'Round Here

Things around here lately are a little hectic and different. A few months ago I had some tests done on my thyroid. I have known for a few years that I have a large goiter in my neck. I had it biopsied a few months after Josie was born and it tested benign. Well, after they tested it a few months ago a very nice nurse (insert sarcasm and eye roll) called me and told me that it didn't test as benign but didn't test as malignant either. Basically she told me that I might have cancer but she wasn't sure. I didn't have another appointment with my endocronologist for a whole month. Needless to say, I was adamant about getting in sooner. They got me in later that week and the doctor told me basically the same thing (although she was infinitely more compassionate about it). Because the goiter was such a wild card, she wanted to be very aggressive with it and treat it like it was cancerous. This meant a dose of radioactive iodine.

After discussing it with the endocrinologist, I met with the nuclear medicine doctor. He told me what dose of radiation they were going to be giving me. It surprised me how high the dose was but he said that their goal was to be very aggressive. One of the rules about this radiation is that I had to be incomplete isolation for 2 days and then I had to stay away from small children for another 9. As a mother who has small children, this seemed impossible...until I learned that Justin had booked me a hotel room in Michigan for the first two days and then had a plan for me to stay in the basement with all the comforts of a four star hotel room (complete with room service) for the additional nine days. He's amazing and I'm really lucky to have him.

So on the 19th of this month I took my little (or big, because it was kind of like a horse pill) radioactive pill and headed off for my mini vacation in Michigan. It. Was. Amazing. So relaxing. I had a really nice room in a really nice hotel and spent a glorious two days watching movies, reading books, and relaxing. Things haven't changed much since I've been home either, I am still watching movies, reading books, relaxing, and having the best room service ever! I feel so decadent and luxurious and can't believe I still have 6 more days of this.

Side effects? Extreme dry mouth. Seriously, my tounge feels like a cotton ball. It's pretty bad but having lots of sucking candy on hand has helped out. Nausea. It hasn't been too bad, but it's been present. I haven't wanted to eat a whole lot so that's been kind of a bummer - especially since Justin is an amazing cook who has been making really yummy meals. But the biggest side effect - not being able to hug or kiss or snuggle my babies. Justin and I decided it would be for the best if Sammie didn't know I was here so I haven't even really seen her in about five days. I ache for that squishy little body. As fun as it's been to relax and have a little vacation I really want to hug and kiss my kids.

I go back to the endocrinologist at the end of November and we'll know then if the radiation treatment worked. If not, I'll have another dose. If it still doesn't work, I'll have surgery to remove my thyroid completely. Hopefully it won't come to that but I feel pretty confident that this round of radiation worked. Because I miss this:

 and this:

 and this:

 and this:

I will admit though, Justin has been an amazing Mr. Mom. He even went on Josie's field trip yesterday. He's a great husband and father and I'm so glad he's mine. Thanks babe, you're the best. I'm very grateful for everything you've done and everything you're going to continue to do this week. We're getting through this. Life is good.