'm not even sure what the duties of the group facilitator is, but it may not be such a bad thing for me to take on. I'm just a little worried about what my work load will be since all my projects have been put on hold since May. But, I do need to take time out for myself (and my cancer), and I do want to get more involved and knowledgeable about my disease, so perhaps this could be a good thing for me if I take on the responsibility as group facilitator.I'll see what they say at the meeting next month.
One lady was just diagnosed a few weeks ago. She also found out this month that she has fertility problems, so she isn't planning on having RAI so they can work on starting a family. Wow. That is a lot to have to deal with in a month. She has appts with a few different surgeons, so I hope she finds one that she is comfortable with. We gave her a lot of info and told her about some good experiences and some not so good experiences that members have had with the surgery. Not to scare her, but it's just good info to have. I hope everything works out for her and she doesn't need to have RAI. It is nice that some people don't need to have it, but it was recommended for me due to the fact that I have HCC, yes, despite the fact that HCC doesn't necessarily get killed off by RAI. I still wonder about the wisdom of it, but am very happy that my WBS came back clean.
Interesting: When I walked in, I learned that our facilitator had to quit. I didn't get all the details, but I was really bummed about that - who would take over for her? Mary and Walt were trying to pass the responsibility to each other, and then to me. I declined it since I'd be coming from downtown and may have problems getting there on time. But after the meeting I started to rethink my decision. I'm not even sure what the duties of the group facilitator is, but it may not be such a bad thing for me to take on. I'm just a little worried about what my work load will be since all my projects have been put on hold since May. But, I do need to take time out for myself (and my cancer), and I do want to get more involved and knowledgeable about my disease, so perhaps this could be a good thing for me if I take on the responsibility as group facilitator.I'll see what they say at the meeting next month.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
How does my neck look? 8/24/10
I'm free for only one more week. I think today was the day I got to 'escape' from reality since I spent half of the day reading "Mockingjay." I didn't spend a lot of time thinking about my thyca or going back to work next week as I was reading. I'll probably read the book again, slower, to see what I didn't pick up from my first read today.
I don't have too many things planned for this last week. I've got run club tomorrow night, ThyCa meeting and pilates Thursday night, chiro appt and dinner with some neighbors Friday evening. Thinking about getting my hair cut on Saturday. Sunday morning pilates class...some where in there I have to do some clothes shopping as none of my work pants seem to fit me well any more. I've got to take Frankie in for a bath, Saturday, as well. Oh, and I can't forget to have my ENDO sign the form releasing me back to work.
After a day spent in air conditioning reading, how does my neck look?
I don't have too many things planned for this last week. I've got run club tomorrow night, ThyCa meeting and pilates Thursday night, chiro appt and dinner with some neighbors Friday evening. Thinking about getting my hair cut on Saturday. Sunday morning pilates class...some where in there I have to do some clothes shopping as none of my work pants seem to fit me well any more. I've got to take Frankie in for a bath, Saturday, as well. Oh, and I can't forget to have my ENDO sign the form releasing me back to work.
After a day spent in air conditioning reading, how does my neck look?
Mockingjay.....9 hours later I have finished the last book of this trilogy. Despite all the spoilers I read, it was still a riveting story to read. "The Hunger Games."
Hold on, make that 12 hours later. Yes, I'm an incredibly SLOW reader, but I also had to re-read a couple of pages here and there in disbelief of what happened.
Added:
Didn't quite finish it all in one sitting since bodily functions need to be attended to as well as nourishment (does a hot dog combo from Costco and two large decaf sugarfree hazelnut lattes count?). I finally decided to leave Borders before 5pm fearing that I may either be ticketed or towed for being parked there for 8 hours. I managed to finish the book at Starbucks. What can I say? - I needed to know how it ended, so there was no way I was not going to finish the book today. I was riveted, the whole time. In parts of book two, "Catching Fire", I was a bit bored, but the first and last books really had me going.
So, here were my predictions for the book, and how they panned out:
1. Mr Everdeen and Mr. Hawthorne are alive, but are captives of the Capitol, not part of the rebellion. The mining accident was a cover up to remove all D12 rebellion leaders. They have had to watch Katniss participate in both Hunger games, as punishment for being part of the rebellion. Neither of the fathers were alive, but I still think it would've been brilliant if they were and had to watch Katniss participate in the Hunger Games.
2. Peeta, Johanna, and Enobaria are also captives of the Capitol. Cinna is here too since he is part of the rebellion. The three victors were captives, well, some how Enobaria was not imprisioned; Cinna was killed during interrogation, I think, before Peeta, Johanna, and Enobaria were captured.
3. Prim and Peeta as tributes were fixed, to get Katniss to volunteer since she's the only one who could survive the games, and Peeta b/c of his voice/speaking skills; together they could help spark the revolution, all without knowing they were doing it. No mention as to if the reapings were fixed, but the president of D13 wanted to save Peeta before Katniss. But they were both very good at sparking the rebellion without knowing what the plan was.
4. Katniss, Gale, and Finnick go to the Capital to break everyone out, despite being told by Haymitch not to, but she does b/c she's tired of being manipulated by everyone else who has had a hand in the two games she has been in. Gale goes, both Katniss and Finnick are not strong enough and it'd be too risky to lose Katniss since she is the symbol of the rebellion. She is, however, unhappy about still being manipulated for someone else's games. The rebels have to bust Peeta out because it is clear that Katniss cannot function knowing that he is being tortured by Snow to break her, which it does.
5. Katniss kills President Snow. She kills the president of D13 instead of Snow, but he dies anyway, at just about the same time she kills the other president.
6. Peeta and Gale both die, trying to protect Katniss. Almost. Both are alive at the end of the book.
7. Katniss ends up with Finnick. Annie is saved along with Peeta and Johanna. Her and Finnick get married in D13. But he dies during the mission to kill Snow.
8. Story ends.....with the districts being freed.....or in the middle of a revolution. Thank goodness the districts were freed. And thank goodness for that epilogue!
9. A theory I posted on Mockingjay.net was that Gale was going to confess he loved Katniss before he was yanked out of the room when they were saying their good byes (THG, pg 40). I was right on this one, as he was finally able to admit that his feelings for her changed six months before the reaping in the first book. I knew it, even if it didn't change the fact that she ends up with Peeta.
Hold on, make that 12 hours later. Yes, I'm an incredibly SLOW reader, but I also had to re-read a couple of pages here and there in disbelief of what happened.
Added:
Didn't quite finish it all in one sitting since bodily functions need to be attended to as well as nourishment (does a hot dog combo from Costco and two large decaf sugarfree hazelnut lattes count?). I finally decided to leave Borders before 5pm fearing that I may either be ticketed or towed for being parked there for 8 hours. I managed to finish the book at Starbucks. What can I say? - I needed to know how it ended, so there was no way I was not going to finish the book today. I was riveted, the whole time. In parts of book two, "Catching Fire", I was a bit bored, but the first and last books really had me going.
So, here were my predictions for the book, and how they panned out:
1. Mr Everdeen and Mr. Hawthorne are alive, but are captives of the Capitol, not part of the rebellion. The mining accident was a cover up to remove all D12 rebellion leaders. They have had to watch Katniss participate in both Hunger games, as punishment for being part of the rebellion. Neither of the fathers were alive, but I still think it would've been brilliant if they were and had to watch Katniss participate in the Hunger Games.
2. Peeta, Johanna, and Enobaria are also captives of the Capitol. Cinna is here too since he is part of the rebellion. The three victors were captives, well, some how Enobaria was not imprisioned; Cinna was killed during interrogation, I think, before Peeta, Johanna, and Enobaria were captured.
3. Prim and Peeta as tributes were fixed, to get Katniss to volunteer since she's the only one who could survive the games, and Peeta b/c of his voice/speaking skills; together they could help spark the revolution, all without knowing they were doing it. No mention as to if the reapings were fixed, but the president of D13 wanted to save Peeta before Katniss. But they were both very good at sparking the rebellion without knowing what the plan was.
4. Katniss, Gale, and Finnick go to the Capital to break everyone out, despite being told by Haymitch not to, but she does b/c she's tired of being manipulated by everyone else who has had a hand in the two games she has been in. Gale goes, both Katniss and Finnick are not strong enough and it'd be too risky to lose Katniss since she is the symbol of the rebellion. She is, however, unhappy about still being manipulated for someone else's games. The rebels have to bust Peeta out because it is clear that Katniss cannot function knowing that he is being tortured by Snow to break her, which it does.
5. Katniss kills President Snow. She kills the president of D13 instead of Snow, but he dies anyway, at just about the same time she kills the other president.
6. Peeta and Gale both die, trying to protect Katniss. Almost. Both are alive at the end of the book.
7. Katniss ends up with Finnick. Annie is saved along with Peeta and Johanna. Her and Finnick get married in D13. But he dies during the mission to kill Snow.
8. Story ends.....with the districts being freed.....or in the middle of a revolution. Thank goodness the districts were freed. And thank goodness for that epilogue!
9. A theory I posted on Mockingjay.net was that Gale was going to confess he loved Katniss before he was yanked out of the room when they were saying their good byes (THG, pg 40). I was right on this one, as he was finally able to admit that his feelings for her changed six months before the reaping in the first book. I knew it, even if it didn't change the fact that she ends up with Peeta.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Low energy
When I woke up this morning, it felt just like one of the many lazy day weekend/Sunday mornings I used to have long before my thyroid issues were detected. I woke up, still tired, but this time I forced myself to get up and do something - I had a pilates class at 10:30am that I didn't want to be late for, after all. Managed to hop on the treadmill for a short jog and even did some weights. Went to Crazy Bowls and Wraps for my favorite dish, 'Zesty beans over quinoa'. When I finally got home, the old post Sunday pilates ritual continued - the TV was turned on, and all I did for the next four or so hours was drift in and out of naps because I was so tired. Well, at least until I started to read the "Mockingjay" spoilers.
So much for heading toward normal. I guess I should probably give myself a little slack though since I did just spend the last two days up in Irvine watching my niece swim in the Pan Pacific swim meet - the driving each day really took a lot out of me. Because of how I felt this morning and my much needed naps this afternoon, I'm still a little worried that I may not be able to do a full work day when I go back to work.
I have one more week to do something fun, something for myself before my recovery time is officially over. I've gotten some suggestions to go on a road trip. But, not so sure I'd be able to enjoy that if I'm completely exhausted like I was this morning. I dunno. Any other suggestions? Let me know.
So much for heading toward normal. I guess I should probably give myself a little slack though since I did just spend the last two days up in Irvine watching my niece swim in the Pan Pacific swim meet - the driving each day really took a lot out of me. Because of how I felt this morning and my much needed naps this afternoon, I'm still a little worried that I may not be able to do a full work day when I go back to work.
I have one more week to do something fun, something for myself before my recovery time is officially over. I've gotten some suggestions to go on a road trip. But, not so sure I'd be able to enjoy that if I'm completely exhausted like I was this morning. I dunno. Any other suggestions? Let me know.
Spoilers
When I got the first two books from the Hunger Games trilogy from Jen last month I didn't know I was going to enjoy the books so much that I'd have such a hard time waiting for the third and last book of the trilogy to be released this month. The release date for "Mockingjay" is this Tuesday, August 24. It has seemed worse than the wait for Christmas when I was a little kid! So bad that I've been pouring over the fan websites and looking for theories on the final book for the last month. I need to both thank and curse Jen for giving me something to distract me from my thyca issues for the past month. More of a thanks though, because the first two books were really good reads, and I've never been much of a reader, so a lot of good came out of it!
No advance copies of the book were given out to reviewers. A week or so ago, the author asked that fans not post any spoilers so everyone would have a chance to read the book first. Well, turns out some bookstore in Indiana put the books out on the shelves last Sunday, so a few people have been posting spoilers. Then an audio book website also accidentally posted the first chapter of the book, for download a few days ago - it has since been pulled, but spoilers were posted from it as well. Since I don't have any self control, I started to read all of the spoilers this afternoon. Why? - Why did I do that? Probably to see if any of my theories were correct, I guess. Well, from what I've read, I don't think any of my theories were correct. Doesn't matter though because I still can't wait to read the book, but I'm really sad about what happens in the end.
Of course I pre-ordered the book, it's being shipped to one of the local Borders bookstores here for me to pick up. One of the employees told me it would be shipped with the rest of the copies for the store, that I'd get an email when it is shipped a few days before the release date. Haven't gotten that email yet, and it's just two days away. I bet it won't arrive until Saturday, when they are having an event in the store for it. Honestly, I don't think I could wait that long to read it. So I'm happy that I saw it in the Target circular this morning. I may just end up at Target at 8am Tuesday morning so I can get it and start to read it. I need to put myself out of my misery ASAP!, and the sooner, the better!
No advance copies of the book were given out to reviewers. A week or so ago, the author asked that fans not post any spoilers so everyone would have a chance to read the book first. Well, turns out some bookstore in Indiana put the books out on the shelves last Sunday, so a few people have been posting spoilers. Then an audio book website also accidentally posted the first chapter of the book, for download a few days ago - it has since been pulled, but spoilers were posted from it as well. Since I don't have any self control, I started to read all of the spoilers this afternoon. Why? - Why did I do that? Probably to see if any of my theories were correct, I guess. Well, from what I've read, I don't think any of my theories were correct. Doesn't matter though because I still can't wait to read the book, but I'm really sad about what happens in the end.
Of course I pre-ordered the book, it's being shipped to one of the local Borders bookstores here for me to pick up. One of the employees told me it would be shipped with the rest of the copies for the store, that I'd get an email when it is shipped a few days before the release date. Haven't gotten that email yet, and it's just two days away. I bet it won't arrive until Saturday, when they are having an event in the store for it. Honestly, I don't think I could wait that long to read it. So I'm happy that I saw it in the Target circular this morning. I may just end up at Target at 8am Tuesday morning so I can get it and start to read it. I need to put myself out of my misery ASAP!, and the sooner, the better!
Heading toward normal
I'm finishing my first week on a lower dose of Levoxyl. I think if any new complaints show up, it'll be around now. Energy level is hard to judge this week, esp with the all the excitement from watching my niece swim in Irvine. Driving takes a lot out of you. I hope I'm getting closer to 'normal.'
I exercised a little more this past week. Thank goodness I'm wasn't stuffing my face as much. It did get a little bad on Friday and Saturday due to the swim meet. Sleep was not so great at the beginning of the week (could not sleep for longer than 4 hours), but seems to be better now. I think (at least I hope) I am heading toward normal.
I exercised a little more this past week. Thank goodness I'm wasn't stuffing my face as much. It did get a little bad on Friday and Saturday due to the swim meet. Sleep was not so great at the beginning of the week (could not sleep for longer than 4 hours), but seems to be better now. I think (at least I hope) I am heading toward normal.
Pan Pacific swim meet
How lucky am I that I not only got to watch my niece, Micah, compete in not one but two major swim meets this month? I saw her place 3rd in the 100M breast stroke at the US Nationals at the beginning of the month, which placed her on the US National team to compete in the Pan Pacific swim meet this past week. Just hours ago I watched her place second in her 200M prelim (right behind Rebecca Soni), just miss the cut to race in the A Final (once again, Amanda Beard edges her out - ARGH!!!), but she placed first in the B Final, and managed to not only improve her time, but beat the time of one of the swimmers from the A Final. Wow! I have to say that I am pretty f*@$ing lucky, yesiree!!!
It was amazing to see the likes of Ryan Lochte, Michael Phelps, Rebecca Soni, and Natalie Coughlin among others swim, in person, not on TV! But, I have to admit that I was more awe struck from watching my niece swim. I remember when she was little (well, I guess this rings true for all of my 8 nieces and nephews), I would think to myself, 'I can't wait until she gets older and I can have a real conversation with her.' It never crossed my mind all those years ago that I'd be thinking to myself, 'I can't wait to see Micah swim in the National / Pan Pacific (maybe even the Olympics?) swim meet and ask her how it felt to win.' How on earth did that little person running around my parents' house 18 years ago become this 6' tall swimming awesomeness?!? It blows my mind.
Anyway, the US, of course, won the whole thing. Some athletes/countries gave us a good run for the money in a few events. I have to say that swim fans are pretty mild - no drunken hooligans up in the stands getting rowdy and throwing things or throwing up. Everyone was nice and orderly.
It was amazing to see the likes of Ryan Lochte, Michael Phelps, Rebecca Soni, and Natalie Coughlin among others swim, in person, not on TV! But, I have to admit that I was more awe struck from watching my niece swim. I remember when she was little (well, I guess this rings true for all of my 8 nieces and nephews), I would think to myself, 'I can't wait until she gets older and I can have a real conversation with her.' It never crossed my mind all those years ago that I'd be thinking to myself, 'I can't wait to see Micah swim in the National / Pan Pacific (maybe even the Olympics?) swim meet and ask her how it felt to win.' How on earth did that little person running around my parents' house 18 years ago become this 6' tall swimming awesomeness?!? It blows my mind.
Anyway, the US, of course, won the whole thing. Some athletes/countries gave us a good run for the money in a few events. I have to say that swim fans are pretty mild - no drunken hooligans up in the stands getting rowdy and throwing things or throwing up. Everyone was nice and orderly.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Thyroglobulin (Tg)
My ENDO's office called as we were driving up to Irvine yesterday morning to watch Micah swim. Second time in a row they call while I am driving! Anyway, she had good news for me, again. She said my Tg levels were undetectable. Yay. Well, kind of.
I found out the following from the ThyCa email group: "My Tg may still be slightly elevated since I just had RAI and it is still working (the radiation continues to work for 6-12 months after the dosage), so that may be why my ENDO never mentioned it; he would only be concerned if my Tg remained elevated after 6-12 months." So, my Tg should still be elevated, but it isn't. Either that is a really good sign that RAI worked, or it is a false positive because I may have TgAb - the Thyroglobulin anitbodies which can make my Tg level look lower than it really is. He has never ordered a TgAb test for me. I think my HCC and the fact that my path report for my right lobe indicated Hashimoto's put me at high risk for having Tg antibodies. So, "Yay!", but then again, maybe not so yay.
I guess I still just wait and see at this point, but I won't really know much else until December. I have a few carefree months until I have to start to worry again.
In the meantime, I'm going to see if I can get to the ThyCa annual conference in Dallas October 15 & 16. I have an off-site dept meeting for work Oct 13 & 14, so I'm still trying to figure out my travel plans at this point, see if I can still get a reasonable flight.
I found out the following from the ThyCa email group: "My Tg may still be slightly elevated since I just had RAI and it is still working (the radiation continues to work for 6-12 months after the dosage), so that may be why my ENDO never mentioned it; he would only be concerned if my Tg remained elevated after 6-12 months." So, my Tg should still be elevated, but it isn't. Either that is a really good sign that RAI worked, or it is a false positive because I may have TgAb - the Thyroglobulin anitbodies which can make my Tg level look lower than it really is. He has never ordered a TgAb test for me. I think my HCC and the fact that my path report for my right lobe indicated Hashimoto's put me at high risk for having Tg antibodies. So, "Yay!", but then again, maybe not so yay.
I guess I still just wait and see at this point, but I won't really know much else until December. I have a few carefree months until I have to start to worry again.
In the meantime, I'm going to see if I can get to the ThyCa annual conference in Dallas October 15 & 16. I have an off-site dept meeting for work Oct 13 & 14, so I'm still trying to figure out my travel plans at this point, see if I can still get a reasonable flight.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
How does my neck look? 8/19/10
Prep for the CT scan included a fun hospital gown since I had to remove everything above my waist and an IV for the contrast dye. The nurse told me when the dye was administered, I'd feel a warm flush, and it may feel like I needed to pee, but I wouldn't - all normal side affects. Then I'd be put on a table and my body would go through a giant doughnut hole. I was led into the scan room, and sure enough there was the giant doughnut hole, as promised.
They told me that my ENDO should have the results of my CT scan within 24 hours. That would put me at Micah's swim meet tomorrow (Pan Pacifics, 50m breast stroke prelims) if he had to call me with the results.
No matter what shows up on my CT scan from earlier today, it doesn't change what my scar looks like. So, how does my neck look?
They told me that my ENDO should have the results of my CT scan within 24 hours. That would put me at Micah's swim meet tomorrow (Pan Pacifics, 50m breast stroke prelims) if he had to call me with the results.
No matter what shows up on my CT scan from earlier today, it doesn't change what my scar looks like. So, how does my neck look?
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
CT scan tomorrow 8/19/10
Finally got a call from the CT/MRI dept this morning. She said it took so long (for them to contact me for scheduling) because they had to get approval from my insurance company. I have a $63 copay for the scan. The only other time I had a copay was before my first surgery ($60), and I think that time they said it was so I'd hit my $2500 deductible, or something like that. How expensive can the CT scan be and why do I have to pay a copay for this? - questions for my health insurance company. She wanted to know when I wanted to go in. I said the sooner the better, so luckily there was an open appt tomorrow morning (Aug 19).
Instructions for the scan are that I am not to eat anything for four hours before the scan. I check in at 10:40am, I'm on the 'table' at 11am, and scan should be completed by 11:20am. No contrast dyes to worry about, no agonizing minutes as I'm pulled slowly through a machine like when I had my two WBS done.
In my mind, I need to know the results of the CT scan before I return to work because I don't think I could take any bad news at work without balling my eyes out on the job. All of this worry was supposed to be over before I went back to work. If things were really "Ok" then I would not have to worry about anything (other than blood work to balance out my meds) until six months or 12 months later (for my 1-yr scan), but here I am still having to get a CT scan and wait for results. And why hasn't my ENDO told me what my Tg level is? This. doesn't. seem. right.
Instructions for the scan are that I am not to eat anything for four hours before the scan. I check in at 10:40am, I'm on the 'table' at 11am, and scan should be completed by 11:20am. No contrast dyes to worry about, no agonizing minutes as I'm pulled slowly through a machine like when I had my two WBS done.
In my mind, I need to know the results of the CT scan before I return to work because I don't think I could take any bad news at work without balling my eyes out on the job. All of this worry was supposed to be over before I went back to work. If things were really "Ok" then I would not have to worry about anything (other than blood work to balance out my meds) until six months or 12 months later (for my 1-yr scan), but here I am still having to get a CT scan and wait for results. And why hasn't my ENDO told me what my Tg level is? This. doesn't. seem. right.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Cancer is....expensive
Ok, I think I figured out how to pay my exorbitant medical bills - I can take a 'hardship withdrawal' from my 401k. Turns out I can only do one of these a year, so I need to wait for my WBS and CT scan bills to come in so I can submit all my outstanding bills together, before I pull any money out so I withdraw only what I need. I have not even been scheduled for my CT scan yet, so not sure when I'd be able to submit my request for said withdrawal. I'm still responsible for about $800 before I meet my $7,500 out-of-pocket maximum for the year, so hopefully the CT scan will put me over my maximum and I'll be done with it.
Next time I'd have to do another major procedure, like RAI/WBS would be, I believe, at 6 months (next January?) if my CT scan comes back positive for uptake in my chest region. Otherwise, I think I would have to do RAI/WBS at the one year mark (next July). If I go on Thyrogen shots (2) instead of having to go off my meds to become severely hypothyroid for RAI, each Thyrogen shot is about $1,200. I know, going back to an HMO is so looking good right now!
At least I know where to get the money from. I'll be subject to the normal Federal and State taxes when I pull the money out, but not the 10% early withdrawal penalty since it will be used to pay for medical expenses. I know, a lot of people are probably saying that I shouldn't be touching my 401k, but it's really the only way out of this financial mess, especially since I still have not won the lottery yet. Sure I can win Ryan Lochte's right shoe, but I seem to have no such luck when it comes to winning the Mega Millions lottery draw.
If I ever am so fortunate that I won a crazy amount in a lottery draw, you can bet I'd create a foundation to fund Thyroid cancer research, help promote thyroid cancer awareness, and help those in need pay for their thyroid cancer treatments or meds. I'll probably never win the lottery, but whether or not I had the money to do all these things, these are things that are important to me because of who I am now.
Next time I'd have to do another major procedure, like RAI/WBS would be, I believe, at 6 months (next January?) if my CT scan comes back positive for uptake in my chest region. Otherwise, I think I would have to do RAI/WBS at the one year mark (next July). If I go on Thyrogen shots (2) instead of having to go off my meds to become severely hypothyroid for RAI, each Thyrogen shot is about $1,200. I know, going back to an HMO is so looking good right now!
At least I know where to get the money from. I'll be subject to the normal Federal and State taxes when I pull the money out, but not the 10% early withdrawal penalty since it will be used to pay for medical expenses. I know, a lot of people are probably saying that I shouldn't be touching my 401k, but it's really the only way out of this financial mess, especially since I still have not won the lottery yet. Sure I can win Ryan Lochte's right shoe, but I seem to have no such luck when it comes to winning the Mega Millions lottery draw.
If I ever am so fortunate that I won a crazy amount in a lottery draw, you can bet I'd create a foundation to fund Thyroid cancer research, help promote thyroid cancer awareness, and help those in need pay for their thyroid cancer treatments or meds. I'll probably never win the lottery, but whether or not I had the money to do all these things, these are things that are important to me because of who I am now.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
How does my neck look? 8/15/10
My new Levoxyl prescription arrived yesterday afternoon, so this morning I switched over from the old dosage (175 mcg) to the new dosage (150 mcg). Not sure when I will be able to tell for sure if my symptoms/complaints have improved or not, but I don't think it would be for a few days, at least. My energy level has been pretty good today. Hopefully I will be able to fall asleep easily tonight.
Went to pilates class this morning, then jogged 3/4 mi on the treadmill. My right knee felt a little tender, but not enough that I had to stop. I really need to work in another run during the week, preferably before I go back to work so I already have my weekly workout schedule set up. I'm thinking about trying to get to a hip hop dance class once a week, but they all seem to be too early in the evening for me to get to. A yoga class would be good too, just not a power yoga class, so I don't think I'll be going to Selena's Monday or Tuesday night classes for a while yet.
The tingly feeling in my neck comes and goes. I'm starting to feel a lot more self-conscious about it now that I only have a little over two weeks before I go back to the office. I may have to invest in some short sleeve turtle necks so I don't have to worry about explaining my new beauty mark on my neck. A lady in my pilates class was telling me to start massaging it, to help loosen the area so I don't get a lot of scar tissue, or something like that. I should try this and see if it feels or looks better (to me, at least).
I know I should be proud of my scar, but right now I'm not feeling too good about people seeing it at work, not yet. So tell me, how does my neck look? Should I keep it covered or show it off at work? (then tell people it's none of their business if they ask about it?!?)
Went to pilates class this morning, then jogged 3/4 mi on the treadmill. My right knee felt a little tender, but not enough that I had to stop. I really need to work in another run during the week, preferably before I go back to work so I already have my weekly workout schedule set up. I'm thinking about trying to get to a hip hop dance class once a week, but they all seem to be too early in the evening for me to get to. A yoga class would be good too, just not a power yoga class, so I don't think I'll be going to Selena's Monday or Tuesday night classes for a while yet.
The tingly feeling in my neck comes and goes. I'm starting to feel a lot more self-conscious about it now that I only have a little over two weeks before I go back to the office. I may have to invest in some short sleeve turtle necks so I don't have to worry about explaining my new beauty mark on my neck. A lady in my pilates class was telling me to start massaging it, to help loosen the area so I don't get a lot of scar tissue, or something like that. I should try this and see if it feels or looks better (to me, at least).
I know I should be proud of my scar, but right now I'm not feeling too good about people seeing it at work, not yet. So tell me, how does my neck look? Should I keep it covered or show it off at work? (then tell people it's none of their business if they ask about it?!?)
Friday, August 13, 2010
They have to go home sometime
Closing in on the end of two weeks with my siblings in town. My brother and nephews left Tuesday morning (8/10). My oldest and youngest sisters leave today (8/13) - this morning and this evening, respectively. My second sister leaves tomorrow morning (8/14), but, she'll be back next week, well, up in Irvine, to watch her daughter (my niece #3, Micah) swim three events in the Pan Pacific meet.
I love talking about the good old days with my siblings. It's one thing to talk about it with my parents or with my siblings on the phone, but it's a totally different experience when we are all together laughing about the dumb things we did when we were little. Of course with family gatherings goes a lot of eating. I'm so tired of eating. I think the only thing I could bother myself to eat right now, since I'm soooooo stuffed, is frozen yogurt. I don't think I could eat anything else. So bummer that they all have to go home sometime, but I think my digestive track will be a lot happier since it won't be working overtime from all the food I've been cramming down my mouth the past two weeks.
So, that leaves me a little over two weeks to get myself ready to return to work. They leave and I have to go back to work. I wonder if I'll be able to work full days. If I get my sleeping pattern down I bet I could do it. September 1st, I believe, is a Wednesday. A run club day, no less. Good thing the Labor day holiday is a few days after my return. I'm sure there will be a lot that I'll have to catch up on at work. In my email exchanges with my boss, she has told me that there have been some structural changes within our dept, and of course the programmers have been waiting for me to return to look at the revamped version of the databases I manage.
Am I ready for all of this?, to return to the rest of my 'normal' life? To face all the questions people will have - the prying "Where have you been for the past couple of months?" questions, the "Oh, you have cancer" pity looks and querries.... all the questions and comments I have been safe from for three and a half short months? Hopefully my scar will be a lot less visible, or maybe I can put concealer on it. Then again, I don't have to tell everyone my story because that does belong to me. I don't have to share anything with anyone I don't want to share with. Sadly, there are still some people I'd rather kick really hard in the nuts (or face) than divulge my whereabouts for the past couple of months.
I love talking about the good old days with my siblings. It's one thing to talk about it with my parents or with my siblings on the phone, but it's a totally different experience when we are all together laughing about the dumb things we did when we were little. Of course with family gatherings goes a lot of eating. I'm so tired of eating. I think the only thing I could bother myself to eat right now, since I'm soooooo stuffed, is frozen yogurt. I don't think I could eat anything else. So bummer that they all have to go home sometime, but I think my digestive track will be a lot happier since it won't be working overtime from all the food I've been cramming down my mouth the past two weeks.
So, that leaves me a little over two weeks to get myself ready to return to work. They leave and I have to go back to work. I wonder if I'll be able to work full days. If I get my sleeping pattern down I bet I could do it. September 1st, I believe, is a Wednesday. A run club day, no less. Good thing the Labor day holiday is a few days after my return. I'm sure there will be a lot that I'll have to catch up on at work. In my email exchanges with my boss, she has told me that there have been some structural changes within our dept, and of course the programmers have been waiting for me to return to look at the revamped version of the databases I manage.
Am I ready for all of this?, to return to the rest of my 'normal' life? To face all the questions people will have - the prying "Where have you been for the past couple of months?" questions, the "Oh, you have cancer" pity looks and querries.... all the questions and comments I have been safe from for three and a half short months? Hopefully my scar will be a lot less visible, or maybe I can put concealer on it. Then again, I don't have to tell everyone my story because that does belong to me. I don't have to share anything with anyone I don't want to share with. Sadly, there are still some people I'd rather kick really hard in the nuts (or face) than divulge my whereabouts for the past couple of months.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Hyperthyroid?!?
I checked my blood work results online last night because I wasn't sure why my Levoxyl dosage would be decreased if my levels were above normal. For the record, my TSH was below the normal range while my Free T4 level was above the range. From everything I've read online and in books, as a ThyCa patient, I know my TSH has to stay below .5, and my level was at .25, so I was confused as to why my dosage should be decreased - wouldn't that mean my TSH would also increase, and therefore stimulate any remaining cancer cells to wake up and grow? Well, not necessarily in my case. This is why I should leave all the important stuff like interpreting lab results to my ENDO.
My research indicated that a low TSH and a high Free T4 points toward hyperthyroidism, or overactive thyroid. This is weird because I think I have many of the symptoms of hypothyroidism - low energy level, constipation, weight gain, etc. But, since I just got my monthly reminder that I am a girl, I suppose that all could have been bad PMS - at least this time I didn't cry each day for no reason at all or have really bad depression and mood swings. My monthly cycle was never consistent before, so I don't imagine anything that happens now will seem normal. I don't remember being consistent for more than five months at a time, then something would always change, like I'd skip a month or something like that. So here's yet something else I'll have a new 'normal' for. Isn't there some saying that you are not normal if you are normal? I think I used to tell myself that when I was a teenager because my life didn't seem to be like all of my friends' lives - I didn't think I was normal at all. And here I am, 25 years later and I'm still not normal. Ugh!
For some reason my ENDO placed my new Levoxyl order with a mail order pharmacy, so I have to wait for the new prescription to arrive before I start taking the lower dosage. I need to report back to him if any of my symptoms change or new ones appear. Nice - at least I am my own personal guinea pig.
You know, I never thought that my health issues affected anyone close to me so negatively, but turns out I was wrong. I think I'm dealing with it Ok - sure I like to know what all the possibilities are, good and bad, but it's just so I can be prepared for the worst if things go that direction. This apparently drives some people close to me CRAZY, which seems odd to me since I'm the one who has to live with it, but I guess I have forgotten that it also affects them too. Sigh.
My research indicated that a low TSH and a high Free T4 points toward hyperthyroidism, or overactive thyroid. This is weird because I think I have many of the symptoms of hypothyroidism - low energy level, constipation, weight gain, etc. But, since I just got my monthly reminder that I am a girl, I suppose that all could have been bad PMS - at least this time I didn't cry each day for no reason at all or have really bad depression and mood swings. My monthly cycle was never consistent before, so I don't imagine anything that happens now will seem normal. I don't remember being consistent for more than five months at a time, then something would always change, like I'd skip a month or something like that. So here's yet something else I'll have a new 'normal' for. Isn't there some saying that you are not normal if you are normal? I think I used to tell myself that when I was a teenager because my life didn't seem to be like all of my friends' lives - I didn't think I was normal at all. And here I am, 25 years later and I'm still not normal. Ugh!
For some reason my ENDO placed my new Levoxyl order with a mail order pharmacy, so I have to wait for the new prescription to arrive before I start taking the lower dosage. I need to report back to him if any of my symptoms change or new ones appear. Nice - at least I am my own personal guinea pig.
You know, I never thought that my health issues affected anyone close to me so negatively, but turns out I was wrong. I think I'm dealing with it Ok - sure I like to know what all the possibilities are, good and bad, but it's just so I can be prepared for the worst if things go that direction. This apparently drives some people close to me CRAZY, which seems odd to me since I'm the one who has to live with it, but I guess I have forgotten that it also affects them too. Sigh.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
WBS results!
ENDO says....results from my WBS were successful. However, there were signs of uptake in my chest, not definitive, so I will be scheduled for a CT scan. He said a lot of ThyCa patients have this type of uptake in their chest area and most of the time it is nothing, but the Radiology department could not say for sure that it was not of concern, hence the CT scan. Waiting to see when my CT scan will be scheduled.
My ENDO said I just need to "believe the science", which Viv later said he was talking about the law of averages. Sorry, but I don't think my averages have been so great since my thyroid issue was detected last November. Sure I had a 50% chance of my HC neoplasm being benign or malignant (but it's found mostly in people over 45 (I'm 40), and it's not a very common thyca (3-10% of all differentiated thycas)), and how about my three little PC foci on the right side?!? Viv says that makes me "special." Argh! I don't want to look at my situation this way, but the odds have not been in my favor so far. He also said something similar regarding my FNA biopsy results back in February - 'inconclusive, but you should see an ENT to have it removed to make sure it isn't cancer.' I'm just saying......that I hope this is not a pattern for him.
Anyway, I was supposed to have my blood work done a few days before my appt, so he couldn't tell me if my meds are at the correct level or not. I had my blood drawn a few hours ago (Free T4, TSH, Tg), so they should have the results later this afternoon. If necessary, he'll tweak my dosage a little. If the CT scan results are clear, then my follow up appt is in December (with another round of blood work before that appt), and another round of RAI at the one year mark.
He said I'll get the tingling sensation in my neck for about six months, that it looked like it was healing well. He also said I should be Ok to go back to work on September 1st. Yay!
My ENDO said I just need to "believe the science", which Viv later said he was talking about the law of averages. Sorry, but I don't think my averages have been so great since my thyroid issue was detected last November. Sure I had a 50% chance of my HC neoplasm being benign or malignant (but it's found mostly in people over 45 (I'm 40), and it's not a very common thyca (3-10% of all differentiated thycas)), and how about my three little PC foci on the right side?!? Viv says that makes me "special." Argh! I don't want to look at my situation this way, but the odds have not been in my favor so far. He also said something similar regarding my FNA biopsy results back in February - 'inconclusive, but you should see an ENT to have it removed to make sure it isn't cancer.' I'm just saying......that I hope this is not a pattern for him.
Anyway, I was supposed to have my blood work done a few days before my appt, so he couldn't tell me if my meds are at the correct level or not. I had my blood drawn a few hours ago (Free T4, TSH, Tg), so they should have the results later this afternoon. If necessary, he'll tweak my dosage a little. If the CT scan results are clear, then my follow up appt is in December (with another round of blood work before that appt), and another round of RAI at the one year mark.
He said I'll get the tingling sensation in my neck for about six months, that it looked like it was healing well. He also said I should be Ok to go back to work on September 1st. Yay!
Monday, August 9, 2010
How does my neck look? 8/9/10
Full weekend
What an exciting weekend! A bit exhausting, but well worth it, especially once I had my afternoon nap each day. The weekend started with the arrival of my youngest sister Friday evening.
We spent Saturday in Irvine at the national swim meet watching niece #3 swim. She won her prelim heat and swam a personal best! However, in the Finals she didn't fare too well, but she was right there with Rebecca Soni (the winner) until the last 50M. She did make it on the US National team and will be competing in two weeks in the Pan-Pacific meet which will also be held in Irvine. She's training and rubbing elbows with Michael Phelps, Amanda Beard, Ryan Lochte, etc. Hmm... I wonder if she will miss the first week or so of school or not.
Sunday we worked on my parents' backyard. By 4pm I was down for the count. Once my brother got my dad's gas grill working, we had a barbeque for dinner - even dessert was barbequed (bbq'd peaches topped with french vanilla ice cream!). Good food, good company, good times!
My brother and nephews leave Tuesday morning, but my sisters are staying until the end of the week (leaving on Friday and Saturday). I know my dad has been in much better spirits since my brother and nephews arrived last Monday evening. He was a bit depressed after his doctor appt on Friday, but I can tell that having all of his kids and almost all of his grand kids around for the past couple of days has been encouraging for him. I'm doing Ok myself, but still think I'm a bit on the hypo side of things right now. Since my brother will be leaving early Tuesday morning, I will most likely take one of my sister's with me to my 8am ENDO appt instead of my mom. Still have no idea what the 'additional tests' may be.
We spent Saturday in Irvine at the national swim meet watching niece #3 swim. She won her prelim heat and swam a personal best! However, in the Finals she didn't fare too well, but she was right there with Rebecca Soni (the winner) until the last 50M. She did make it on the US National team and will be competing in two weeks in the Pan-Pacific meet which will also be held in Irvine. She's training and rubbing elbows with Michael Phelps, Amanda Beard, Ryan Lochte, etc. Hmm... I wonder if she will miss the first week or so of school or not.
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| Photo stolen from my sister's blog.....this is my niece, Micah, in action. |
Sunday we worked on my parents' backyard. By 4pm I was down for the count. Once my brother got my dad's gas grill working, we had a barbeque for dinner - even dessert was barbequed (bbq'd peaches topped with french vanilla ice cream!). Good food, good company, good times!
My brother and nephews leave Tuesday morning, but my sisters are staying until the end of the week (leaving on Friday and Saturday). I know my dad has been in much better spirits since my brother and nephews arrived last Monday evening. He was a bit depressed after his doctor appt on Friday, but I can tell that having all of his kids and almost all of his grand kids around for the past couple of days has been encouraging for him. I'm doing Ok myself, but still think I'm a bit on the hypo side of things right now. Since my brother will be leaving early Tuesday morning, I will most likely take one of my sister's with me to my 8am ENDO appt instead of my mom. Still have no idea what the 'additional tests' may be.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
Surprise souvenir
Fwd: Congrats! You won an autographed Lochte shoe! Go to the Speedo booth and show this message to claim your prize.
I can't believe I won these shoes during the finals last night! Will have to pick them up tomorrow morning during the prelims.
EDIT: Whew! Turns out I didn't win the shoes shown above - those are a pair he designed especially for himself with Speedo. He also designed limited edition Speedo footware, which in swim speak I guess means flip flops. So I think I'll be walking away with a pair of these instead (oh thank heavens! - not sure where/when I'd want to be caught wearing those green things!!!!)
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Awesome! Micah came in 3rd place, beating out two of the four Olympians in the final. And, turns out I get to watch Michael Phelps swim in a final as well.
Here are the official results from the USA Swimming website:
Here are the official results from the USA Swimming website:
USA Swimming-Nat. Meets 8/5/2010 - 21:16PM
2010 ConocoPhillips National Championships - 8/3/2010 to 8/7/2010
Event 14 Women 100 LC Meter Breaststroke
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World: W 1:04.45 8/7/2009 Jessica Hardy, Trojan
American: A 1:04.45 8/7/2009 Jessica Hardy, Trojan Swim Club
U.S. Open: O 1:04.45 8/7/2009 Jessica Hardy, Trojan Swim Club
LC Nationals: M 1:05.34 7/9/2009 Rebecca Soni, Trojan Swim Club
Meet Q Time: 1:12.79
Name Age Team Prelims Finals FINA Points
=========================================================================
=== Championship Final ===
1 Soni, Rebecca 23 Trojan Swim Club 1:06.53 1:05.73 942 20
r:+0.78 31.01 1:05.73 (34.72)
2 Chandler, Ann 22 Tucson Ford Deal 1:07.88 1:08.07 848 17
r:+0.74 32.05 1:08.07 (36.02)
3 Lawrence, Micah 20 Auburn University 1:08.31 1:08.48 833 16
r:+0.83 31.87 1:08.48 (36.61)
4 Jendrick, Megan 26 King Aquatic Clu 1:08.49 1:08.54 831 15
r:+0.67 32.05 1:08.54 (36.49)
5 Clark, Corrie 28 Nittany Lion Aqu 1:08.63 1:08.77 823 14
r:+0.70 31.79 1:08.77 (36.98)
6 Beard, Amanda 28 Tucson Ford Deal 1:08.72 1:09.12 810 13
r:+0.75 32.80 1:09.12 (36.32)
7 Hardy, Jessica 23 Trojan Swim Club 1:06.90 1:09.24 806 12
r:+0.69 30.92 1:09.24 (38.32)
8 Hehn, Keri 29 Trojan Swim Club 1:08.85 1:09.46 798 11
r:+0.79 32.37 1:09.46 (37.09)
Hypo day
On a personal note, I think I'm having a hypo thyroid day today. I'm a bit tired, and body functions are definitely not what they should be today. My left elbow is also very dry - a friend had once told me that a doctor recommended she get her thyroid checked for hypothyroidism because her elbows and skin, in general, were very dry. I think this is the worst I have felt, physically, in a few weeks so I'm not going to worry about it, not unless I'm like this for the next couple of days. Then I think I'd have a lot to complain to my ENDO about next week.
US National Swimming
Swimming.... two of my nieces swam this morning in the US Nationals (prelims), the 100m breast stroke. Micah got the fourth fastest time, that is behind three Olympians. She is swimming in the finals this evening. We are so excited! Her second event, the 200m breast stroke is on Saturday. Looking forward to seeing her swim against the big guns.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Interesting weekend
Elvy. I've been waiting to meet this woman for a few weeks now. Her brother-in-law is a member of my Dad's church group. I found out a few weeks ago that she had a total thyroidectomy for thyroid cancer a month after I did, but she had a lot of complications. I finally met her at a picnic on Saturday. I found out she is on her second week of the low-iodine diet and will get her RAI dosage in a week. It felt good talking to someone else who has gone through the same things I have (FNA biopsy, surgery, crappy low-iodine diet, etc.), esp since that does not happen all that often. I think I was able to put her at ease regarding RAI/WBS and what to expect when she starts taking Levoxyl after RAI. For a cancer that affects such a small population it is still interesting how no two cases are alike. Treatments differ depending on the doctor or insurance policy (it seems), side affects vary; perhaps the only thing we all have in common is wondering when our lives will return to normal. I'm no expert on my disease, but I'd do anything I could to help ease the new comers into the group. I just hope that no one I care about gets a personal invitation. Well, I guess I wouldn't want my frenemies in this exclusive group either, so let's just cast the net even wider and I say that I hope no one that I know has to be eased into the group. That would be kinda cool if by knowing me, people would get a free pass on thyroid cancer!
In addition to the 25 minutes of personal public pain I experienced Friday evening, my laptop once again died on me. I thought it died earlier last month (the screen either whited out or blacked out, and pc would not respond) but it eventually turned back on. As of Friday night I have not been able to get the screen to turn on, so I think I'm really out of luck this time. I was able to get a new laptop earlier this evening. Still not so sure how I feel about losing my old laptop (an HP tablet pc - it was awesome!), but like everything else in my life right now, I need to embrace change. So, hopefully my new Toshiba laptop will serve me longer than the two previous HPs.
On a more positive note, this morning I finished my first bottle (qty 30) of Levoxyl - one bottle down, and a life time more to go..... And, my siblings will be in town for the next two weeks! I am looking forward to spending time with my family.
In addition to the 25 minutes of personal public pain I experienced Friday evening, my laptop once again died on me. I thought it died earlier last month (the screen either whited out or blacked out, and pc would not respond) but it eventually turned back on. As of Friday night I have not been able to get the screen to turn on, so I think I'm really out of luck this time. I was able to get a new laptop earlier this evening. Still not so sure how I feel about losing my old laptop (an HP tablet pc - it was awesome!), but like everything else in my life right now, I need to embrace change. So, hopefully my new Toshiba laptop will serve me longer than the two previous HPs.
On a more positive note, this morning I finished my first bottle (qty 30) of Levoxyl - one bottle down, and a life time more to go..... And, my siblings will be in town for the next two weeks! I am looking forward to spending time with my family.
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