Mackenzie and Mom Take a Trip

Friday, August 15th, 2008 - Three and a half weeks after surgery I got really brave and took Mackenzie up to Dallas. Just her and me. We had a blast. We went to the American Doll store and she got to pick out her looks-like-me doll. She named her Rose. Then we ate at the bistro upstairs where they have little doll seats so Rose could eat at our table with us. Everything there was so perfectly girlie and cute. We loved it. Later that afternoon, to balance out the girliness perhaps, Mackenzie wanted to go see snakes at the Heard Museum up in McKinney so off we went. They had snakes, bugs, some reptiles, and about 12 or so interesting animals (wallabies, parrots, lemurs) living outside the back of the museum. The next day, after a very slow and restful morning at the hotel, we went to the Dallas World Aquarium followed by the Dallas Zoo. Kenzie and I had a blast and definitely saw lots and lots of amazing creatures. On our drive back home on Saturday night, Mackenzie and I ate dinner at Cracker Barrel in Waco. As the sun was setting we sat outside in the rockers after dinner and ate treats. It was truly a peaceful, happy moment just enjoying our time together.

Any Great Ideas???

OK, I just realized life is marching forward and we have a big event coming up in our family. Dave's turning 40 this coming January. We'll be in Utah for it, the week after Christmas most likely, and I could really use some ideas for some way to celebrate the big day. Have any of you planned or attended a fun party for the big 4-0 birthday? If so I'd love to hear about it!

Test Results

I met with Dr. Rosendahl on Wednesday, July 30th, 2008. It was my 1 week post-surgery visit. I'd been having unusual swelling at the base of my neck and a lot of inflammation. Not to mention a very uncomfortable pulling feeling everytime I ate, talked, or swallowed. Of course, I forgot all about that as the rest of the visit unfolded. He removed my long stitch (sorry if that's tmi) and said everything looked great. He also told me more information about my pathology reports. The facts: all my lymph nodes came out clean but there was a 1.4mm mass of cancer completely inside a 1.7cm nodule inside my thyroid; . It's truly amazing the needle biopsy caught it but because it did WHEN it did, I do NOT have to have the radioactive iodine treatment and I am THRILLED. I was trying to be brave and gear up for it but I realized after he told me the news I had been more scared than I let on. Not only did I get good news there, but he told me Dr. Scumpia, my endocrinologist who I would see the next day, said to go ahead and put me on thyroid meds. I was ecstatic!!! No more fatigue, depression, unearned weight gain... etc. while waiting to take some radioactive substance into my body. I had my sitter with the girls for the afternoon and so I went and saw Mamma Mia! the movie to celebrate. It was perfect and reminded me how much I love ABBA's songs. And Mom, you'll appreciate this: I also ate a bag of popcorn and half a box of Raisinettes to celebrate. WAHOO, no more worrying about packing on pounds unfairly. Once I'm on my meds, any extra weight is my own dang fault. All I ask is for is an even playing ground. Is that so wrong? ;)

The next day I went and saw Dr. Scumpia and she told me I should go buy some lottery tickets because I obviously had some serious luck. Dave was with me and we all laughed at that one. She took a base-line cancer blood sample and is checking my calcium to keep an eye on things. Now I just have to come back in 6 weeks and get my thyroid levels checked again to see if I need more or less medication. Thank you for all your prayers. I know this was not luck or coincidence that this ended as well as it did. I appreciate everyone who lent me and our family so much support. Love to you all!

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!!!