what now?

Well, since RAGBRAI ended I haven't found anything to blog about. Although I suppose if I thought about it, I could certainly find things about our family to blog about, would anyone read it?

RAGBRAI recap

Finally, I have a blog entry for RAGBRAI! It was not as easy to do a blog entry on the route as I thought it would be. There was not as much free time as I thought there would be, not as much internet access as I thought there would be, and I did not have as much energy on the days I was doing support as I thought I would have. Being on the support team was actually harder than being a rider. So it took until we got home and had some down time before I was able to get this all written out and even longer to get the pictures organized so I could include some of those. I will put all of the pictures on Picasa, if I don't email you a link and you'd like to see more pictures let me know and I will email you the link. I hope it gives you a glimpse into what RAGBRAI is really like. If I left anything out that you are curious about please ask and I'd be happy to tell you more.

Saturday July 18

Day 0 – Council Bluffs

Dan, Amy, Jim, John, Susan, Julia, and Billy packed our cars to the brim, and left Ames a little bit later than planned, around 8:30.

We arrived in Council Bluffs, found a camping spot,

and unloaded the car quickly and sent Dan on his way to pick up Mike and Kavee and Elizabeth at the airport. We set up camp, browsed the bike expo, made dinner,

and listened to the Barenaked Ladies concert (even those who stayed in camp had no choice but to listen) Several bikers also went to dip their back tires in the Missouri River as is the tradition on RAGBRAI.

One of the interesting adventures we experience right away, is bathroom accommodations for 15,000+ people. Porta-pottys are everywhere, and not always a pleasant choice. This was especially in the mornings when a lot of people are getting ready to leave for the day at about the same time. That means long lines, and very full potties without a lot of toilet paper.

Sunday July 19

Day 1 (Council Bluffs to Red Oak - 52.6 miles)

Upon waking, we had to all help out as we learned what was to be our routine the rest of the week. Break down camp, send riders on their way, pack the rest of the car, and drive to the next town. Dan and Jim were ready to take off first, then I went, and finally Kavee and John. Susan and Mike drove the cars with the kids. I had a blast that first day. It was absolutely amazing to ride 56 miles with about 15,000 other people. As we entered the first town on the route, we all had to dismount our bikes and walk because there simply was not room to ride down the street with everyone there.

Each town we rode through had activities and/or food to partake of. So with all the riders that choose to stop, and those who are trying to go through these small towns, it was walking room only. It was a bit of a hilly route, but the energy of the whole pack made it easy. I stopped a few times, for Gatorade, lunch, and snack. While I wasn’t with anyone on our team, I was never alone. There are always riders around you, and plenty of people to strike up a conversation with if you want.

I arrived in Red Oak that afternoon, Kavee rode only part way, then she and Mike switched so she was already there, as was Dan and Jim who had finished the whole day. John and Mike were not far behind. We stayed that night in the yard of a mobile home with a nice family who made us dinner that night.

Monday July 20

Day 2 (Red Oak to Greenfield – 72.6)

Mike and I drove the vans, while Dan, Jim, Susan, John, and Kavee took off on the ride. Mike picked Kavee up somewhere along the route, but the rest rode all of the 72 miles that day. The kids and I, made it to the campsite after 3 hours of driving. Ugh! The support vehicles had to take an indirect route that day to avoid the bikes, then there was a detour on a dirt road where we couldn’t see 5 feet ahead of us at times, a couple of potty breaks, and a stop at WalMart for supplies. We found a nice campsite though in the general campground in Greenfield. By the end of the ride it was starting to rain and we all tried to stay dry under our sun shade.

The rain stopped in time to start making dinner, but started up again as we were cooking. Thanks to Susan for covering the food with an umbrella! It was probably about this time that we figured out that cooking our own meal after a day of biking and setting up camp was too much work. We were all so tired, and there wasn’t nearly as much free time at the end of each day as we thought there would be. Next time, we will use the vendors and church dinners more. The kids had a great time running around the big field we were in and watching the cows in the pasture behind us. It was in Greenfield, that I was helping to set up a tarp to stop the rain from coming in and cut my finger on a sharp knife. Ouch! It was deep enough that we decided I better go to the first aid station. They said it didn’t need stitches, but they did put some steri-strips on it and bandaged it up. Given that, and the weather, and the length of Day 3, I decided not to ride the next day.

Tuesday July 21

Day 3 (Greenfield to Indianola – 77.1 miles)

The bike ride to Indianola was the longest of the week and probably the worst weather. It was rainy and cold. Dan, Jim, John, and Susan decided to attempt it. Mike, Kavee, and I drove the cars towards Indianola. Shortly, we got the first phone call that a rider was not having any fun and wanted to be picked up. Mike and Kavee went to pick John up. While they were on there way, Susan called and was freezing cold, not having any fun, and decided to call it a day. So after picking John up, Mike and Kavee when to get Susan, and Kavee decided to bike the second half of the day. Dan and Jim suffered through the cold and rain and made it the whole way. By the second half of the day, the weather did improve.

When the kids and I arrived at the house we were to camp at in Indianola, they were watching a movie in the car, our host immediately invited them in to watch it on his home theater in the basement. Julia especially was very excited. That was the biggest screen she has ever seen a movie on. It took up a whole wall in the basement. He also invited us all to sleep in the house on couches or the floor. Eventually everyone decided to sleep indoors that night and it was a great break from the camping. We were able to do laundry and dry out all our stuff from the rain the night before. (Thanks Steve!) We went into the downtown to the vendors for dinner that night and had a nice dinner on the curb with lots of other people. While we were there, Indianola had at least 20 hot air balloons travel right over the top of us. The kids were very excited to see so many!

Wednesday July 22

Day 4 (Indianola to Chariton – 44.4 miles)

My turn to ride again! It was a beautiful day as Dan, Jim, John, and I set out - a perfect day for biking. It wasn’t a very long day, but one of the nicest. John and I rode the whole thing together. It was nice to have someone to talk to along the way. We stopped to buy a Pella Dutch Letter (very yummy pastry thing with almond flavored filling) from a local guy who bought them the day before in Pella and just set up a stand along the route, French toast at a place that sets up along the route every day (they said they have to get up at 2:30am every day to get things set up in time for the first riders, then they take down at the end of the day, and move to the next spot along the next day’s route), and we stopped a couple times just to rest. Dan and Jim had lots of yummy food.

We arrived in Chariton that afternoon at the Assisted Living Facility where we were camping that night. It was a nice little area to camp in and get some much needed rest. We played games, ate, and relaxed. Kavee and John made us a delicious spaghetti dinner that night.

Thursday July 23

Day 5 (Chariton to Ottumwa – 76.9 miles)

We woke early on Thursday morning to a severe thunderstorm passing through. It had rained on and off for most of the night, then by 4:30 or 5am, a severe thunderstorm came through – strong wind, heavy rain, lightning, and loud thunder. The adults didn’t get much sleep, but the kids seemed to sleep right through it. Julia woke up a couple of times frightened, but with a comforting snuggle and she went right back to sleep. Once the storm cleared, everyone was awake, so we got ready to go a little earlier than usual (but not much).

Susan, Dan, and Jim were the only ones to start the day this time. The rest of us were able to pack up without much trouble and head towards Ottumwa. We were to meet in the half way town so that Susan and I could switch riding/driving. John and I headed to Ottumwa with the kids to set up as much of our stuff that had gotten wet that morning as we could so it could start to dry. We were camping at a house that 3 acres of land. Plenty of room for us to set up. We set up what we could and headed back to the meeting town to find Susan. It took us a while to get there, but we finally managed it and we showed the kids the craziness of all the riders and had lunch before I took off on my bike and Susan, John, and the kids hung out in the meeting town, then went back to Ottumwa. Mike dropped Kavee off at the meeting town and she biked the last half of the day as well, although we were started at different times.

I had a nice ride and made sure to stop for pie again. I stopped in the basement of church for delicious homemade pie. They had just about every kind of pie you could think of! As I got closer to Ottumwa I noticed dark clouds and lightning and thunder in the distance. As I rode into Ottumwa the rain started – first a sprinkle, then an all out downpour. I thought I was only a couple miles from the house, so I kept going. I didn’t mind getting wet, it was kind of fun. Lots of people were taking shelter under trees or under the overhang at a gas station, but I kept going. I reached the general camping area and found out I was still about 5 miles from the house and there were some big hills to go up to get there. So, I decided to call Dan to come pick me up. If I’d been dry, I could have handled the extra five miles, but it didn’t sound like much fun while I was soaked to the bone.

The couple that hosted us was wonderful! They had lots of snacks for us, made us a delicious dinner, and had breakfast for us in the morning. There was also another family staying there that had three children and Julia made fast friends with their daughter.

Friday July 24

Day 6 (Ottumwa to Mount Pleasant – 75.5 miles)

Dan, Jim, John, and Kavee rode on Day 6. Mike drove one car, while Susan and I were in the other (kids included of course). It didn’t take us long to drive to Mt. Pleasant, however, when we arrived, there was a LONG line of cars waiting to get into the general campground where we planned to stay that night.

The line was not moving much at all, so we sent Susan out on her bike to figure out what was going on. She discovered that basically they weren’t organized well. They had had no traffic control until shortly before we got there, and no direction on where people should go once they got into the campground, so the first ones there didn’t leave much room for the rest of the crowd to get in. So Susan took some rope, and rode in to the campground and staked out a site for us. After 2 ½ hours in line, we finally made it into the campground, found Susan, and were able to get set up. The kids did amazingly well being stuck in the car for so long. It was a very hot day, and we were all very tired.

Jim and Dan rode the whole way but said it was a very tough day. It was hot and there was a strong head wind. Some people reported having to pedal down hill. Since the support vehicles had so much trouble getting into the campground, we did not want to leave again, so when Kavee was done for the day she took the SAG wagon (official RAGBRAI van that will pick you up along the route if you can’t finish the day) to get into Mt. Pleasant. John rode the whole day as well. Mt. Pleasant is only 45 minutes from Iowa City, so Cathy was able to come visit us. Once she found us in the crowded campground, we took a shuttle to a nearby church for dinner. It was a great dinner, but once we returned to the campsite, we were told there was a storm on the way that was producing 60-80 mph winds. They were not sure if it would hit Mt. Pleasant, but just in case we would be able to evacuate to a museum down the rode. Susan and others were still downtown, so we called them and agreed that we should leave the campground. Thankfully, Cathy was still in town, and she suggested we evacuate to her house in Iowa City instead. We all thought this was a great idea and started packing up. Since it was dark by now, it was a little challenging. But we all pitched in and made it safely to Iowa City. Since the storm had moved through Iowa City, Cathy’s house had no power when we arrived. So by candlelight, we all found places to sleep and made plans for the next day.

Satruday July 25

Day 7 (Mt. Pleasant to Burlington – 43.2 miles)

So after a short night’s sleep, Mike, Elizabeth, and Julia stayed at Cathy’s, while Billy and I drove the bikers back to Mt. Pleasant. We easily met up with the route and Dan, Jim, John, Susan, and Kavee got going on their bikes. Billy and I met them in the meeting town and played in the park for awhile. Then it was on to Burlington. We found a place to park right at the top of Snake Alley which is very similar to Lombard St in San Francisco. It is a very steep hill with switchbacks all the way up. They both claim to be the “crookedest street in the world.” It was an optional part of the route on this final day. Most of our bikers attempted it, but did not know at the time that I was parked at the top, so they went right on by. Once they were finished and had dipped their tires in the Mississippi river (RAGBRAI tradition)

they came back to Snake Alley and tried it again. This time Billy and I were there to watch and take pictures.

Then we all made our way back to Iowa City and had a relaxing time while packing up to head back home. (Thanks Cathy!)

It was an amazing incredible adventurous week, and we will do it all over again in two years! We will have an even bigger team then, let me know if you’d like to join us too!

RAGBRAI planning

RAGBRAI is only 5 days away! Ack! We have a lot to do this week.

Last minute planning - we are getting maps and paper work together for the whole team. Dan has put together a large planning document. It has all the details you could ever want about the whole week. Of the 7 nights, we will be camping in someone's yard for 3 nights, in the yard of an assisted living facility one night, and the general RAGBRAI campgrounds the other 3 nights. We will be trying to find a spot as far from the entertainment and noise as possible for a better night's sleep.

Last minute packing - we will have boxes designated with supplies and food for each meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks) and a box for utilities needed for every meal. Dan will be putting together first aid kits for everyone including plenty of sunscreen. I will be putting together stuff for the kids to do in the car and at the campsites while we wait for the riders to come in. Then there's our tents, clothes, towels, etc. And we'll be hoping that all our supplies fit in the cars we are taking. :-)

It's going to be quite an adventure! Keep checking here for updates along the way. I'm hoping to get some wireless connections along the route so that I can update this blog and let everyone know how it's going.

Potpourri

Here's a mixed bag of what has been going on with us lately. We have been so busy since school let out it's been crazy!

My health: Is good! I feel great. I was told that adjusting to the synthetic thyroid hormones would be a bit of a rollercoaster ride, but it hasn't been at all. The first couple of weeks, I could tell my body was adjusting to them, but after that I have felt just fine. Just like normal. My voice is back to normal too. The only issue that remains is that my scar is still attached to the muscles in my neck. Most of the time I don't notice it, but sometimes it is uncomfortable. After the summer is over, I'll go back in and they will basically cut out my scar. So they will remove the part that is attached to the muscle. That should solve the problem. That is just an office procedure with local anesthetic. Doesn't sound like much fun, but at least it's not another hospital stay.

RAGBRAI: is less than a month away! Wow! We are really getting ready. This last weekend we went camping with the kids to "practice" camping. We will be sleeping in a tent that whole week. The kids had slept in a tent before, but only in our backyard. So last weekend we went camping for two nights and the kids did great! That had a wonderful time and slept well in the tent. We were able to make lists of everything we would need for RAGBRAI. Actually living out of the car helped us realize what we'd forgotten that we would need and how to organize it better.

Camping: The camping trip I mentioned above was at Pine Lake. That's near Eldora, IA for those of you who know Iowa. It's about an hour from our house. We chose it simply because they had available spots to reserve when we finally got around to reserving a spot late last week. We had to choose a campsite on the internet and just guessed at which one we would like, and we loved it! It was a nice wooded site. It had been raining on Friday before we went, so it was a little muddy, but not too bad. All Billy wanted to do was ride his tricycle around practically the whole time. He got very muddy! We all brought our bikes, but we only rode them in a small loop around the campground with the kids. Julia is working on getting more confident on her two wheeler with training wheels. She is very tentative and nervous about going fast. But she got better this weekend. We also went on a short hike to the lake, and went swimming at a nearby beach. But I think the highlight for everyone was making smores over the campfire each night. That was definitely Julia's favorite part. The first night I stupidly grabbed Julia's stick the she was roasting a hot dog on by the metal part that was still hot, and got a pretty bad but small burn on my hand. Luckily it was not bad enough to ruin the trip.


Our crazy schedule: Since Julia's preschool ended, we have been very busy. We've been to the zoo, dentist appointments, a once a week preschool class for the kids, a once a week sports class for all four of us to help the kids learn how to better throw, catch, hit, and kick a ball, a big indoor playground for Julia's birthday, Julia's castle themed birthday party, a 5k run (my first in 6 years - ouch!), and I took a quick trip to California (more on that below), then the camping trip, and this week my brother and his family come to visit, next week we head to Wisconsin for Dan's family reunion, then we have a couple of weeks to prepare for RAGBRAI and we're off. Whew! I'm looking forward to the two weeks in August when we don't have anything planned (at the moment)

My business: Okay, this is a super long post, but if you've read this far, there's only one more piece of news that many of you may already know about. I started a small home based business this month. So along with all the other things we've been doing, I'm trying to get this going too. I am a home sales consultant for the MicrodermaMitt. It is an all natural exfoliating mitt that leaves your skin feeling and looking smoother, softer, and younger. I never thought I'd do anything like this, but I love this product and everyone else seems to love it once they try it too. If you want more info about it, send me an email and I'll give you more details. This product is what ironically took me back to Redlands, the town I grew up in, for some more training. Strangely, a good friend of mine from college moved to Redlands a couple years ago and lives on the same street I grew up on. She is the one who discovered the MicrodermaMitt and got me involved. So I went to visit her to learn more about the mitt and how to sell it. It was a quick but fun trip and I got to see some old friends from school and some family as well.

RAGBRAI

It has been brought to my attention that I never explained what RAGBRAI is! I forget that there are people reading this that are not familiar with Iowa! :-) So....

From their website....
RAGBRAI®, The Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa®, is an annual seven-day bicycle ride across the state. Heading into its 37th year, RAGBRAI is the longest, largest and oldest touring bicycle ride in the world.

During the last full week of July, a group of people ride their bikes across Iowa from border to border. Iowa is bordered by two rivers, the Missouri on the west, and the Mississipi on the east. So the idea is to dip your back tire in the Missouri river and then your front tire in the Mississippi. Each year they pick a different route across the state. It is not a race, just a bike ride. They limit the number of registered riders to 10,000. But add to that support crews and non-registered riders, and you have an enormous group of people pedaling across the state. People come from all over the world to participate. The ride averages 472 total miles with each day being anywhere from 40-80 miles.

Last year it came through Ames and we hosted some campers in our back yard and one rider in the house. Dan rode the day the ride came into Ames. We were so impressed with the whole production, and how much fun everyone was having that we decided to do it this year. Dan wants to ride every day, but I'll be happy if I get 2 days of riding in. I will be content to drive the van, take care of the kids and set up camp.

Does that explain it enough Stasi? :-)

Update

Well, I haven't had much to report for awhile. That's a good thing! Things are going very well on the whole. I am feeling great, my energy level is normal, I'm working out every week, so things are good.

First the fun news! Our team has officially been selected in the RAGBRAI lottery! Which is great! So the planning can start in earnest now. We have a team of 8 people plus our two kids (who will ride in the car) and we are really looking forward to it! I am pretty excited about the concert that is happening the first night - the Barenaked Ladies. I love their music and love the fact that they put out a children's CD. We will camp in the main campground that night, and then we will apply for housing in the other towns. But that just means that we will have someone's yard to camp in instead of the main campground. (easier access to bathrooms). It is bound to be a fantastic time! Can't wait! 73 days to go.

Today I saw the surgeon again about my voice and my scar. My voice is not 100% but it is a little better than it was a month ago, so he is satisfied with that. As long as it is making progress, he is sure it will come back in full force. But it may take 4-6 months. As for my scar, it is still attached to the muscle underneath. So, the first step is to inject it with a steroid to see if that will loosen the tissue up enough so that it will let go of the muscle. He did that today - two injections into the scar tissue (ouch!). We'll know if a couple of weeks if that will work. If not, I will have to have the other procedure which basically will be to cut out my scar. But I can do that at anytime, there's no rush. In fact, he recommended I wait until after the summer so I don't have to worry about a fresh scar while doing summer activities (like swimming, sweating, etc) Hopefully that won't be necessary though. So this is all a little annoying really, but not a huge deal. And if this is all I have to deal with after having cancer, I'll take it. I see the endocrinologist next week. He will check my hormone levels, and I'll have an ultrasound to get a baseline so they can tell in the future if I have anymore growths on the thyroid tissue that still is present.

That's it for now! Hope everyone is doing well! I wish I could tell who is reading this blog, or at least how many people are reading it. I'll see if I can figure out how to put a counter on it.

check-up results

I had a check up with the surgeon today. For the most part things are going well. My biggest concern continues to be my voice, but they are pretty confident that it will fully recover. The problem seems to be just that the nerve that controls the muscles around the voice box was irritated during surgery and is not fully able to control all the muscles yet. So one muscle in particular is not working very well. The other muscles in my neck are trying to make up for it, but not doing a very good job. The biggest problem with my voice right now is my range. I still can't use inflection when I'm reading to the kids, or when I sing to them I can't hit the higher notes that I used to be able to hit. When I do try to hit those upper ranges, my whole neck tightens up. Apparently that's the other muscles trying to compensate for the one muscle that's not working. They still insist that with time, that muscle will work again. I have another check up in a month, and if my voice is still a problem, he will look into it further then. In the meantime, I'm supposed to not strain my voice. I'm supposed to speak in monotones. Bleah.

The other issue is that my skin right around the incision seems to have adhered to the muscle underneath. So when I swallow I can feel all the skin in my neck move. he said that that is because I have no fat in my neck. Should be a good thing right? Well, because there is no fat, there was no barrier between the skin and the muscle, and that gave the skin a chance to attach to the muscle. So, at my next appointment, if it is still a problem there is a procedure they can do to detach it. If I understand correctly, they would have to open the incision back up and do something, I'm not clear on what exactly they would do. But it would be an in-office procedure under local anesthetic. Doesn't sound like fun though.

Nothing much to report on RAGBRAI, our entry was received on time, so now we wait until May 1st to find out if we are selected to be official riders. I'll update then!

Getting back to normal

Things are finally getting back to normal around here. Cathy went home last Thursday, and things have been going well. It was so nice that I was able to have the surgery right before spring break so that Cathy easily could come to help and our routine was going to be messed up anyway. Today we were back to our regular routine with Julia going to preschool and the kids are so happy to have things back to normal. I have been able to do things like take Julia to preschool or run errands in the morning, and then I rest in the afternoon. Each day I get a little bit stronger and don't need quite as much rest.

So my blog posts won't be as frequent now, and the focus of them is going to change. Instead of blogging about my health, I'm going to start blogging about RAGBRAI! We are in the planning stages for our trek across Iowa. We are still waiting for all of our team members to sign up. Then we will mail our entry in and hope we are accepted. Dan has already started writing our military-style brief for everything the team will need to know. We are really looking forward to it and I will post all we are doing to plan for it but especially will post each day during RAGBRAI about what we are doing and pictures from the journey itself.

pictures

I have said it before, but I will say it again, I really really appreciate all the love and support everyone has given me over the last couple of weeks. It has made this whole process so much easier. I wanted everyone to share all the beautiful flowers and gifts I got.






Also, for those curious, here are some pictures of what my neck looks like - before the bandages came off ...


and after (today)...
I am getting a little better every day. I feel pretty good now, I just get winded very easily which is frustrating. Oh, and my voice is still not very strong. If I talk loudly or for very long, it gets very tired. So after a day (or even an hour) of taking care of the (naturally loud) kids, you can imagine how tired my voice is.

Good news

I had my two doctor's appointments today.

First the endocrinologist - he had good news! The pathology report was back and the cancer was isolated in the nodule. None of the surrounding tissue was affected. The nodule itself was only 1.1 cm which was even smaller than they thought. So, based on a study done by the Mayo Clinic, the recurrence rate in this situation is the same whether radioactive iodine treatment is administered or not. (It is a less than 5% recurrence rate - but as I pointed out, people kept telling me once we knew I had a nodule that the chances were about 5% that it would be cancerous - so I will be fully prepared for this possibility) So we are not going to do the treatment right now. (yay!) Instead, they will do an ultrasound and thyroid level blood test in two months to get a base level. Then they will check again every 6-12 months and if there is any abnormal growth of the remaining thyroid tissue, then we will do the radioactive iodine treatment. For now, I got my prescription for my permanent thyroid hormones which should help me feel better. Apparently, some of my symptoms this last week might be not only because of recovering from surgery, but because of the temporary hormones I was on. The synthroid hormones should be much better.

Next - the ENT. The doctor who did the biopsy and surgery is on vacation this week, so I saw the physician's assistant. He removed the steri-strips that were holding the wound together and checked how it was healing. It's doing just fine. It was really nice to get the steri-strips off. It's much more comfortable now, but itchy. My voice is still not back to normal. It's still a little gravelly, and I can't raise my voice or use much inflection still. I also can't sing (not that I was much of a singer before, but now it's even worse) I have a VERY limited range. He explained that that's because the muscles are still inflamed and not allowing full use of my vocal chords, but that they will heal and I should fully recover my voice.

I have also been having a problem with my arm that had the IV in it in the hospital. It's a condition called phlebitis, but they weren't concerned about it. I just need to put warm compresses on it and I'm already on antibiotics so there's no fear of infection. My energy level is slowly getting better, but I get winded very easily. I've been very weak the last couple of days, but today is a bit better.

The kids are doing pretty well, but the stress of everything the last week finally caught up to Julia yesterday. She was so teary yesterday morning, anything would set her off. She finally threw a full blown tantrum. Once I got the chance to talk to her about it she yelled "I wish you never had a bump on your neck!" and "I just want to get back to our usual routine!" I totally agreed with her on both counts. I was very proud of her for being able to express those feelings. I let her get out as much of that frustration as I could. Today she seems better, and our routine has been a little more normal today.

Feeling stronger

I am feeling much stronger today. Much more like myself. Yesterday was a good day. I got to take a shower (finally!) and that made a world of difference. My neck is still sore. Swallowing is not easy, it's like it stretches the skin on my neck, and that hurts. Talking too much also makes it sore. I can raise my voice a little more now, but not much. Not much else to report today. Probably won't be much more to report until my doctor's appointments on Thursday. At those appointments I will have the bandages removed, have my calcium checked again, find out the results of the pathology reports, and find out the next steps.

Nauseous and Hoarse

Today started out pretty rough. I slept okay, but woke up with a pounding headache. I tried to take a pain killer as soon as possible, but apparently I didn't eat enough before hand because eventually it made me nauseous and that lasted all morning. I have rarely felt so sick as I did this morning. I tried anti-nausea medicine, but that didn't seem to help. The kids were up pretty early too, and until Billy got some food in him he didn't want anything to do with anyone except Mommy. Luckily he cheered up after breakfast and Aunt Cathy took both kids grocery shopping which gave me some quality quiet time to start feeling better. Tonight I am feeling much better and have my appetite back. I'm going to try not to take any more of the pain killers tomorrow so I don't have to deal with the nausea. Tylenol should be enough. My pain is not that bad any more anyway. The muscles in my neck around the incision get sore if I talk too much or stretch too much, and sometimes when I swallow food, but I can deal with that.

My voice is a little hoarse, but apparently today it has gotten better. This afternoon Julia said "Mommy you sound like you again!" I still can't raise my voice though or use much inflection. It must because the muscles I use to do that are sore. One of the risks of the surgery however is a permanent change in voice or permanent hoarseness. (because the laryngeal nerve runs down the wind pipe right near the thyroid, they work hard not to disturb it or damage it, but sometimes it happens) Hopefully my hoarseness won't be permanent. Although I've been told my voice is recognizable over the phone, so that's good. And since it's already improved, hopefully it will continue to improve. Oh, and it could also be hoarse because on top of everything I have a cold. I was starting to get it before the surgery and now my nose and ears are stuffed up.

So that's the latest update. Right now I'm watching the undefeated Ames High boys basketball team play for the state championship (they are tied at half time) Go Little Cyclones!

Re-entry

I am home. I got home about 2pm this afternoon. Re-entry into real life has been a little rough, but we will all adjust, and it will only last a few days. The kids are not used to Mommy not being able to do everything for them, or having to sit still when sitting on Mommy's lap. We had some good cuddle time but then the kids (mostly Billy) got too antsy after awhile and it got frustrating all around. It was tough for Billy too when I couldn't do more to put him to bed. But I know each day will get a little easier and I'll be able to do a little more. Cathy arrived tonight too, so that will be a big help tomorrow.

going home today!

I get to go home today! Yay!
Yesterday evening, they took me off the IV, and took my drain tube out. I got a good sleep last night, so I feel so much better than I did 24 hours ago. My calcium levels are low, but I don't have any symptoms of low calcium (tingling hands or lips) so they are going to send me home. Still no pathology reports though, so I don't know yet whether I'll have to do the radioactive iodine. But it is really sounding like I may not have to do that (that's huge!). I'll find out for sure next week when I see the endocrinologist. I'll also have an appointment with the ENT doc to check the incision, and test my calcium. There sending me home with more medication then I've ever been on in my life - pain killers, anti-biotics, anti-nausea (if I need it), calcium supplements, and synthetic hormones.

The kids are coming to visit this morning with my parents, and then they'll come back with Daddy around lunchtime to pick me up.

Doing well

Well, I had a rough morning, after my long night, but I am doing better now. I was nauseous from the pain killers this morning, but finally got some better anti-nausea medication and some food and all the medicine is working as it should, so I feel much better. I am resting, playing video games and watching movies. Still waiting to hear whether they are going to keep me over night tonight, and what the next course of action in my treatment is. They are hoping to get a report from pathology tonight or tomorrow morning on the biopsies that will help determine whether I need the radioactive iodine. It will also determine what type of hormones they send me home with now - temporary ones that will leave my system quickly when they need them to for the radioactive treatment, or more permanent ones if I don't need the treatment. They will take the drain tube out of my incision later this afternoon.

I had some adorable little visitors around noon today. Although they were here before I got the food in me. I just wish I had been more awake to visit with Julia and Billy, but they did very well. I also received some beautiful get well bouquets (thank you Jim, Becky and Patsy, and Cathy and Karl!) and the cleverest card you've ever seen. (thank you Karin!) and I understand there is another bouquet waiting for me at home. I hope to be able to upload pictures of all that later tonight. Thank you to everyone for brightening my day!

Not sleeping much

I can't sleep and they are going to come in and draw blood again in about 20 minutes, so no use even trying right now. in fact not much sleep going on at all tonight. I fell asleep around 8, then they woke me up at 10:30 for vitals, then at 11:30 I was nauseous, got anti-nausea medicine, slept until 1:00 when they decided to give me extra calcium in the IV (my body's calcium is low and making my hands tingle - but this was to be expected), slept until 2:00 when they switched me back to a regular IV and game me pain medicine, dozed until 3:00 when I got nauseous again, more medicine at 3:30 and now can't sleep.

I hear the surgery went very well, but I see Dan did a good job of updating on that. We'll talk to the docs again in the morning. The endocrinologist came in to meet me and I think I heard him say that there's a possibility I won't even need the radioactive iodine because the nodule was so small and if the biopsies they are doing on surrounding tissue come back normal, but I'll double check that when he comes by in the morning. I'm not in a lot of pain, but it's definitely uncomfortable. More later...

Post Op wait for Hubby

Amy is currently out of surgery and in the recovery room. They should be bringing her up to her room shortly - I'm currently there. Both the Doctor and the Anesthesiologist stated everything went well. The doc basically said a classic surgery. She has a nice thin neck that works well for this type of operation, so only a small incision was necessary. She will have a raspy voice for a few days and maybe some tenderness and slight soar throat from everything. They will immediately start up synthetic hormones to replace the ones produced by the thyroid - this even though the natural occurring ones stay in the blood for 2 weeks or so. The big emotional roller coaster is to follow in a few weeks when they need take her off the hormones and check to make sure they isn't any thyroid tissue left and then give her the radio-active iodine. After that, they will set her up on a regime of synthetic hormones for ever. But, who knows maybe stem cell research will some day allow us to recreate a thyroid - wouldn't that be cool. Anyway, all for now.
Next post should be from Amy.

Arrival

Dan just took Amy to Mary Greeley Medical Center. She is currently checked in, has the funny clothes (ie beautiful dress and robe)and is waiting for the nurse to come back in. As you can tell, they have wireless here. This should make it easier for Amy to spend the next few days here, as she can keep this updated, keep up with her emails, and possibly "window shop" on E-Bay. Of course, I'm sure that is all she will do....
More to follow later. I (husband who temporarily hijacked her account) will try to post stuff later.

Dan

Priceless

I had such a fun evening with the kids. I opted not to go to our dance class tonight that we teach so that I could put the kids to bed myself and spend time with them before the surgery. They were so cute. They started asking questions about the surgery and the hospital and we ended up playing surgeon. Each of them took a turn taking out the bump in my neck. They gave me "medicine" to put me to sleep, then very carefully removed the bump. Then they woke me up, put me in my hospital bed, and took care of me by turning on the "tv," bringing me "meals," and giving me "medicine." They were really into it. Then after I was in the hospital two "nights" they drove me home in the "car," helped me inside, and acted out a movie for me. Once I was all better, we galloped around the house and played duck duck goose. Too much fun. Then when we got ready for bed, we all cuddled up in mom & dad's bed to read books. Very special night. We should really do this more often! (minus the real life surgery please)

I must thank everyone for the positive thoughts, phone calls, and offers of help. And especially everyone who has shared a story of someone they know who has gone through this. I am amazed at how common it is. Each story I hear makes me feel a little bit better. So thank you so much.

confirmed for Wednesday

Finally heard from the doctor's office at about 2pm today. (they were supposed to call at 8am) I am confirmed for surgery on Wednesday at approx. 1pm. I'll check in at about 11am. I have a pre-op doctor's appt. tomorrow and then I should be ready to go. The surgery will last about 3 hours. During which time they will confirm the diagnosis and biopsy my lymph nodes just in case. I will have to stay in the hospital for 48 hours after surgery to monitor my calcium levels. Apparently calcium levels often dip after the surgery since the glands that regulate calcium are right next to the thyroid and can be irritated or damaged.

I'm sure I have more to say, but I'm so tired right now I can't think of anything. More later...

To tell or not to tell

What to tell the kids through this whole process has been interesting. At first, I didn't say anything. But then, as I had more and more doctor's appointments, Julia started figuring out something was going on, so I told her I had a bump in my neck that they were deciding whether to take out or not. She got very worried, but mostly about what I would look like after. She wanted to know what color my bandage would be. She wanted to be sure it would be skin color.

Now that the lump really does have to come out. I have been very straight forward with her. I haven't mentioned the "c" word with her, but I've told her just about everything else in response to her questions. How they did the biopsy, how they will do the surgery, what the bandage will look like, what I will feel like when I get home, etc. Of course I did this in language a four year old could comprehend, and without too much detail. She seemed to be doing okay with everything until today. She got very clingy today, didn't want me to be away from her for too long, and when she went to bed asked a lot of teary questions. I think some of it is her milking it for attention, but of course she is honestly concerned. I still think telling her what is going on is better than not telling her. She is a smart little lady and would know something was up anyway. Better for her to have the truth then to try to make sense of it on her own.

Billy on the other hand is pretty oblivious, as expected for a two year old. I'm sure he will be a little anxious when I'm not around for a couple days, but I'm glad he doesn't have the stress of the anticipation leading up to it.

Get your yearly physicals!

A couple weeks ago, during a routine yearly physical, my doctor found a nodule on my thyroid. I had a biopsy on it this week, and it is malignant. The good news is, thyroid cancer is very treatable, and aside from some inconveniences, I will be fine. The bad news is I have to have surgery to remove my thyroid, and a treatment of radioactive iodine. After that periodic checks and thyroid hormone pills is all I should need. The surgery is tentatively scheduled for next Wednesday (March 11), I'll be in the hospital for two days. Then next month, I will go back in the hospital for the radioactive iodine treatment. They want me to stay in the hospital for that because I can't be around Julia and Billy during the treatment, and the doctor said it's easier for mother's of young children to just stay in the hospital. I have lots of help, Dan, my parents, and sister-in-law Cathy will be around to help and entertain the kids. So I will be well taken care of.

The doctor thinks this nodule is small and has probably been on my thyroid for only a few months. So we caught it early. A good moral to this story is to be sure to get your routine yearly physicals! I was having no symptoms at all. This was a complete surprise, I'm just so glad I had the physical and that the doctor caught it. I will continue to post this week when I can to update everyone on my treatment.