MaeLyn's Musings

 On Tuesday I went to the endocrinologist for a follow up visit. I had blood drawn for labs last week, so Tuesday I was hoping for some good news, but also looking for an explanation for why I've been feeling so tired lately. I'm not sure exactly what I wanted to hear: "Yay, the cancer is gone and you can forget it ever happened!" would have been extremely wishful thinking.  "Yay, the cancer is gone, but you still need to take your meds for the rest of your life and come in every six months or year for a check up to make sure it stays gone." would have been more realistically optimistic. What did I really hear? I came away from that appointment in kind of a numb fog. Yes, part of that is because I was tired (I took a nap in the waiting room while waiting for the doctor to be ready for me) and frequently have brain fog. (What's Steven's boss's name again - the one he talks about all the time and I made that crochet bee for?) In spite of the fog, I...

 August 3rd, 2022 It was the morning I had been anticipating for weeks. Anticipating with anxiety, frustration, a desire to just get it over with, and finally the day had arrived.  The night before I had carefully showered and washed myself with antibacterial soap and dried afterwards with a freshly washed towel. I hadn't used any deodorant, perfumes, lotions, etc. I hadn't eaten since dinner or drunk anything other than just a swallow to take my pills. I slept on freshly washed sheets. I took another shower with the antibacterial soap that morning and dried myself with another freshly washed towel. Steven and I left around 6am to arrive at the UC Health hospital in Highlands Ranch by 7am to check in for surgery which was scheduled for 9am. We made it in good time and had no trouble checking in. It wasn't long before they took Steven and me back to the pre-op area where they had me wipe myself down with antibacterial cloths, gargle mouthwash, and change into a hospital gown...

 "Carry this boulder over the mountain," they said. They gave me a guide to show me the way and I trudged along up the slopes and over the mountain, finally arriving on the other side, exhausted from the long trek, sore, a bit scarred, but with a sense of accomplishment. I did it! Six months later, they told me, "You need to carry another boulder over the mountain." This new boulder was a little bigger, a little heavier, a little rougher. Remembering the challenges of my first experience I dreaded having to do it again. The journey I faced seemed so much harder the second time. But I had my guide to help along the way, right? My guide directed me through the foothills, but then sent me to another to guide me. "He is taller and can see farther," my guide said. So I looked to the new guide. My new guide was indeed taller and could see farther. He described the path in detail and warned me of the pit falls and dangers along the way. I could see he had more ex...

I want to cry. I had a doctor's appointment this morning and got back the results from the CT test I had a few weeks ago. The doctor wants me to have another "procedure" to have several rogue lymph nodes removed before they get bigger and potentially spread to other parts of my body. He gave me a referral to a head and neck surgeon across town to have them look at the scan results and see what they think. I may very well end up with another, even longer scar on my neck going up towards my ear. I had hoped that the original surgery and iodine radiation would have been the end of it, besides, of course, the pills I'll have to take every day for the rest of my life. (In this crazy world we live in now, what if something happens to the supply chain of this type of medicine?)  The thing is, I feel fine. These lymph nodes aren't big enough to be seen, and neither I nor the doctor can feel them. If it weren't for the imaging technology, I would never have known anyth...

 This morning I got to go in for a CT scan. As I mentioned in a recent post  (scroll to the very end), there is evidence that I still have some thyroid cells left over from the surgery that may or may not be cancerous. My doctors thought I should have a CT scan to investigate further, so that happened this morning. When I scheduled the appointment for 9am, the lady told me that since the scan was with contrast,  I was to hydrate really well the day before and that I shouldn't eat or drink anything for at least 4 hours preceding the appointment. When I mentioned that I take my pills at 5:30am, she said that was okay as long as I took them with distilled water. A couple days ago I bought some distilled water for the purpose, but the smallest quantity I could buy it in was a gallon... to take two tiny pills.  This morning, in spite of having drunk about 12 cups of water yesterday, I woke up feeling parched and thirsty. The 1/2 cup of distilled water I took to wash down ...

(This is part 5 of a series.  Click here to read part 1 ) Last week I went to the hospital to take a radioactive pill. ( See here for more on that .) Over the next five days I read, did some crafts, binge watched Merlin on Netflix and reveled in solitude. (That being said, it was nice to come out on Saturday and be able to interact normally with my family again. Many thanks to those who brought meals, gifts or called to chat during my time in seclusion!) This morning I went back to the hospital so they could see the results of my taking that pill. The check-in process at the hospital was very easy since this was essentially the second half of the same procedure. The concierge at the front desk just checked my name off his list and sent me to the waiting area while he called the folks in nuclear medicine to let them know I was there. Just a few minutes later the same guy who gave me the pill came out and took me back to his domain where we met another guy who took charge of this p...

(This is part 3 of a series. Click here to read part 1 )  The couple weeks following my thyroid surgery were quiet ones. I was tired and didn't do much. I wasn't sent home from the hospital with any kind of thyroid hormone replacement, so I didn't know if my lack of energy was because I was recovering from the surgery, or lack of whatever the thyroid usually does, or just because of the 90+ degree weather we were experiencing.  So about the thyroid hormone replacement... When my cardiologist told me I had thyroid cancer and referred me to Dr. Peller, I assumed that Dr. Peller was going to take care of all the thyroid stuff from there on out. It wasn't until just before I was wheeled into the operating room and Dr. Peller asked me who my endocrinologist was that I realized that I needed another doctor! Dr. Peller, as an ENT, would do the surgery and take care of the incision and what not, but I needed an endocrinologist to take care of the hormone balances and stuff. A f...

 Last month I got to experience my first hospital stay since Peter was born 16 years ago. Here is what led up to it. On Tuesday, June 8th, my cardiologist, Dr. Haffey, informed me that I had thyroid cancer. (See this post , for more info.) He assured me that it was very common and completely curable, but I would need to have surgery to remove the nodules that had been discovered on my thyroid. He would give me a referral for a doctor who specialized in that kind of surgery. The following day I received a call from the office of another doctor, telling me that I had been referred to them by Dr. Haffey, and I made an appointment with him for the following Monday. On Thursday June 10th, Steven lost his job and we discovered that our insurance coverage would end at the end of June. On Monday, June 14th, I met with Dr. Peller. He hadn't seen the test results from the ultrasounds I'd had of my thyroid, but he explained what to expect: I would have surgery to remove part or all of my ...