Results of the Body Scan

After I had the body scan done they told me I could get the results from my endocrinologist...and the earliest appointment I could get with them was April 13th, which was a whole 2 weeks later. Which was disapointing having to wait so long. So, one week after the scan, I went in to get labs done at my Endocrinologist on April 6th, I tried to get them to tell me my results. They told me they couldn't give me them until a Dr had reviewed them...grrr! So as soon as I left the office I got on my phone and called Dr Riddings office (the oncologist). About two minutes later they were giving me my results over the phone. Bless that sweet nurse! She told me that they had seen  "minimal uptake in the naspharynx and gastrointestinal tract with prominent radiotracer uptake in the thyroid bed. There was no distant radiotracer uptake to suggest metastatic disease."  Which is eactly what they had hoped to see. So no cancer to worry about...I will have to have a body scan annually until I have no uptake in the thyroid bed but I am optimistic that next year it will all be gone.

After a week of having alternating good and bad days, I finally went to me endo appointment, feeling kinda crappy, they told me my TSH levels were still pretty bad...they asked me if I was on Cytomel. I of course said "No...what it that?"  Cytomel, is short acting thyroid medication as opposed to the Synthroid I was already taking which is long acting (half life of 6 weeks). Cytomel has a faster onset of action. All of that meaning that I could start feeling better sooner....I kept thinking,  "Why wasn't I told about this sooner ?" So I hurried home to get my new prescription filled, hoping that it would instantly make me feel better.

Unfortunately, I didn't feel better and I started to think I must be getting sick because I was having severe body aches...like the kind where you just want to curl up in bed and cry. That night was horrible so the next morning I decided I needed to go to urgent care (it was a Saturday). By that point I thought I had strep throat because I had a sore throat and fever along with the body aches. I decided to take Hadley with me since she had been running a low grade fever the past few days (although she was relatively happy and didn't really show any other symptoms.) After being at urgent care for over an hour it was confirmed that both Hadley and I had step...no fun, but I was glad we knew what it was so we could start treating it and hopefully feel better. It is crazy that we are the ones who got Strep since we have been homebodies for the past month, along with the fact that kids under 2 don't generally get strep.

So they put me on 4 pills of Amoxicillin a day...which brought the amount of pills I was taking on that weekend up to 22!  (4 amox. + 3 cytomel + 1 synthroid + 2 calcium +3 vit D + 1 multivitamin + 8 Ibuphrofen (for the pain)). Needless to say that by Monday my kidneys weren't too happy with me and I still wasn't feeling great, although thankfully the body aches had stopped. I had had hopes that I would be feeling better that week but I just didn't. By the end of the week I was having pretty bad headaches, shakiness, dizziness, and my heart was pounding a lot. I finally realized that I must be overdosed on the Cytomel so I looked it up online. Sure enough, all these new symptoms are related to incorrect cytomel dosage. I realized that I was experiencing more symptoms on the list including :hair loss, anxiety, increased appetite and weight loss. So I figured I should just get off this medication since I didn't want to experience any other side effect from Cytomel which also include seizures, heart attack and death! I took my last cytomel pill on Saturday morning (april 21st) and now it's Monday and I'm still having the symptoms but feeling better. Hopefully this will be my week to start feeling more like my self!

Now that I am (hopefully) coming to the end of this long process, I'm glad it over. It has been frustrating wanting to be normal but it just wasn't possible. I would have a good day and think...okay I am done with this, so I'd start doing all the things I use to do like clean the house, make food, fold laundry, chase kids around, etc.  Then I would wake up the next morning and feel crappy. I think I must need to learn patience!
 
While the past month and a half  hasn't been great for me, I know have been richly blessed by those who have served and loved me. Thoughtful cards, nice comments on facebook or the blog, cookie dough, dinners, play dates for the kids so I could rest, treats, cinnamon rolls, help putting the kids to bed when Brandon was gone, a husband willing to take on the role of Mom as well as Dad doing all the things I couldn't, a Mom who has practically spent the last month living at my house helping in anyway possible, freezer meals, free babysitting, anonymous Easter egg hunt in our front yard, phone calls, flowers, texts, packages, movies, magazines and books to keep me sane, and lots of prayers,  all of which have really lifted my spirits when I have felt down. I am in awe of the love I feel from all my family and friends. I have a greater desire to be like all you who have been so willing to love and serve me. Thanks you for your Christlike service. 

 This whole experience has given me greater sympathy for those who have had to endure physical trials MUCH more burdensome then what I have gone through. I often think of Jacob, a 6 year old with leukemia. He has at least 3 years of treatments to endure. I think of Dana who has has been battling breast cancer for over a year and it hasn't been easy, with of trials and setbacks. Mostly I think of Julie, my dear sister who as a wife and mother, lost a hard fought battle with brain cancer when she was only 30. Life can be be depressing if you let it. However, I have faith in the will of my Heavenly Father and I know these trials can bring about blessings.

Last night Brandon and I watched the the most recent conference talk from Elder Eyring which was about enduring trials. He said :
"If we have faith in Jesus Christ, the hardest as well as the easiest times in life can be a blessing. In all conditions, we can choose the right with the guidance of the Spirit. We have the gospel of Jesus Christ to shape and guide our lives if we choose it. And with prophets revealing to us our place in the plan of salvation, we can live with perfect hope and a feeling of peace. We never need to feel that we are alone or unloved in the Lord’s service because we never are. We can feel the love of God. The Savior has promised angels on our left and our right to bear us up. And He always keeps His word."

I can testify that I have felt those angels in my life, giving me strength in uncertain times. I have have been buoyed up by the love I feel from my savior. How grateful I am for this experience and the love of those around me.

Easter 2012

 We did the Easter egg hunt in the backyard this year, it was a little chilly but not too bad. We also told the kids that there was no easter bunny and that we would be hidding the eggs...they all seemed fine with that. I guess as long as they get the candy, it's all good. We spent the alot of time talking with the kids about what Easter really is about and it turned out to be a very special day. I am so grateful for the Savior and his atonement and ressurection...through them I am given such strength and hope in times of trial. After church we went to Nana and Papa's house for another Easter egg hunt but we forgot to bring the camera, so no pictures. We had a lovely dinner with the Goss side of the family....what a wonderful Easter!

 Hadley didn't collect any eggs but she did find a few stranded jelly beans!

 The kids modeling their new easter outfits that Nana made....

Dying Easter Eggs

Planting some seeds...

The weekend of Easter, my Mom headed back home for a much deserved break and to take care of my Dad. I knew it was getting to be that time of year where if I wanted to have a garden I would have to start planting some stuff outside and inside. I really didn't feel like doing it but if we put it off I knew I would be disappointed later. So Brandon and I split up, he went to home depot and I went to Walmart to get the various gardening seeds and supplies. The rest of the day was spent getting the watering system set up in the garden boxes and planting. The kids got to pick one thing that they could plant, Taylor picked Columbine Flowers, Callie picked Marigolds and Beckett picked a variety of cactus....we'll see if the cactus work :) I tried to sit back and watch as much as possible so as not to over do it....but I over did it. As a parent it is so hard to sit back and let things go...at least it is hard for me!

Hadley making a mess in the office.

Hadley's First Birthday!

I can't believe our sweet baby girl has turned one! She is such a sweetheart. We had a small family get together on her birthday. It was a beautiful spring day so we grilled hamburgers and played out in the backyard.

Hadley is our resident balloon popper...give her a balloon and she will have it popped in 2 seconds! She LOVES playing outside and this little car is her favorite.

 

I think she liked it ;)

Hadley playing with her cousin Trystan...

Hadley loved her new toys...

Hadley loves her Nana!

Bottle time is a favorite time for Hadley....I guess we need to get rid of it now she is one but with everything that has been going on we aren't really excited about get rid of the "baba"!

"

RAI and Spring Break....

The Friday before Spring break I was scheduled to have my RAI treatment. As a requirement by law, I went in for a pregnancy test at 9 am so that I could take the RAI pill at 12:00. When we showed up in Nuclear Medicine, there was a another of Dr. Ridings patients waiting to have her RAI treatment as well. We had a good time talking about our experience so far and swapping low iodine recipes. We then met with the Physicist to go over the precautions that needed to be taken in my radioactive state. Then Dr. Riding came and told me it was time. They simply took me back to a lab and measured and verified the amount of Radiation (104.mCi of iodine-131). The lab assistant put the pill in a plastic tube and then told me to take the tube and swallow the pill (making sure not to actually touch it.) So I did… and that was It and I was free to go. I felt kinda guilty walking out of the hospital all radioactive and none of the people I was passing by had any idea!

I then went home to my bedroom for 2 days of isolation. I was instructed to have sour candy or gum every hour for the first 48 hours after to prevent the radiation from zapping my salivary glands. I had quite a variety of candy to choose from thanks to Steve and Autumn, as well as my friend Diana. My Mom stayed with me at the house to make sure I was okay…but making sure to keep a healthy distance at all time. She made me my low iodine meals, bringing them to the top of the stairs and I would grab then after she was a safe distance away. I was so grateful to have her there, it was nice to be able to talk to her, even if we had to yell up and down the stairs to do so . I spent my isolation reading, sleeping, journaling, talking on the phone, playing on the ipad…anything to keep me from going crazy.

The first day wasn’t too bad, but by the second day I was starting to get restless. I was glad when I was finally was released from total isolation, which was Sunday. That night Brandon and his mom took the kids to stay up at a cabin in Florissant, with tentative plans that the following day me and my mom would come up as well. On Monday morning I felt crappy….just exhausted and nauseated. I really wanted to go, so I spent the day resting so that by the afternoon it was possible. My mom drove us up and it was great to see my family again. We mostly just hung out and watched movies, as I wasn’t really up for much else. While the Brandon and the kids were in the hot tub we saw about 10 deer that were only 10 feet away so that was cool.

 The following day Brandon took the kids out exploring on the 4 wheeler. He then convinced me to come and it was nice…such a beautiful area. I just wished that I felt better so we could hike around. That afternoon we decided to head home because Beckett was running a fever and I still wasn’t feel too great. We didn’t get to do much else during spring break because Beckett was ill but Brandon took the kids to the indoor swimming pool at the end of the week. Then he put together our new 12 foot swimming pool which Matt gave us. The kids had fun playing in the few inches of water we filled it up with.

 On Friday at 9 am I went back to the Nuclear Medicine department to have my full body scan. Brandon came with me and as soon as we showed they brought me back for the scan. It was an open scan but a part of the scanner comes about an inch away from your face and you must stay very still. They first did a head and neck scan, which took about 10 mins. Then they did the full body scan which took about 20 mins. And that was it…I was free to take my thyroid medication and eat whatever I want…wahoo!!! So in celebration Brandon took me to Egg and I (one of my favorites) and it was delish!

The kids found a little cabin to play in...

Playing on the tire swing at the cabin

Watching all the deer while playing in the hot tub....

Here is the swimming pool...hopefully it gets warm enough to enjoy!