Recovering

I had my surgery on Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008. Dr. Rosendahl removed the thyroid gland and everything went well. The procedure took longer than the Dr expected because apparently I have tiny vocal chord nerves that he was extra-cautious of. My calcium levels came back great (8.8) that evening, which means my parathyroid glands are still working (they can be a casualty of this kind of surgery and they regulate the calcium levels in your blood). Good news! I am tired and sore but am healing well. I must say if you get a chance to pick a hospital to have surgery at, Westlake Hospital is amazing. I felt like I was staying in a really nice hotel. The rooms were huge and everything seemed brand new. They had plasma tvs in every room and all the newest medical technology. Not to mention granite countertops in the bathrooms and slate in the showers. They even had a cool food menu with salmon and salads and smoothies. I know, I know, you're saying, What?!?! So was I... Not a bad place to recover. I must admit I did not want to leave. Sigh, now back to the realities of life and recovering at home... Thank you to everyone for your sweet prayers and thoughts. The flowers are all amazing and the food you've brought in has been a huge help. And to those of you who have taken the girls, well, there must be special blessings in heaven for you brave souls. ;) Thank you to everyone who has helped out and called and kept us in their thoughts. I truly have felt carried through this at times and know it is because of all of you. Thank you.

The Surgeon's Take on Things...

I met with Dr. Rosendahl on Wednesday, July 16th, after we got back from our trip. He used to be the head of the head, throat, and neck surgery at some huge Houston hospital but his wife told him they were moving to Austin because she wasn't raising the kids in Houston. SO, he now practices in Lakeway and was very helpful and informative. He spent 2 hours with me explaining everything about the thyroid and thyroid cancer and how the surgery works. To summarize; basically I am going to have my thyroid removed so the cancer goes with it. The surgery will be Wednesday, July 23rd at 9 am at Westlake Hospital. I will also have my lymph nodes in that area removed just to be safe. Then they run tests on the removed lump and thyroid to determine if it has likely spread. They run an iodine dye through me to see if there are any receptive cells (since the only cells that absorb iodine are thyroid cells), if they find any receptive cells anywhere in my body that means the cancerous thyroid cells have travelled and I have to take a round of radioactive iodine. Me needing the radioactive iodine is pretty unlikely since we’re finding this early, but it’s good to know for sure. If it comes to that, the radioactive iodine wipes out any other cancer cells. The prognosis is excellent and I will just have to be on thyroid medication for the rest of my life. Thank you for all your prayers on my and my family's behalf. I have felt a greater sense of peace and strength through all of this because of them. Thank you.

Seriously On Vacation

We made it to Naples, Florida late Monday night, July 7th. Dave's company had us all staying at the Ritz-Carlton as this getaway was a reward trip. The hotel was wonderful and we had a great view of the pools and the ocean from our 5th story balcony. We vegged out on Tuesday and Wednesday before everyone else got there. Wednesday night was the official welcoming event and dinner at the Ritz. It was a great buffet and I got to meet a lot of new people and reconnect with those from last year's Cabo trip. Ashley Hobbs, the Pavilion HR queen in charge of all the details told us that when she was pricing out the centerpieces for the evening she told her Ritz counterpart, "Are the flowers made of gold, and do we get to keep them?". The guy told her, "It's the Ritz, Ash" which became my favorite saying of the trip. The next day we got to go to the spa. Dave got a massage and I got a facial and afterwards we just lazed around in the spa's facilities. That night the group went on a dinner cruise around the Naples inlet to the Gulf and got to see all the multi-million dollar houses that no one apparently ever resides in. They just own them, like a knick-knack I guess. Crazy. Friday the group went on a catamaran to a private island and got to jet-ski, hunt for shells, and relax in the oceas and on the beach. That night we went to dinner in town on old 5th street at a restaurant called Lucat. Afterwards we were going to go dancing but too many people ended up wanting to go and it turned into a fiasco. Poor Ashley was mortified at how the club was all 21 year olds and packed. Not to mention there was a line out the door. NOT exactly the place for our 30-40ish group to not stick out like crazy. I blame the Ritz guy who told us to go there. What was he thinking? The last day we went shopping and just hung out by the pool cafe and talked with people from out group. The last night's dinner was at the Ritz and celebrated the accomplishments of the individual sales team members. They did an amazing job this last year. Some of the highlights of the trip for me were meeting Dave and Mary Nordness who live in Huntsville, Alabama - my home town! They were just a hoot and I love Mary and her sassiness. I also enjoyed Derek and Jan from Scotland who have 2 daughters. Everyone else was great also, but Ashley was my favorite. She's so fun and makes doing her job look easy. Kudos to Ashley for pulling off such a great trip!

Almost on Vacation...

On July 5th we left for Dallas as a stopover on the way to my mom's in Camden, Arkansas. Mackenzie LOVED the Dallas Aquarium and I loved our hotel, the Prava Suites right next to the Galleria. They have 2 rooms in every suite and it's great for people with kids. We also ate dinner at BJ's for the first time and it was awesome! Their cookie dessert skillets are to die for. Definitely a new favorite. The next morning we left for my mom and Steve's place and made it there 5 minutes before them (they were driving back from celebrating the 4th in Huntsville, AL). I knew the girls were in good hands when I saw mom's porch set up: 2 blow-up swimming pools, one with water, the other sand, and tons of shovels, cups, and rakes. Plus a running water hose to boot. What more could a kid want??? After getting the girls settled and staying overnight, Dave and I left on Monday mid-day for Little Rock, Arkansas and the plane that would take us to Fort Myers, Florida and our Naples, FL getaway. Vacay, here we come!!!

Some bad news...

On July 3rd I went back to my thyroid Doctor's office to get the results of a needle biopsy they did on a lump in my thyroid. Lo and behold, it came back positive. Wha? Are you kidding? I have cancer? Everything else she said after that was a blur, but I got an ultrasound to check my lymph nodes and they look fine. We didn't have to cancel our vacation (which we left for on Saturday, July 5th) but I couldn't meet with a surgeon until we got back either. I finally met with Dr. Rosendahl on July 16th and got my questions answered. Thank you Jessica for being my note-taker and friend. I really appreciated that more than you know. Flash forward: I am not dying. Thyroid cancer is the most treatable kind of cancer there is. Unfortunately I do have to have my thyroid removed and brace myself for possible radioactive iodine treatments. I am not looking forward to the surgery and recovery but I've been through worse so bring it on!

Guitar Hero and Dance, Dance Revolution Party

June 27, 2008 We had several neighbor families over for a bar-b-que and game challenge. The kids played and had a blast and we adults got to try out Guitar Hero and DDR. The dancing was the biggest hit, but only because we all have such little children we had to keep close tabs on them and the Guitar Hero was upstairs. Next party, I'll switch things around and see which game wins. We had 11 kids there and 9 of them were five or younger. Whew! It was super fun but I will admit that keeping things going while having your 2 year old be the wild card can be a bit stressful. Madison somehow stepped on a nest of fire ants and got dozens of bites. Luckily Theresa was there to tell me that bleach kills off the sting. And it worked!!! Madison stopped crying really quickly. Finally, special thanks goes to Dave for being the techno guru he is and solving all technical issues. Considering we had 3 different stations set up (2 Playstation 2's and a Playstation 3), there were plenty of issues to deal with. Love you Dave!!!

Our trip to Disney World

At the end of May, 2008 the girls and I got to tag along with Dave to a conference in Orlando. My mom came down from Arkansas and we had so much fun. I didn't get a picture of the Jackson's but they were there as well. Greg works with Dave and brought his wife, Jayne, and their 2 boys, Declun(5) and Luke(3). We all had a great time. We stayed at the Vista Cay Millennium which was a new property that seemed to be full of condo rentals. We stayed in a 3-bedroom, 2 bath, 2300 square foot place that was brand new. It was so nice. We went to Magic Kingdom, Typhoon Lagoon, and Animal Kingdom in the first 3 days. Mom babysat for us 2 nights and Dave and I got to go out. WooHoo! We went dancing at Downtown Disney one night and closed the place down. It was so fun. Our last day there we went to Epcot and got the following photos. Thanks Mom and Jacksons for making it such a fun trip!