Friday Recap

Here's a recap of what life entailed today...

DH started his day at 3:15 am... he had to be a job site at 5 am. He was only suppose to work until 9 am today. He made it home tonight at 5:15. He still has paperwork to do.

I packed his lunch the night before and slept with ear plugs. I woke up at 7 am... I slept 9 hours... which is pretty good for me... I'm coming out of Hypo-Thyroid mode... so it will become less and less that I sleep like that.

I puttered around most of the morning. I did get a load of laundry done and went to the post office. I got the invoice from the Berwick Hospital from my very first set of labs... grand total is $1738. I don't think that we will have any issue in hitting the $2400 deductible... I should tap the plan out by the end of the week. Thank the Lord in Heaven that DH's company actually pays the deductible for us! I can only imagine what the charge for my ultrasound, lab work, RAI-133 and my total body scan will come out to be, given what was racked up for my first set of labs. (yeah.. be sick is expensive!)

I went to my first office visit with my new PCP... he's nice, young, has a great sense of humor, and is very thorough and technically savvy. His charts are all electronic... and he writes and sends his scripts the same way... all 7 of my scripts are waiting to be picked up. I cannot lose a script or forget to fill one anymore.

I did have my blood pressure taken... and I knew it would be high. I wasn't prepared for just how it really was... the doctor was afraid I might pop! But after he checked my eyes... he relaxed a little bit... my retinas were still looking ok. (Big sigh of relief) I will be back on my regular meds in the morning. I will see him again on Monday afternoon for another bp check when DH goes for his checkup. May has always been a heavy month for doctors for me... this one is no exception.

Tonight... we did an easy dinner... grilled polish sausages on buns, Bushes' grillin beans, and cold pack coleslaw. After dinner and watching wheel of fortune while DH worked on paperwork, we settled in to watch tv, snuggled into bed. We are both tired and achy. My back is killing me... my legs are acting funny and my feet hurt. (It's all part of hypo-thyroid and partly the exam, and partly living with old injuries.)

Plans for tomorrow... sleep in a little bit... finish my flowers, do some laundry and work down in the garage to make it livable again. DH has so many parts stored down there for future jobs... it needs to be organized desperately... and I have a plan in place to help him get started! I am excited about helping him get things done down there, even if it's just that I stand and point... I know that he won't let me lift anything heavy. I don't want to lift any heavy and I have nothing to prove anyway! (hehehehe) I will try and remember the camera while we are at... it will not be pretty, that's for certain!

Thanks for reading... be blessed!

~Suzanne

A New Morning!

I am so over-the-moon happy this morning. I took my Synthroid and enjoyed it! The sun is shining and DH will be home early today. He went to work at 3:30 this morning... and has to do that tomorrow as well.

I have many plans for the day... I have errands to do. And I want to get my flower boxes planted. We'll see just how much energy I have. I have a long list of stops... and a long list of things we need. (But on the good side... I don't have to stop and read any labels on food! I can buy what we normally get!)

So... if I get it all together... I will try and post again later. If I don't, I know you'll understand that I ran outta steam!

Thanks for reading... be blessed!

Suzanne

Day 3... back from the hospital!

And the results of all this agony and hard work with diet... reveal that I am CLEAR!!!!! WooooHooo! We are so "over the moon" HAPPY!!! Thank you to everyone for your prayers and good wishes. John and I both have claimed from the very start of this episode that they would find nothing... and the Radiologist said just that... there was nothing showing on my scan to worry about and I could go back to my regular life, eating normal foods and that I didn't have to "Glow in the Dark" this Friday!

After I got out of the radiology area... and into the corridor, I started to shake and to cry tears of joy as the news really sank in! I made many phone calls between the hospital hallway and down the road towards home. I haven't used that many cell minutes in awhile!

We did stop on the way home for some lunch... I had myself a double cheeseburger and french fries... it was sooooo good! I don't know what we are having for dinner tonight... but I don't have to wrack my brain with what I can't have and how to make an appetizing meal for both of us. DH is just as exhausted as I am... and I have a killer backache from the scan table. So... without further adieu, I am going to take a well deserved rest... and plan out how I am going to work at regaining my strength from this whole ordeal. (Ain't God GOOD?!?)

Thanks for reading... be blessed!

~Suzanne

Day 2... I made it home!

Today is day 2 in all my medical visits this week. Today... parking was a bit crazy and I think I walked a quarter mile to the entrance because I missed the shuttle bus. And once inside... I had to go past where I went yesterday to find the lab. It was not too far on the other side of the main entrance... very posh in feel... very quiet and organized. Once I was done there... I had to walk back to Radiology and wait for nuclear medicine.

I only had to wait a few minutes to be called up to check in. And once checked in, it was again just a few minutes before I was called back. Everyone looked at me funny... because, it looked like I was a line jumper or somebody special, because I was the next one called in. (Nuclear medicine works faster, because there are less patients!)

So... I went to "nuclear medicine" and met with the lab tech... she had my water all waiting for me... with my little pill cup. And next to it was a marvelous lead lined black bag. Inside were 8 lead lined containers with 8 individual pill bottles. Inside each pill bottle was a dose of radio-active iodine 133! I got to take all 8 pills... they were all mine!!! =) But, I am getting ahead of myself.

The tech had to do her thing... ask me to spell my last name, when was my birthday... and IF I WAS PREGNANT! I shook my head "no" and tapped on the chart right in front of her... where it was written in HUGE LETTERS that I had had a HYSTERECTOMY!!!! (What it is that people can't get that?... I mean, it's written, right there, in HUGE LETTERS that my blind self could see! Things like that make me nervous!)

Anyway... I took my prescribed dosage... and will return tomorrow for a full body scan. She was a little worried about my getting nauseous, because I had eaten breakfast and there needed to be a 2 hour fast... I was all good with the 2 hour window. But once I took it... I instantly felt it in my face. I mentioned that I do have iodine sensitivity. She went to get a doctor. (I'm sure I will be billed for a consult.) The doctor came in... we talked, discussed my surgical history, she wanted to know how many micrograms my RAI-131 was... I don't have a clue! It was 3 years ago and I gave you my chart from my last doctor.

Then, she mentioned that my voice was raspy and hoarse... (Ummmm.... yeah... I'm on the low-iodine diet which makes me hypo-thyroid and one of the effects of that condition is hoarseness!which is why YOUR TECH just administered RAI-133 for a full body scan tomorrow!) Again... I hate being smarter than the highly paid physician before me! She asked if I had nodules... Nope! I don't have anything... I had thyroid cancer and the organ was removed, 2 stage re-sect, how can you miss the scar!!!! Needless to say... she tried my patience and I was itching to get the heck outta there! Now I want to go back to Maryland for treatment... but that's not going to happen. ***Nice Rant!!! Wouldn't you agree?***

So.... tomorrow, we will drive back to the hospital again... and I will have the scan. We are "suppose to" know tomorrow if indeed I will need to do the last treatment and just how we will get that scheduled without my having a "meltdown" because of the protocol they take. (My major hospital nuclear medicine department wasn't as stringent with their requirements as this one is... and everyone lived that last time!)

I'm going to go and rest now... fix myself a little bit of lunch... maybe a veggie wrap with lots of tomato and avocado. I plan on doing nothing all day the rest of the day, except for making some dinner for DH. (I so hope that they find nothing... and that tomorrow I can announce that I can have real food again... like a big giant cheese burger or meat lovers pizza with extra cheese. =)

Thanks for reading... be blessed!

~Suzanne

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY (May 4th, 2009)...

Outside my window... it rained over night, the yard is covered in pink cherry blossom petals and it's chilly.

I am thinking... of all the things I have to do this week... 4 medical/doctor appointments over the next 5 days.

I am thankful for... my wonderful husband for understanding how I cannot help but sleep right now and for taking such good care of me.

From the kitchen... there are dishes to be done... but also fresh baked bread and red potato salad done so that I can eat it!

I am wearing... a pink cotton nightgown, robe and socks.

I am creating... flower boxes for outside, and some new recipes for my low iodine diet.

I am going... to the appointments all week.

I am reading... nothing at the moment.

I am hoping... that nothing shows up on my ultrasound or body scan this week. I don't want to go through RAI-131 again.

I am hearing... the hum of the computer tower and a sleeping dog behind me.

Around the house... there is some laundry to put away, and more to be done. Things need to be picked up and straightened up.

One of my favorite things... how we packed a cooler with things for me to eat and drink, and we headed out on a little road trip to Edwardsville... taking all back roads. We had a great time and plan to do it again!

A few plans for the rest of the week: getting through all the tests and appointments without the house imploding down around us as I struggle to keep up.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

The inside of Rocky Ridge Greenhouse... very pretty and fragrant. I had to show DH where I bought my flowers... and of course we left with a few more! =)

Thanks for reading... be blessed!

~Suzanne

Weary

It's currently the glamorous hour of 4:30 am... yesterday... I did go north to the hospital for my lab work. And I stopped at the Rocky Ridge nursery... and picked up a couple of plants. (Just a couple...) I made it back home by 1:30.

Around 2:30, DH called me... he informed me that he would be at his current job site until the wee hours of the morning. It was a imperative that what he was fixing be done before Monday, and that he was waiting for parts but couldn't start the repair work until after 9:30 pm. (Gotta keep those packages moving!) So... to be a supportive wife, I packed up a second lunch and drove down to his job site. (I took Nolli-dog with me, he's a good road warrior!)

Between the weather and traffic, and the road being a state highway, it took me a good hour and 20 minutes to get there. Then I had to wait for him to come out to meet me... as his idiot supervisor was there, getting all his paperwork for the week, and insisted that DH write him a work order for the current work being done instead of waiting for it via e-mail so he wouldn't have to write it himself! (That's what he gets paid for!)

Anyway... I stopped off at a wonderful "primitive" furniture shop on the way back... it was full of fabulous stuff! I'm going more cottage in decorating these days, but they did have some wonderful cabinets and hutches... it was just so much fun to go and take a look around. I miss shopping like that, and missed my friend Mary, who would have loved all the linens they had. If I had the time and the money... I would start over and do more primitive... maybe.

I camg home... fed myself and Nolli... and by then it was after 7. So, I snuggled in with Nolli and we watched tv until 9. I fell sound asleep until 2:30, when DH got home. I got back up and helped him get unpacked, walked Nolli, and fell back into bed around 3:15. DH and Nolli both fell sound asleep... and I was bookended by 2 snoring bodies.... so here I am, wide awake. I'm hoping that by the time I finish this post, I can pop in ear plugs and zonk back out! Later on today... I will try to remember to take some pictures of the flowers or even go up to Rocky Ridge and take some photos... DH needs to see how pretty it is up there!

Thanks for reading... be blessed!

~Suzanne

TGIF!!!!

Yippee! Happy Friday Everyone! For me this means.... I just have to get thru this weekend and then I start the carnival of medical visits! Today... I have to go for labs. Monday, I have to go for an ultrasound on my neck. Tuesday, it's more labs and my pre-scan cocktail. And on Wednesday, it's the full body scan! That's a lot of visits back and forth to a hospital that is 20 miles away!

It also means that I have to plan for meals during those visits. I am thinking I will make myself some simple veggie wraps like I had the other day at Wegmans. Lot's of lettuce and tomato with spicy red onion and topped with sweet celery seed dressing. Yummm!

It's started to rain this morning... so I went and got back into bed and turned my electric mattress cover on... it was such a divine, warm coziness! I need to get myself pulled together to get to the post office and pick up my lab slip! Then it's off to get gas and head out for another blood draw. (Oh joy!)

Yesterday, I did make it all day without having to take a nap. It was tough, I wanted to curl up and go to sleep sooooo badly. With this fatigue, I can say that when I go to bed at night, I sleep fairly soundly (with the exception of my back hurting, and DH will rub my back to relax me enough to go back to sleep) and I sleep all night long! I hope that I continue that pattern!

Well... I'm off to pull myself together and hit the road. I will have to get some gas in the car along the way. Since it's cold and rainy, I may take Nolli with me. He's good company on little trips, I took him with me yesterday, and he loved it! Gotta throw some laundry in while I'm at it... everyone... have a great Friday!

Thanks for reading... be blessed!

~Suzanne