I really wish they made a balloon that says "It's cancer!"
 

because I was really jealous of all the "It's a girl!" and "It's a boy!" balloons at the hospital gift shop. I did get a "Get well soon" balloon in the shape of a teddy bear from my bro and SIL. I was at the Dallas Medical City, and I just want to say that all the nurses, techs, and doctors were extremely kind, prompt and competent. I woke up from surgery extremely hot and in a lot more pain than expected. The poor nurse had to keep a close eye on me to make sure I didn't rip my blanket of and expose myself (the curtain couldn't be pulled because she had to watch more than one of us). I also decided to have a small panic attack on her and tell her that I couldn't breath repeatedly. She was very good at reassuring me that I was breathing just fine and was able to avoid a major incident. My mom, dad, and nanny (AKA grandma) stayed with me on Tues. I did end up having to stay overnight because my calcium was low, but my mom stayed with me overnight and until they sent me home today. It was good to have her even though I was in good hands anyway. I'm a bit stiff and swallowing hurts a lot (you dirty minded birdies!) but I've been up walking around on my own. Might have overdone the walking a bit because I crashed shortly after getting back to my parents and woke up in a lot of pain. A hot shower has helped.

After they took my thyroid out they did a preliminary biopsy and it did show my lesion was cancerous, so they took out two of my lymph nodes on that side also. The lymph nodes were biopsied today and show a bit of cancer. I will probably have to get some radiated iodine treatments, but that should not be a very big deal and the prognosis is extremely good.
All in all, a good experience considering I had surgery and I'm glad the cancer was caught and treated quickly.

I only have one real complaint, I will probably tell the hospital this too, after I tell them how nice everyone is. The chaplain was not a very nice chap though. When he came to my room, I thought it was very nice for someone to go around offering to talk if need be, but he was on a mission. He came in and announced that "they" were praying for me and with their prayers they were going to get me better! I thought "Uhm, I have very good doctors, they are the ones who deserve the credit, not you with your prayers." I let it slide though. Then he decided to offer to pray with me and talk about God, blah blah blah. I tried to be polite and just said "No thank you, I'm agnostic but my mom is Christian and might want to talk." Apparently he didn't care about the already converted and proceeded to tell me "That just means you have questions." I smiled and said "No, I don't have questions. I'm secure in the fact that I don't know and will probably never know except maybe when I die. There are no answers to the questions you're talking about, so I don't ask them." He thought that this was the time to tell me that "Yes, there are answers, you just haven't been taught them." Them's fightin' words right there, he just insulted my mom and dad. I told him that I was taught very well and it was funny he was standing there telling me about my life when he has never even met before and that he didn't know the first thing about my views or education. He told me that I was being close minded because I wasn't willing to discuss it! WTF? He's the asshole that doesn't want to respect my religious beliefs and he's invading my privacy by not leaving my room when I had made it clear I was not interested. My response was that I was willing to discuss it just not with him. Goodbye. He decided to tell me "Well, we're praying for you anyway and 'WE'LL' get you better." As if he's being the better person by praying for me when I'm so clearly lost. Fucking cocksucking twat kicking asshole.

Take your pick:

ALSO.

Congratulations on taking care of yourself. WTG doctors. Sorry about pushy chaplain. I hope you recover quickly and completely. Hang in there morethanpretty.

Yesterday:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3377/...4ec48f993a.jpg


RFN:
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5309/...d318410363.jpg

One of my uncles commented "Shitty necklace."

It made me smile.

I like the lobster BigV.

Glad to hear that you're home. Get better soon, and don't worry, I won't pray for you. ;) Okay, that wasn't nice. I'll pray for you if you want me to. Don't overdo yourself. You'll be up and running in no time. Btw, get to bed! You need to go to bed early to recuperate. :eyebrow:

Morethan I'm so happy you're thyroid-free and home.
Fingers crossed bigtime that it's just the iodine teatments for you in future.

This is obviously because FSM has touched you.
He spoke to me a in a still small voice and told me to witness to you. He says nothing slips down a sore throat better than pasta.

Do make a note in your diary for this time next year.
We can have a Fuck Cancer anniversary for you.

Much love.

Hope you're up and around soon, pain free. I will not pray for you.:D

Seriously that chaplain is a douche, I'm going to pray that he gets a bad case of hemorrhoids.

Good job taking care of this.

I won't pray for you either, but get well soon.

Hope you're 100% again very, very soon.

Seconded!

Get well mtp!

Fuck cancer. But I'm glad to hear that you are headed in the right direction.

Hey MTP, perhaps after memories of the dickhead chaplin have faded, you could produce the first "It's cancer" balloons.

Or "shut up and leave me alone, you dickhead chaplain" balloons.

get better mortie!

oh, ow and buttfuck that chaplain in the mouth with a prickly cancer balloon.

Get well soon, mort, I'm sorry and surprised to hear the diagnosis, and pleased that you've got it dealt with.

Thanks all. I just needed to vent about the chaplain. I'm over it now.

Trying my best today, woke up really stiff and voice wasn't working. Hot tea with honey helped. Also coughing up some nasty yellow mucus, I might have to ask my doc about that. It is probably just a result of the irritation from the breathing tube I had when I was under anesthesia, but there is no mention of it in my "what to expect" papers they gave me and my surgeon was very detailed when he spoke to me and he didn't mention it. I'm just a little concerned because I'm prone to sinus/respiratory infections.
I have gone for a small walk and made my own breakfast this AM. Using some heating pads now to help with the muscle ache. I've only taken ibuprofen today, no hydrocodone, trying to not need the real heavy stuff like that.

The giftshops in hospitals, particularly religious ones, would stock them in warehouse quantities.

D'oh!

It's a CRAB, CANCER, THE CRAB! (you asked for a cancer balloon, right?)



Yah know, from Astrology? That's not too religiousy for you is it?

At any rate you look and sound great and that makes me happy!

Bloody hell Moar, glad you got sorted out. Scary shit I don;t doubt, but sounds like you caught it all in good time.

As for the chaplain: turn the other cheek you'll send him into a tail spin :p

good LORD!

I just read this thread and I'm so glad you are ok, mort. chuh - I didn't know!
*cyberhugs*

and fuck cancer.

Glad you made it through relatively unscathed - err, sorry about the chaplain though. You look great, keep up the good attitude.

Raven

Take care mtp.

Sorry about the chaplain. wow, what a way to meet the new day. grr

damn, somepeople need to stop and think with their hearts instead of doing their duty. Maybe that obligation would have looked different.

Glad yer feeling better there Zipper neck ;)

I blame the painkillers for my mistake.

Thank you all for your kindness.

mort, please change your user title to "zipper neck".

I fixed yer pic for you !!!

I like it....

Sorry I'm late to the thread, mort, but I hope you're feeling better soon. Yellow mucous in the throat is not a side effect of anesthesia intubation... might be normal when the surgery site is right there in the neck though, I don't know. I'd mention it to the doctor for sure. Even if it's unrelated, you don't want an active infection right near your surgery site.

Feel better soon!

Yeah, you might be suffering from a little post nasal drip - yellow means the body is fighting an infection.

I bet you are glad that is all over with! I hope you are feeling chipper in no time mpt!

(Aargh - the chaplain was a dick! There is no excuse for what he did - you were trapped by your circumstances and good manners!)

Get well soon. I'm glad you still have your sense of humor.

Almost forgot, you know you are going to hell for being mean to the chaplain don't you! Now you are in the same boat as the rest of the heathens on here. ;)

tie the string of an "it's a girl balloon" round the ankle of the chaplain and tie the other end to the bedpost and have fun watching him get left behind at the rapture!

Dazza and one of my cousins have had almost exactly the same issues as you've had with your thyroid mtp. They're both fine now. They called Dazza's Hashimodo's disease. Anyway, I'm glad you've come through well, and you might find your weight issues will improve once they get your meds right. Malfunctioning thyroids can contribute to weight gain (if someone hasn't already told you this I'd be surprised).

I had Hashimotos thyroiditis too, but they took the thyroid out because of the suspicious nodule that did end up being cancer. Hashimotos usually does lead to hypothyroidism but mine was caught before that. I would love to blame it for my weight issues but I think that would not be the root of the issue. I will still have to work to lose the weight, even if one of the contributing factors has been fixed. My endocrinologist is the same as my mother's though, he's done an excellent job helping her so I'm sure he will do the same for me.

Yeah, pretty much the same as Dazza and my cousin Jules. They both had malignant nodes that had to be removed.

It's amazing how lucky we are to live in the time we do and not even 20 yrs ago.

How are you feeling today, MTP?

I think my hormones are a little out of whack, but nonetheless my dad is the one who owes me an apology.

Oh, and I have a little bit of a fever.

Bleh, Doc says I will feel this worn out/fatigued for a couple of weeks until my body adjusts to the change in hormones or something. :(

I mentioned in another thread that Tennant's Mum had cancer of the thyroid.
She is going back into hospital for a week from 8th July.

I was dealing with another child when she came into the classroom, but from what I heard she has to have radiation therapy. She could come home, but has elected to stay in an isolation ward because of Tennant - it could put him in danger. I'm guessing she is not supposed to have close contact with him, and feels it would be difficult if she was at home. She intends to stay in contact via Skype. Believe me - I will be avaailable for hugs that week.

I can't really tell her how much I worry and care, because I rarely see her and I just work with her son.
But you're mine MTP. And I can.
Keep us up to date. We love you.

Mtp I know a young lady who was a big girl, always beautiful and confident but had weight issues. Once they sorted out her thyroid issue she started losing weight. She feels better physically. She didn't have her thyroid rremoved, though. Anyway, I'm thinking of you too and hope you feel better and better as you heal.

'Chin up' seems a jokely statement, but I bet you haven't lost your sense of humor. :)

Take good care of yourself.

Healing like a crazy badass heal machine!

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5308/...d1d1712e4d.jpg

Looking good! Doesn't look like it'll scare. :thumb2:

Dayum!

Looking Good!

Yeah, there goes all of my awesome hostage victim, assassin mistaken identity, Russian mob bet stories that I made up to tell my grandkids. How will they believe me if there is no scar? :(

Didn't make it into this thread till just now.. really sorry to hear about all this MTP, but you seem to have awesome attitude about it all. Stay strong :thumb:

Wait, what's that lower than your incision? No, lower. A liiiiiiiiiiittle lower. Yeah, I need to see them ;)

This is a 5minute problem as my mom says, but in my present state, it feels so much worse. So I get to the doc today, expecting them to take my blood work, to talk to the endocrinologist for a bit and then to be sent over for the radio-iodine. Well, there was some sort of mix-up or misunderstanding. I did not get scheduled for the radio-iodine. So I took 2 days off work, used my sick leave, and I'm not even having the damn treatment like I thought. Its too late to correct the work issue. I am going back to work tomorrow, but that means I have to work in my present state which is....unstable to say the least and I'm so fatigued most of the time I'm in physical pain. I have to work both Saturday and Sunday in this state, probably with the two coaches I like the least. I did complain last week to my boss about my issues with them and he agreed that they were legit and he'd talk to them. Hopefully he actually did, and hopefully they'll have improved. The hospital does not keep the medicine on site, so there was no way my doc could swing getting it for me today. I did cry at the doc's although I was trying not to, and he felt really bad. He is honestly an awesome doctor and took all the blame for the mix up, but I can't help but feel that it was somehow my fault. He told me I needed therapy for feeling that way, lol. So....he was able to pull some strings and get the radio-iodine for me for Monday. Usually I have Tues off work, so I'll take Monday (use yet another day of my very few sick days) and Tues and then go back to work on Wed. Also I get to restart my thyroid meds again, and I get to start on synthroid. Up until now I've been on just cytomel which is a form of the thyroid med that works quicker than synthroid but is less stable. So after my radio-iodine treatment, I will start on BOTH cytomel (for short-term help) and synthroid and then after a couple of weeks when the synthroid has had time to work its way into my system, then I can drop the cytomel.
My bro-in-law mentioned something about a program or something that you can get onto when you're having health issues and end up having to call in sick a lot. Its so that your work can't fire you for attendance issues. I don't remember what he called it and I'm too shy to ask him about it. If you know what I'm talking about, I would appreciate some more information, I honestly drag myself to work most of the time, but there are days....if I could get into a program like that, it would help my stress a lot I think, even if I have to take off sick without pay, at least I know I won't get fired over it. I don't think I deserve to get fired and my present health isn't something I can really help, ya know?

Some good news:
You get to see my face! My scar is not nearly as impressive as it was in the last pic....and Della just fell off the bed trying to dig herself a bed or bury her bone in the sheets, I'm not really sure, but she was doing that digging motion and backing up and then PLOP on the floor she was! LOL!
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6147/...387b5a28_z.jpg

My parents came over and my mom helped me cook some things for the weekend (I have to have a special diet before I take the meds and mostly I just haven't been eating.) We cooked some steak, some hamburgers (although I can't have bread or cheese so I'll have to eat them plain) and cut up some veggies. So that will help me get through the weekend.
My parents also were kind enough to pick my car up from the shop and bring it to me, it hasn't been completely tested by me and I'm not sure they drove it long enough to know for sure but I'm crossing my fingers that its fixed. It has been overheating AS I'm driving, after about 30-45min of driving. The thermostat had been replaced and the coolant flushed and that had not fixed it, so took to a shop that has worked on my mom's cars in the past and they decided the radiator was restricted and replaced that. $300 about for parts and labor :( but it could have been worse.
Oh, and Della can't sleep/cuddle with me or lick me or my plates clean on Monday or Tues. I was gonna send her over to a friend's for the time, but my sister agreed to let her sleep with them that night IF I give her a bath first (even though she's usually pretty clean and unsmelly), which is a big deal for my sis to let a dog sleep in her bed. So, I'm happy about that, and I think my bro-in-law will be super excited, he loves dogs so much and Lexie never got to sleep WITH them, usually not even in the same room because of her coughing. Today he worked a half day and while I napped she hung out with him, and I think that helps him feel better too, to just have a dog around he can spend time with.
Well, long post, I don't think I forgot anything.

Good luck with everything, MTP! Sorry that you had to and have to go through so much problems. Hang in there because the radio iodine treatment is going to back you feel like sh*t.

FMLA!

Definitely do it.

It's always something when dealing with doctors. I hope you get everything worked out.

Hope it all went OK, hang in there....