Surgery Details for Tomorrow

I finally got the call from the ENT office today that surgery will be at 3:00 p.m. tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon.  This time tomorrow, I'll be out cold on the operating table.  My faith is holding strong and I have not had too much anxiety about it.  More or less, I just want to get it over with and feel better! 

I do not know yet what room I will be in after surgery, but it will be at Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne.  I have to be there at noon this time, though, and found it odd to have me there 3 hour pre-op when I was only there an hour before the last surgery.  I can't eat or drink after midnight, which sucks, but I have requested fried chicken for my "last supper."  My last real one for a couple days anyways...lol!  I plan on eating right at midnight, staying up as late as I can, and getting up at 9:30 for a quick shower before we hop in the van.

Do I Get Your Paycheck for Doing Your Job?

I had been trying to give the ENT surgeon's office some credit, since they have not overly impressed me much throughout this...aside from the surgeon's skills, which are absolutely awesome!  (Other than that, I feel they lack most foundational people relation and customer service skills.)  I know "mistakes" happen, but I have to wonder why they always have to happen to ME!  Here I sat today, five days before surgery, and no one had called or mentioned my pre-op blood work.

I called the phone nurse and she looked for proof an order had been sent to the hospital or directly to me, to no avail...since no order had ever been written up!  I feel that I have done more of these people's jobs than they have sometimes...except the surgeon, of course.  I can't dog on the man who is about to slice my neck open for the second time!  :)

When Worlds Collide: Thyroid vs. Fibromyalgia

Ugh...today is one of those days where my thyroid symptoms and fibromyalgia flare-ups meet for a 10 round match.  Most days I just have symptoms from one or the other, but today I was blessed with both.  Yesterday was a good indicator that I'd wake up as weak as I did.  I have felt completely drained the last few days, despite mostly staying home in the A/C and not having the energy to do much besides rest. 

My arms and legs feel  like heavy noodles.  I know that does not make much sense, but if you have fibro, you understand.  I have never had to wonder whether or not I was able to walk without falling before.  Trips to the grocery store require that I push the cart so I don't wear out too fast. 

One Week Until Surgery #2

I am now in the final week before my second thyroid surgery.  This will be a completion thyroidectomy to take what is left of my dysfunctional and cancer-prone thyroid.  I can't say that I'm not nervous, but I know it really is for the best.  Taking the rest of it decreases my chances of the cancer coming back, as well as making it easier to keep my TSH (thyroid) levels more stable.  Since surgery, I have been manically bouncing back and forth between hyperthyroid (insomnia, restlessness, no appetite, weight loss) and hypothyroid (want to sleep all the time, no energy, ravenous appetite, weight gain).  It will be nice to be more "stable," if such a thing exists for me. Ha ha!

Catch Up

On Sunday, it seemed like this was going to be a very long week...but it's already Thursday evening! Where did it all go?  I know why time is flying by.  Because my surgery is going down in 13 days!  Ahhhh!  It seems so soon, but I know I just need to get it over with.  I'm not scared of the surgery so much as I am the procession of events that are to come afterwards. 

I go to see my endocrinologist 4 weeks after surgery, at which time we will discuss the radiation uptake scan and possible iodine radiation.  That is the part that scares me!  Lol!  However, I'm looking forward to getting the next "hard part" out of the way. 

I've been trying to take it easy the last couple days.  I got out a couple times to go visit with friends...once with the younger 3 and once with none!  How often does that happen?  :)  Being broke and the temperatures and humidity being so high will probably keep me in the house for most of the weekend.  My fibro has been attempting to flare a few times the last couple days...I'm sure I'm in for another long weekend.  But, it will be Monday before I know it. 

My Visit to IU Health Goshen Cancer Center

First off, I would like to say that I know doctors are all different.  Some are very patient-friendly and you can talk to them easily.  Then there are others who seem to lack any bedside manner and make you feel like you are just a chart to them...however, these are the ones who are usually considered top-notch and the best at what they do. 

My 1st Anniversary with the Best Hubby Ever!

Our wedding day

  Today was one year from the day that I wed my Hubby, at a casual outdoor ceremony at the park, on one of the hottest days of the summer, surrounded by about 50 of our friends and family.  We were married by one of my very good friend's husband and, despite it being a planned-in-twelve-days throw-together wedding, it was one of the happiest days of my life! 

Another Day in "Paradise"

Today was an exceptionally difficult day with the kids.  Their behavior has been completely out-of-control and creating a lot of unnecessary extra stress for Hubby and me.  I know that it is all "typical" behavior...not cleaning their rooms, not doing chores without numerous reminders, doing things they were told not too, etc....but it does not make it any easier to deal with.  And I know that part of the issue is simply that there are 4 kids here all the time, with Baby Girl wanting to come back home, and Ape here only on the weekends.  There is just not enough me to go around, it seems.

A Lazy Day to Recover

I cannot believe it is already almost a week into July!  So much has happened in the last year!  Hubby and I got married, he started his job at the foundry, Baby Girl moved out (and is now moving back in...lol!), the kids have all grown and changed so much, and my fibromyalgia and cancer diagnoses.  The latter brought with them a lot of time spent in doctor office waiting rooms, getting tests done, and waiting for results.

Life as I Once Knew it...

Life as I once knew it...well, it is over.  On June 14, 2011, Hubby and I sat in the quiet, white exam room of the surgeon who had just removed half of my thyroid one month earlier.  The surgery was due to a nodule found the right side of my lymph node.  The fine needle aspiration biopsy I had on September 30, 2011 showed the nodule to be benign.  Post-operative testing of the tissue, however, showed suspicion for cancer.  The sample was sent to the Mayo Clinic for a consultation, and...the results were in.