Well, school has started and is in full swing. My students have started, and I have started as well on my 9 month internship. Matt also started school today for film editing. He has about 3 semesters left, and I will be done with my Montessori training in May. It is going to be a crazy year for the both of us!!! Matt came home today after a long day of class and talking to professors, and found out that he is probably going to get dropped from one of his classes because he is not allowed to take two editing classes at the same time...Lame because now he could be dropped from financial aide and everything because it will put him below the full time student hours. He is doing everything he can to find another class or stay in the one he has signed up for...SCC messed up on that one!!! He is doing so well with film and he is going to be an amazing film editor!!! My class was totally overwhelming on Saturday with too much information in one day!!! I am looking forward to my internship and working with the kids and actually giving lessons in the traditional Montessori way, but its going to be so much work!!! So worth it in the end though. We have the best parents and kids this year, I seriously could not ask for a better class to work with for my internship, so that is a blessing in itself. If any of you saw our class last year...you would understand why this is such a blessing and relief to us!! I actually enjoy going to work and feel as though work is my stress free zone because the class is so quiet and the kids are actually doing what they are supposed to be doing! I should probably knock on wood at this point, because now they are all going to settle in and get super comfy with us, and get fussy......
We have a few things coming up this Fall that we are looking forward to...Its actually going to be pretty busy. On Labor Day weekend Matt and I are going up to Flagstaff for the Coconino County Fair (whoooo hooo!) and to see his parents and hang out in cool weather. I am excited to just get away for the weekend. We are also super excited for Minnesota in October for Alysia (my cousin) and Dan to get married. We need a vacation so bad after everything we went through and Minnesota is going to be so nice! Especially in October where we can actually experience Fall!!! We are also trying to plan a trip to either Disneyland or Vegas, we cant decide which one because we will prob spend the same amount of money at either one, so its just basically picking where we want to go and a weekend we can actually do it where I dont have class and he doesnt have a ton of homework or projects. He is a very busy boyfriend :) As far as updates go, that is about it!! I am still trying to eat healthier and live a healthier life so I can get back to feeling really good. I am also really focusing on not stressing so much and that seems to be working well :) I love you all, Happy Tuesday!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
TRULY BLESSED!
Ok guys, so here it is....im sure you have all already heard, but if not....I AM CANCER FREE!!! My body scan results came back, and there is no more cancer in my body! The radiation took the rest of it out!!! whoooo hoo!!!! My family and I could not be happier!!! Yesterday I went to see my surgeon just for blood results (I am still taking a ton of tums everyday for calcium levels) and we went in to see if I could lower the intake, and he found out that my scan was last week, so he called over to radiology, got the results, then told us! I think he was dying to know as well, he has been pretty amazing..I think we got the best surgeon around!! Not only did my results come back amazing, but I do get to lower my intake of the tums..I can only chew on so many of those chalky tablets a day...I was taking two tums 4 times a day, and now I only have to do it 3 times a day!! In a month I go back for more bloodwork and then back to my surgeon to see if I can lower it even more at that point. I am still getting back to normal and getting healthy again, but I feel great!!! Work has been so fun and easy this year!! The kids are great and the class pretty much runs itself! My body also seems to be adjusting to the thyroid medication OK so far..its been about a week and a few days on it, and I dont go back to the endocrineologist until the beginning of September so until then lets hope its still smooth sailing :) Another good thing is that I finally have some of my appetite back! I am totally craving junk food though...I am doing pretty good about my eating habits and adjusting to a healthier lifestyle, but every now and then I need a french fry or a wing! Haha last night after we got our good news we went to Applebees for happy hour to celebrate...mmm wings and nachos were amazing..the only sad thing?? My taste buds are not the same and I have really, really sensitive teeth....I could barely taste the nachos, and the wings....all I tasted was spice, not flavor..lets hope that goes away and that I didnt ruin that for life :( I guess it would be a small price to pay though considering everything we have gone through. My prayers were truly answered and the Lord has given me this challenge for a reason. I took the challenge, rose to it, and beat it! I am stronger because of it!! I have total faith in Him that he is protecting me and guiding me. Life is truly a blessing, and my family is truly blessed! As for now, I am living my best life, with my amazing boyfriend. I couldnt have done this without him, and we will rise to many more challenges together and get through them together! I love him so much I cant say it enough! Life is good! Love you all! Happy Thursday!
Friday, August 13, 2010
The Body Scan, Sadie, and My Students
Ok so its been a few days since I have updated this thing. I was going to wait until we found out what the whole body scan told us, but I felt like I needed to update before that too.. Dont worry I'll let you all know. So today was the official body scan to see if there is any more bad thyroid tissues in my body. Can I just say that I was so anxious last night, and all day today. I went to bed at like 8 last night because I was so exhausted from going back to work, thinking about the scan, and just stressing out in general. I know I gotta learn to lower my stress cause in the end that is what is going to make me sick. The girls I work with tell me this on a daily basis and to be quite honest once all this is done that is going to be my focus. There is no reason to stress out over the little things!!! Especially after everything I have been through this summer!! So with that being said my experience today went like this...
I got to the hospital having a fricken panic attack (what is new I hate that place! haha its the same hospital where I had my surgery, biopsies, etc.) I registered in the admitting room, they know me in there, and made my way over to radiology. The man that works the desk knows me too, he calls me Yeager. Kinda makes me feel comfortable in a weird way lol. I turned in my paperwork and waited. I HATE waiting. It gives me too much time to panic some more and think about things. The radiology guy came and got me and told me to take off my jewlery and lie down on a conveyor belt type thing. He told me it would take about 20 minutes, that they were going to scan me from head to toe...this is because the thyroid tissue can be found throughout the body, and they want to make sure that the iodine radiation did its job and killed off the rest of these cancerous cells. He told me that 99% of people are OK, and that the scan is just to make sure. OF course immediately I thought ok what if I am the 1% that has to go through this all again...I have been seriously stopping these thoughts the minute they come into my head..I have been focusing on positive thoughts and praying everyday. The Lord has his plan for me, and he tells me I am going to be OK :) But I am only human and these bad thoughts do cross my mind...anyways after sitting in a tube and having a camera basically on my face for 10 minutes, I was done with the anxiety and done with the scan. Remember how I said before that during my radiation and isolation that I had to suck on hard candy and sour candy???? Well apparently its supposed to get the iodine out of your salivary glands and taste buds so you dont lose them. I was told that I really needed to focus on this during isolation and really eat a lot of candy, well the candy made me sick and I kept thinking I wasnt doing it enough...My instincts were right. The guy asked me if I had sucked on candy and I said yes and that I had sunflower seeds too...he told me that I didnt do it enough and that all he saw was a lot of the iodine in my salivary glands...:( He asked if I had any pain or swelling, and I said that my jaw still kinda hurts but I thought it was the TMJ that I have (when I chew a lot my jaw gets sore basically) He said it was prob the iodine and that I needed to keep chewing gum and suck on more candy like crazy, so on my way home I stopped at the gas station and got some warheads and gum. Great more tummy aches :( but hopefully its not too late and I didnt mess anything up in my mouth, because it will be messed up for life. I also noticed that my food does not taste the same, which I was thinking was because I didnt suck on enough candy...so we will see if in this next week I can be super good at this, and get the iodine totally out of my glands. After he told me about the salivary glands he also said, it could be that you still have a lot of iodine in your glands, or you had a really good surgeon that really got all that thyroid tissue out of your neck area because I dont see any....good sign?? I dont know but I would like to think so :) Lets just pray that everything else is gone, and all the tissue is out of my body. I will be getting a body scan once a year for the rest of my life because EARLY DETECTION IS KEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am 24, never thought I would have cancer at this age, so please be aware of your bodies!!!!!!!!
Ok on another positive note, I started my thyroid medication on Tuesday. So far so good. No weird reactions or anything like that (yes I am that bad and I get anxiety about taking new medication for fear that I will go into the allergy shock that sends me to the hosp.) I really need to stop lol. Hopefully my body will regulate to this medicine soon and I will be well on my way to feeling better.
Now onto Sadie. Our crazy little dog. She is considered "our daughter" and is seriously our pride and joy!! I dont know if you all knew but when Matt and I went to San Diego a few weeks ago, we left Sadie with Matt's twin brother Mike. Mike was great!! Mid-week though we got a phone call...."I found a worm in your dog's poop." OHHH great. ok here we were in San Diego and our dog has worms. I immediately called the vet, set up and appointment and told them I would pay when I got back. They were happy to take her, tested her poop, gave her a de-wormer and started her on heart worm. All was well beside the 180 dollar vet bill...well two days ago Sadie got into something or ate something that made her face swell so big that you could barely see her eyes!! I noticed it when I took her outside, came running in, woke Matt up and told her we needed to take her to the vet. He took one look at her and agreed. We took her in, they gave her two shots, and then she played at day care all day. All was well right?? WRONG...we got her home about 6 hours later, after a long day at day care, and she swelled right back up!!! what the heck???!?!?! So i frantically called the vet, and she had no idea what was wrong. They were closing, and she didnt want me to have to go to the Emergency vet...big bucks....so she said to give her 2 benadryl every six hours until the swelling went down. Easy enough, we did that..she puked two hours later. She ended up puking all night, and itching and spazzing. Matt called the ER vet at 2 in the morning and they told us to wait it out as well. She had to of eaten something. They told him to give her a bath and that might stop her itching. So at 2AM my amazing boyfriend told me to go to bed (I had to get up for work at 5am) and not worry about a thing. He gave her a bath, made a bed for her and him in the living room, and he stayed up with her allllll night!!! Such and amazing man. Makes me think how good he is gonna be with kids :) JK that cannot happen for at least a year according to the radiologist :) She ended up being ok in the end, but it was the longest night!!! Lets just say our dog has put us through a lot, and of course she would eat something the day before I go back to work.
Now as for going back to work and my students?? THEY ARE AMAZING THIS YEAR! I mean they have always been amazing, but oh my goodness we could not ask for a better class!!! All the new 3 year olds are soo good! Except for the occasional accident and a few little ones crying for mom, they are so cute! I am so ready to be back into the routine of being at work and seeing them everyday. Everyday is so different and they are so innocent!! I love working with them and teaching them about life and school and watching their faces when you answer their questions. So amazing. As for the parents of my kids. They are great too! One of my sweet sweet parents got me a necklace that says peace and has cute little jewels on it for everything I am going through, She also wrote a sweet card from their family about my recovery and being their child's teacher. I also had another parent seek me out on the playground my first day back, point to his neck, and say "Welcome to the club." He had the same thing! I wanted to cry, but of course held it in :) I am so thankful that we have such caring parents, and I love teaching their babies. I look forward to another amazing year.
Alright so this has been another long blog, I promise to try to update more, but now that I am back in school, and teaching 8 hours a day its gonna be hard. Thanks again friends and family for all your support and prayers. I love you all, Happy Friday!
I got to the hospital having a fricken panic attack (what is new I hate that place! haha its the same hospital where I had my surgery, biopsies, etc.) I registered in the admitting room, they know me in there, and made my way over to radiology. The man that works the desk knows me too, he calls me Yeager. Kinda makes me feel comfortable in a weird way lol. I turned in my paperwork and waited. I HATE waiting. It gives me too much time to panic some more and think about things. The radiology guy came and got me and told me to take off my jewlery and lie down on a conveyor belt type thing. He told me it would take about 20 minutes, that they were going to scan me from head to toe...this is because the thyroid tissue can be found throughout the body, and they want to make sure that the iodine radiation did its job and killed off the rest of these cancerous cells. He told me that 99% of people are OK, and that the scan is just to make sure. OF course immediately I thought ok what if I am the 1% that has to go through this all again...I have been seriously stopping these thoughts the minute they come into my head..I have been focusing on positive thoughts and praying everyday. The Lord has his plan for me, and he tells me I am going to be OK :) But I am only human and these bad thoughts do cross my mind...anyways after sitting in a tube and having a camera basically on my face for 10 minutes, I was done with the anxiety and done with the scan. Remember how I said before that during my radiation and isolation that I had to suck on hard candy and sour candy???? Well apparently its supposed to get the iodine out of your salivary glands and taste buds so you dont lose them. I was told that I really needed to focus on this during isolation and really eat a lot of candy, well the candy made me sick and I kept thinking I wasnt doing it enough...My instincts were right. The guy asked me if I had sucked on candy and I said yes and that I had sunflower seeds too...he told me that I didnt do it enough and that all he saw was a lot of the iodine in my salivary glands...:( He asked if I had any pain or swelling, and I said that my jaw still kinda hurts but I thought it was the TMJ that I have (when I chew a lot my jaw gets sore basically) He said it was prob the iodine and that I needed to keep chewing gum and suck on more candy like crazy, so on my way home I stopped at the gas station and got some warheads and gum. Great more tummy aches :( but hopefully its not too late and I didnt mess anything up in my mouth, because it will be messed up for life. I also noticed that my food does not taste the same, which I was thinking was because I didnt suck on enough candy...so we will see if in this next week I can be super good at this, and get the iodine totally out of my glands. After he told me about the salivary glands he also said, it could be that you still have a lot of iodine in your glands, or you had a really good surgeon that really got all that thyroid tissue out of your neck area because I dont see any....good sign?? I dont know but I would like to think so :) Lets just pray that everything else is gone, and all the tissue is out of my body. I will be getting a body scan once a year for the rest of my life because EARLY DETECTION IS KEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am 24, never thought I would have cancer at this age, so please be aware of your bodies!!!!!!!!
Ok on another positive note, I started my thyroid medication on Tuesday. So far so good. No weird reactions or anything like that (yes I am that bad and I get anxiety about taking new medication for fear that I will go into the allergy shock that sends me to the hosp.) I really need to stop lol. Hopefully my body will regulate to this medicine soon and I will be well on my way to feeling better.
Now onto Sadie. Our crazy little dog. She is considered "our daughter" and is seriously our pride and joy!! I dont know if you all knew but when Matt and I went to San Diego a few weeks ago, we left Sadie with Matt's twin brother Mike. Mike was great!! Mid-week though we got a phone call...."I found a worm in your dog's poop." OHHH great. ok here we were in San Diego and our dog has worms. I immediately called the vet, set up and appointment and told them I would pay when I got back. They were happy to take her, tested her poop, gave her a de-wormer and started her on heart worm. All was well beside the 180 dollar vet bill...well two days ago Sadie got into something or ate something that made her face swell so big that you could barely see her eyes!! I noticed it when I took her outside, came running in, woke Matt up and told her we needed to take her to the vet. He took one look at her and agreed. We took her in, they gave her two shots, and then she played at day care all day. All was well right?? WRONG...we got her home about 6 hours later, after a long day at day care, and she swelled right back up!!! what the heck???!?!?! So i frantically called the vet, and she had no idea what was wrong. They were closing, and she didnt want me to have to go to the Emergency vet...big bucks....so she said to give her 2 benadryl every six hours until the swelling went down. Easy enough, we did that..she puked two hours later. She ended up puking all night, and itching and spazzing. Matt called the ER vet at 2 in the morning and they told us to wait it out as well. She had to of eaten something. They told him to give her a bath and that might stop her itching. So at 2AM my amazing boyfriend told me to go to bed (I had to get up for work at 5am) and not worry about a thing. He gave her a bath, made a bed for her and him in the living room, and he stayed up with her allllll night!!! Such and amazing man. Makes me think how good he is gonna be with kids :) JK that cannot happen for at least a year according to the radiologist :) She ended up being ok in the end, but it was the longest night!!! Lets just say our dog has put us through a lot, and of course she would eat something the day before I go back to work.
Now as for going back to work and my students?? THEY ARE AMAZING THIS YEAR! I mean they have always been amazing, but oh my goodness we could not ask for a better class!!! All the new 3 year olds are soo good! Except for the occasional accident and a few little ones crying for mom, they are so cute! I am so ready to be back into the routine of being at work and seeing them everyday. Everyday is so different and they are so innocent!! I love working with them and teaching them about life and school and watching their faces when you answer their questions. So amazing. As for the parents of my kids. They are great too! One of my sweet sweet parents got me a necklace that says peace and has cute little jewels on it for everything I am going through, She also wrote a sweet card from their family about my recovery and being their child's teacher. I also had another parent seek me out on the playground my first day back, point to his neck, and say "Welcome to the club." He had the same thing! I wanted to cry, but of course held it in :) I am so thankful that we have such caring parents, and I love teaching their babies. I look forward to another amazing year.
Alright so this has been another long blog, I promise to try to update more, but now that I am back in school, and teaching 8 hours a day its gonna be hard. Thanks again friends and family for all your support and prayers. I love you all, Happy Friday!
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Let's pray this is it
Ok so they say that bad things always come in three's. So that being said, my family has gone through so much this year..My Grandpa Yeager in Minnesota passed away last night. We are all sad for our loss, and we knew it was coming, but it happened so fast! I know that we will get through it as a family but it is still hard to take in when everything has been happening. Like I said everything comes in three's..first my Grandpa Godfrey passed in March, then I found out about my cancer, and now my Grandpa Yeager is up above with our Father in Heaven. Let's pray that this is it. No more bad things can happen to my family this year! My cancer is gone, (we find out Friday) and everything else is going to fall back into place. Positive thinking is key. Also with that being said, I now have two more guardian angels up in Heaven watching down on me and my family and getting us through all of these tough times. MY family is very strong and we can do this, we just have to keep sticking together.
On a little bit of a lighter note, I am able to have a little bit more human interaction today!! It is day 5 of my isolation, and all of my paperwork says that after 5 days I can start to interact and be around people. If I wanted to I could go back home and stay with Matt and my doggy again, but I dont want to push it so I am going to stay here one more night. Matt brought Sadie over to my parents today (she loves her grandmas house!) and we played pool and hung out. Of course the first thing Sadie does when she gets here was find a scorpion. She has a way of doing that. I looked over and she had something in her mouth. I thought it was a leaf, but I jokingly turned to Matt and was like hey is that a scorpion?? He walked over to it and was like "yeah it actually is!" haha so he got a cup scooped it up and took it outside. Our pup gets into EVERYTHING so we werent surprised. She didn't get stung though, even though it was in her mouth. Pretty sure it was almost dead when she was playing with it. We also went to the deli up the street and got some sandwiches to go! It was a very good day for me, but I still have my Grandpa and my family in the back of my mind, my dad is taking it kinda hard, but that is to be expected. They are going to be flying out Tuesday morning for the funeral services, and probably be back on Friday morning. I am not going because of everything else I have going on healthwise. I dont think its a good idea for me to get on an airplane right now either. Please keep my family in your prayers that this is it. No more bad news for the Yeager family! Life truly is a blessing, please dont take anything for granted as I have learned in the past few months. Cherish the people you are with, dont get mad at the small things (easier said than done, I know) and just love your life the way it is. It can be taken away from you just like that. I love you all!!! Happy Sunday, and I will be writing this week about going back to school and my crazy kiddos that I get to meet :)
On a little bit of a lighter note, I am able to have a little bit more human interaction today!! It is day 5 of my isolation, and all of my paperwork says that after 5 days I can start to interact and be around people. If I wanted to I could go back home and stay with Matt and my doggy again, but I dont want to push it so I am going to stay here one more night. Matt brought Sadie over to my parents today (she loves her grandmas house!) and we played pool and hung out. Of course the first thing Sadie does when she gets here was find a scorpion. She has a way of doing that. I looked over and she had something in her mouth. I thought it was a leaf, but I jokingly turned to Matt and was like hey is that a scorpion?? He walked over to it and was like "yeah it actually is!" haha so he got a cup scooped it up and took it outside. Our pup gets into EVERYTHING so we werent surprised. She didn't get stung though, even though it was in her mouth. Pretty sure it was almost dead when she was playing with it. We also went to the deli up the street and got some sandwiches to go! It was a very good day for me, but I still have my Grandpa and my family in the back of my mind, my dad is taking it kinda hard, but that is to be expected. They are going to be flying out Tuesday morning for the funeral services, and probably be back on Friday morning. I am not going because of everything else I have going on healthwise. I dont think its a good idea for me to get on an airplane right now either. Please keep my family in your prayers that this is it. No more bad news for the Yeager family! Life truly is a blessing, please dont take anything for granted as I have learned in the past few months. Cherish the people you are with, dont get mad at the small things (easier said than done, I know) and just love your life the way it is. It can be taken away from you just like that. I love you all!!! Happy Sunday, and I will be writing this week about going back to school and my crazy kiddos that I get to meet :)
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Isolation- or whatever you want to call it!
Oh man, I knew I was going to be bored, but this is getting ridiculous!! I have been hanging out in my old bedroom at my parents house for 2 and a half days. The closest my parents have gotten to me is in the hallway asking if I need anything or if I am doing ok...Yeah im ok, just dying of BOREDOM!! I can only look on Facebook and IKEA and Target and all those websites for so long. I have to eat off of paper plates, use plastic forks, knives, and spoons, and use plastic cups. This is so the radioactive material in my body doesnt spread to the utensils in the house. I also have to shower daily-ok I do that anyway- and flush the toilet twice!! When my parents make dinner, they serve themselves then go away and I come and get my food lol, then I retreat back to my little hideaway. I actually have not been eating that much to be honest. I havent felt sick or anything, but I just dont have an appetite. I have gained 10lbs since the surgery (um excuse me they told me I was going to lose weight) but its because I have Hypothyroidism right now being that I dont have a working thyroid, and no metabolism to digest anything, so my body is holding on to EVERYTHING! I mean EVERYTHING! I cant wait to get on thyroid medication, which we hope is this week and I can start losing this weight. I mean its a small price to pay considering everything I have gone through I guess.
Besides just layin around and watching Food Network, HGTV, and the Travel Channel- My all time favorite channels, I am missing my Matt so much!!! I think the longest we have spent apart was when he went to Germany two Christmases ago for like 8 days. He has been my rock through this whole thing and is honestly amazing. I cant believe how lucky I am to have him in my life!! He just got back from Flagstaff, where he is from, and its weird because usually I am waiting for him at home with our pup, but this time he had to go home to just Sadie and not both of his girls :( He really has been solid through all of this and I thank him for everything he does for me, I dont think he realizes how much I appreciate things!!! I LOVE YOU BABE! Alright enough mushy stuff :) I am going to go back to watching 40$ a Day with Rachel Ray. Hope everyone is enjoying their time with their loved ones! Happy Thursday!
Besides just layin around and watching Food Network, HGTV, and the Travel Channel- My all time favorite channels, I am missing my Matt so much!!! I think the longest we have spent apart was when he went to Germany two Christmases ago for like 8 days. He has been my rock through this whole thing and is honestly amazing. I cant believe how lucky I am to have him in my life!! He just got back from Flagstaff, where he is from, and its weird because usually I am waiting for him at home with our pup, but this time he had to go home to just Sadie and not both of his girls :( He really has been solid through all of this and I thank him for everything he does for me, I dont think he realizes how much I appreciate things!!! I LOVE YOU BABE! Alright enough mushy stuff :) I am going to go back to watching 40$ a Day with Rachel Ray. Hope everyone is enjoying their time with their loved ones! Happy Thursday!
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
First Blog-Story of my Cancer
Alright, so I decided that after everything Matt and I have been through this summer, that I wanted to start a blog. I wanted to do this because facebook and all those sites are starting to get creepy, but I also want to keep updating my family and friends on my life and how we are doing. You gotta bare with me though because all of this setting up the blog and picking out templates and pictures and all that fun stuff...not so fun! Its more stressful, because I dont know what to do!!! So dont be surprised when my layout and pictures and fonts all change just about everyday :) Also dont be surprised if I blog a lot in the next week because I am in complete isolation for 7 days!!! I probably should explain why, although most of you reading this already know...
In April, I was diagnosed with strep throat... no big thing right? I mean I teach preschool and kindergarten so its gotta be expected. Well I went to my family doctor, she said I had strep, gave me my antibiotics and I was going to get better. Well I was wrong, three days later I couldnt even talk my throat was so bad. With my mom working in the ER, I called her and asked her what I should do because clearly the antibiotics were not working. She told me to come into her work and someone would look at it, give me a stronger medicine and I would be on my way. Well, I get to the ER and one of her nurse friends looked in my throat..her facial expression made me cry! She was horrified with what she saw! She said that I needed to be seen by a doctor and that I probably needed an IV and all that fun stuff..by this time I was balling becasuse I HATE HOSPITALS and doctors and anything associated with medicine..if you know me I am VERY high anxiety when it comes to this stuff. At this point they signed me in, stuck and IV in me and we waited for the doctor. I was dehyrated, tired, and felt like crap! The doctor came in, looked in my throat and said, oh no you have an absess. A what?! A bacterial sac where they stick a needle in your tonsil and pop it to drain it. GROSS. Typical ER procedure is to get a cat scan of the throat and neck before doing the needle procedure so they can indeed identify that it is an absess. So off I go on a stretcher to the cat scan people. Of course I was freaking at this point. They said I wouldnt stop shaking. When I got back to the room and the doctor had the results, he said the absess wasnt big enough to put a needle in there (thank you!) but that I did need a stronger antibiotic. They also asked me if I knew about the Nodule or lump on my thyroid. I said no didnt know I had that. They told me to follow up on it and that it was probably nothing, but just to be sure I needed to get an ultra sound.
A week later I went back to my mom's hospital and got an ultra sound on my thyroid. That was weird. They had picutres of cows on the ceiling and my mom and her friend were in there asking the ultra sound tech questions that I didnt want to know the answer to just yet! Ultimately he said the nodule was big, and that I had one big one on the right and two small ones on the left side. (Your thyroid is in the shape of a butterfly on the front of your throat) He told me to follow up with a biopsy of the big nodule and once again that it was probably nothing. Great how many times do I have to hear that its nothing, when clearly youre making me go through all this testing because you see something. My mom decided then to take matters into her own hands and find me the best Ear, Nose and Throat doctor she could find. She talked to my uncle who two years ago had his thyroid removed due to cancer. He told us his surgeon was amazing and reccomended we go and see him. A week after the ultra sound we had an appointment with the ENT at John C. Lincoln. We got to the office and met the doc, and he was pretty blunt and straight forward. He scared me. He stuck a big tube up my nose and down my throat. Weird. and then did all this rubbing around my neck and thyroid. Then he came back in the office with a BIG needle. He said ok im going to biopsy this thing, and send it to the lab. I freaked. I was not expecting it to be that day! I took it like a big girl, but of course I cried. He said he numbed it, but I felt the whole thing and boy did I make that known to him! It took him 3 needle sticks and digging around my neck to get enough cells to be sent to the lab. Lets just say he was not my friend after that.
(this is a long blog I know) About a week or two later, he called and said he did not get enough cells and that I had to go to radiology at John C. Lincoln to get ANOTHER biopsy. I was not having it, but I knew I had to do it. We made the appointment and I went in for that. It took that doctor 5 more needle sticks to get enough material too!!! What the heck was wrong with me?!?! At John C. Lincoln though they make you wait around after the biopsy to make sure they really did get the cells...so we went to the waiting room for about an hour for them to come out and say sorry didnt get enough come back and we need to do another one! I was so done at this point I didnt even care! So off I went for one more stick. This was the needle stick that actually got my cells. They told me they would send the results to my ENT and I would get a call from him to discuss them. I had already had an appoitnment scheduled with the ENT so we figured he would just tell us then.
Well a few days later, I was sitting in my Montessori training class when my doctor's office called. My teacher knew that I was waiting on results so I slipped outside to answer. They told me that they needed to see me right away, and when could I make an appointment to we could talk. I started crying. That usually means its bad. I called my mom and she had already talked to them. Apparently they called her first...weird since I was 23 years old and they usually dont do that. She told me to get my things and leave because my appointment was at that moment. They were squeezing me in...even worse. The whole way to the doctor I cried. I didnt know what to expect so I was expecting the worst.
The doctor told me that I had Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma. I didnt eve really hear the name the first time he said it, I actually had to call my mom a day later and ask her what it was called. Basically I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, June 8th 2010. Yes I do remember the date cause I had class, and my class only met on certain dates. I was so scared, I didnt even know what to think! All I kept hearing was that it was treatable, 99% survival rate, so common, women espeically get it, blah blah blah. None of that mattered. I had cancer. IM 23!!! ALMOST 24!!! I do not have cancer. Its a mistake. I am healthy, I grew up playing sports, and leading an active life! All of these things just went through my mind. I cried the whole way home, cried with Matt and thought about my life. At this point I decided, I was not going to get down on myself. In order to beat this thing I had to have a positive attitude. I had to stay positive and strong, not only for me, but for my family and friends as well. See this year, my family has been through a lot. We have had a lot of joy, baby Claire and Kendyl, and a lot of sadness. My Grandpa Jack passed away in March. Now my family was faced with this. I decided that it was going to keep us down. I was going to get through this. I am a great teacher, a great girlfriend, a great daughter, and a great friend. I love my life, I love my job, and I am making it better by getting my Montessori certification. There was NO way this was going to bring me down.
So after all that, my surgery was scheduled for June 23rd, 2010..just two weeks after we found out. They were planning on taking out my thyroid to get rid of the cancer, and to see how far it had spread because they wouldnt know that until they got in there. I had to coordinate things with work (they have been super amazing, and such a great support system through all of this by the way) and figure out the money situation for bills and rent. Everyone was right by my side through everything, and on the morning of surgery when they wheeled me back, mom and I cried. I looked at her and she had tears in her eyes. I said do not cry lol because I knew that I would lose it. Of course I did. I gave Matt and kiss and a hug (yes he was teary eyed) and off I went into the operating room. Remember when I said I had really high anxiety in medical situations??? Well, I wouldnt even let them put the anesthia mask on my face, I had to hold it myself. Its a control thing, and yes I like to control some things ;) Before I knew it I was in the recovery room throwing up. I remember the nurse saying it was gross. After that little episode I dont remember much. I remember being upstairs in room, and my cousin and baby Kendyl being there. My mom was there and my dad was there, and of course Matt was there. I was told that there were a lot more people that came in and out the whole day but I was so out of it that I cant remember. I had to stay in the hospital for 4 days!! It was the worst 4 days of my life! I had two panic attacks, two different roomates, both of them over the age of 80, with the first one being crazy!! She sat on her bed and cussed at herself or the nurses all day!!! She was in the hospital because she wanted a Big Mac, and drove into a tree at 10mph and broke her arm. Lets just say the hospital was an experience in itself. The night nurses sucked, but my day nurse who happened to be there 3 days in a row was amazing! When I finally got to go home all I wanted to do was take a bath. I was cleared by my surgeon to do that :) so I got in the big bathtub and soaked for like an hour. Once I was home and recovering I definitely felt better, but I knew I was only halfway done with treating this thing. I still had to meet with an endocrineologist (the guy who will prescribe my medication for the rest of my life) and I had to get Radioablative Iodine Therapy. Its a pill that they give you at the hospital which goes in and kills all those tiny microscopic cells no surgeon can get. I was so done thinking about everything at this point that the only thing on my mind was our annual trip to San Diego. All I wanted was to be on that beach. My surgeon said I should be ok to go by the time the trip was scheduled, and my endocrineologist didnt think I would have the energy. Trust me I didnt let that stop me. I recovered quicker than anyone thought, and I felt (still do) great! I wasnt too tired, and I was so ready to go! My meeting with my surgeon was a week before we left and he cleared me for everything, I could golf, bike ride, go in the ocean, all the fun stuff that comes with San Diego! So off we went and had an amazing trip. The only thing looming in the back of my mind was the radiation I knew I had to schedule. I put that phone call off all week. Finally I called them and they scheduled it for Aug. 2nd, 2010. Today. Yes I am now radioactive. I had to go to John C. Lincoln and get this little white pill (which packs a punch!) and sit around for a few hours. Turns out the nurse who helped me, had the same exact thing ten years ago! She knew exactly what I was going through! The mood swings, the muscle cramps, tiredness, all the fun things that come with not having a thyroid. She even had to go through the radiation, so we talked a lot today and even exchanged phone numbers. She is pretty amazing and I am so thankful she was my nurse.
So now I am in isolation for 5-7 days. I for sure cant be around children or pregnant women for 7 days. but 5 days for everyone else. I am staying at my parents house because I have my own bathroom and room here, so I can stay out ot everyone's way and let this radiation do its thing! KILL IT! KILL IT! :) I am still thinking positive and praying everyday that I will be ok, and that this is the last of it. It has been one heck of a ride this summer, and I know that I am only going to get stronger. All my life I have been told that things happen for a reason. I am meant to be on this Earth. God would not have given me strep throat if He did not want me to find this yet. I had no symptoms of thyroid cancer or anything. Just a lump looming beneath the surface. Its a blessing that I got strep and that they caught things early. I am still scared and stressed about everything because we wont know anything about the cancer and where its at until next Friday. That is when they scheduled the body scan. They are going to check my whole body for any kind of cancer. Please pray that they got it all!!! As for now I am living my life a little bit differently. I dont take small things for granted anymore, I eat healthier, and I view things differently. I also approach my world with a better, positive attitude. Thank you for taking the time to read this, I will be posting more things about my life, my Montessori training, and my Montessori teachings. I love Maria Montessori and what she did for education. Being an educator is tough, but I wouldnt have it any other way. Hopefully, with this blog we can keep in touch with family instead of posting all those really personal things on Facebook. :)
In April, I was diagnosed with strep throat... no big thing right? I mean I teach preschool and kindergarten so its gotta be expected. Well I went to my family doctor, she said I had strep, gave me my antibiotics and I was going to get better. Well I was wrong, three days later I couldnt even talk my throat was so bad. With my mom working in the ER, I called her and asked her what I should do because clearly the antibiotics were not working. She told me to come into her work and someone would look at it, give me a stronger medicine and I would be on my way. Well, I get to the ER and one of her nurse friends looked in my throat..her facial expression made me cry! She was horrified with what she saw! She said that I needed to be seen by a doctor and that I probably needed an IV and all that fun stuff..by this time I was balling becasuse I HATE HOSPITALS and doctors and anything associated with medicine..if you know me I am VERY high anxiety when it comes to this stuff. At this point they signed me in, stuck and IV in me and we waited for the doctor. I was dehyrated, tired, and felt like crap! The doctor came in, looked in my throat and said, oh no you have an absess. A what?! A bacterial sac where they stick a needle in your tonsil and pop it to drain it. GROSS. Typical ER procedure is to get a cat scan of the throat and neck before doing the needle procedure so they can indeed identify that it is an absess. So off I go on a stretcher to the cat scan people. Of course I was freaking at this point. They said I wouldnt stop shaking. When I got back to the room and the doctor had the results, he said the absess wasnt big enough to put a needle in there (thank you!) but that I did need a stronger antibiotic. They also asked me if I knew about the Nodule or lump on my thyroid. I said no didnt know I had that. They told me to follow up on it and that it was probably nothing, but just to be sure I needed to get an ultra sound.
A week later I went back to my mom's hospital and got an ultra sound on my thyroid. That was weird. They had picutres of cows on the ceiling and my mom and her friend were in there asking the ultra sound tech questions that I didnt want to know the answer to just yet! Ultimately he said the nodule was big, and that I had one big one on the right and two small ones on the left side. (Your thyroid is in the shape of a butterfly on the front of your throat) He told me to follow up with a biopsy of the big nodule and once again that it was probably nothing. Great how many times do I have to hear that its nothing, when clearly youre making me go through all this testing because you see something. My mom decided then to take matters into her own hands and find me the best Ear, Nose and Throat doctor she could find. She talked to my uncle who two years ago had his thyroid removed due to cancer. He told us his surgeon was amazing and reccomended we go and see him. A week after the ultra sound we had an appointment with the ENT at John C. Lincoln. We got to the office and met the doc, and he was pretty blunt and straight forward. He scared me. He stuck a big tube up my nose and down my throat. Weird. and then did all this rubbing around my neck and thyroid. Then he came back in the office with a BIG needle. He said ok im going to biopsy this thing, and send it to the lab. I freaked. I was not expecting it to be that day! I took it like a big girl, but of course I cried. He said he numbed it, but I felt the whole thing and boy did I make that known to him! It took him 3 needle sticks and digging around my neck to get enough cells to be sent to the lab. Lets just say he was not my friend after that.
(this is a long blog I know) About a week or two later, he called and said he did not get enough cells and that I had to go to radiology at John C. Lincoln to get ANOTHER biopsy. I was not having it, but I knew I had to do it. We made the appointment and I went in for that. It took that doctor 5 more needle sticks to get enough material too!!! What the heck was wrong with me?!?! At John C. Lincoln though they make you wait around after the biopsy to make sure they really did get the cells...so we went to the waiting room for about an hour for them to come out and say sorry didnt get enough come back and we need to do another one! I was so done at this point I didnt even care! So off I went for one more stick. This was the needle stick that actually got my cells. They told me they would send the results to my ENT and I would get a call from him to discuss them. I had already had an appoitnment scheduled with the ENT so we figured he would just tell us then.
Well a few days later, I was sitting in my Montessori training class when my doctor's office called. My teacher knew that I was waiting on results so I slipped outside to answer. They told me that they needed to see me right away, and when could I make an appointment to we could talk. I started crying. That usually means its bad. I called my mom and she had already talked to them. Apparently they called her first...weird since I was 23 years old and they usually dont do that. She told me to get my things and leave because my appointment was at that moment. They were squeezing me in...even worse. The whole way to the doctor I cried. I didnt know what to expect so I was expecting the worst.
The doctor told me that I had Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma. I didnt eve really hear the name the first time he said it, I actually had to call my mom a day later and ask her what it was called. Basically I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, June 8th 2010. Yes I do remember the date cause I had class, and my class only met on certain dates. I was so scared, I didnt even know what to think! All I kept hearing was that it was treatable, 99% survival rate, so common, women espeically get it, blah blah blah. None of that mattered. I had cancer. IM 23!!! ALMOST 24!!! I do not have cancer. Its a mistake. I am healthy, I grew up playing sports, and leading an active life! All of these things just went through my mind. I cried the whole way home, cried with Matt and thought about my life. At this point I decided, I was not going to get down on myself. In order to beat this thing I had to have a positive attitude. I had to stay positive and strong, not only for me, but for my family and friends as well. See this year, my family has been through a lot. We have had a lot of joy, baby Claire and Kendyl, and a lot of sadness. My Grandpa Jack passed away in March. Now my family was faced with this. I decided that it was going to keep us down. I was going to get through this. I am a great teacher, a great girlfriend, a great daughter, and a great friend. I love my life, I love my job, and I am making it better by getting my Montessori certification. There was NO way this was going to bring me down.
So after all that, my surgery was scheduled for June 23rd, 2010..just two weeks after we found out. They were planning on taking out my thyroid to get rid of the cancer, and to see how far it had spread because they wouldnt know that until they got in there. I had to coordinate things with work (they have been super amazing, and such a great support system through all of this by the way) and figure out the money situation for bills and rent. Everyone was right by my side through everything, and on the morning of surgery when they wheeled me back, mom and I cried. I looked at her and she had tears in her eyes. I said do not cry lol because I knew that I would lose it. Of course I did. I gave Matt and kiss and a hug (yes he was teary eyed) and off I went into the operating room. Remember when I said I had really high anxiety in medical situations??? Well, I wouldnt even let them put the anesthia mask on my face, I had to hold it myself. Its a control thing, and yes I like to control some things ;) Before I knew it I was in the recovery room throwing up. I remember the nurse saying it was gross. After that little episode I dont remember much. I remember being upstairs in room, and my cousin and baby Kendyl being there. My mom was there and my dad was there, and of course Matt was there. I was told that there were a lot more people that came in and out the whole day but I was so out of it that I cant remember. I had to stay in the hospital for 4 days!! It was the worst 4 days of my life! I had two panic attacks, two different roomates, both of them over the age of 80, with the first one being crazy!! She sat on her bed and cussed at herself or the nurses all day!!! She was in the hospital because she wanted a Big Mac, and drove into a tree at 10mph and broke her arm. Lets just say the hospital was an experience in itself. The night nurses sucked, but my day nurse who happened to be there 3 days in a row was amazing! When I finally got to go home all I wanted to do was take a bath. I was cleared by my surgeon to do that :) so I got in the big bathtub and soaked for like an hour. Once I was home and recovering I definitely felt better, but I knew I was only halfway done with treating this thing. I still had to meet with an endocrineologist (the guy who will prescribe my medication for the rest of my life) and I had to get Radioablative Iodine Therapy. Its a pill that they give you at the hospital which goes in and kills all those tiny microscopic cells no surgeon can get. I was so done thinking about everything at this point that the only thing on my mind was our annual trip to San Diego. All I wanted was to be on that beach. My surgeon said I should be ok to go by the time the trip was scheduled, and my endocrineologist didnt think I would have the energy. Trust me I didnt let that stop me. I recovered quicker than anyone thought, and I felt (still do) great! I wasnt too tired, and I was so ready to go! My meeting with my surgeon was a week before we left and he cleared me for everything, I could golf, bike ride, go in the ocean, all the fun stuff that comes with San Diego! So off we went and had an amazing trip. The only thing looming in the back of my mind was the radiation I knew I had to schedule. I put that phone call off all week. Finally I called them and they scheduled it for Aug. 2nd, 2010. Today. Yes I am now radioactive. I had to go to John C. Lincoln and get this little white pill (which packs a punch!) and sit around for a few hours. Turns out the nurse who helped me, had the same exact thing ten years ago! She knew exactly what I was going through! The mood swings, the muscle cramps, tiredness, all the fun things that come with not having a thyroid. She even had to go through the radiation, so we talked a lot today and even exchanged phone numbers. She is pretty amazing and I am so thankful she was my nurse.
So now I am in isolation for 5-7 days. I for sure cant be around children or pregnant women for 7 days. but 5 days for everyone else. I am staying at my parents house because I have my own bathroom and room here, so I can stay out ot everyone's way and let this radiation do its thing! KILL IT! KILL IT! :) I am still thinking positive and praying everyday that I will be ok, and that this is the last of it. It has been one heck of a ride this summer, and I know that I am only going to get stronger. All my life I have been told that things happen for a reason. I am meant to be on this Earth. God would not have given me strep throat if He did not want me to find this yet. I had no symptoms of thyroid cancer or anything. Just a lump looming beneath the surface. Its a blessing that I got strep and that they caught things early. I am still scared and stressed about everything because we wont know anything about the cancer and where its at until next Friday. That is when they scheduled the body scan. They are going to check my whole body for any kind of cancer. Please pray that they got it all!!! As for now I am living my life a little bit differently. I dont take small things for granted anymore, I eat healthier, and I view things differently. I also approach my world with a better, positive attitude. Thank you for taking the time to read this, I will be posting more things about my life, my Montessori training, and my Montessori teachings. I love Maria Montessori and what she did for education. Being an educator is tough, but I wouldnt have it any other way. Hopefully, with this blog we can keep in touch with family instead of posting all those really personal things on Facebook. :)
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