As promised--something exciting! (For me at least)

First and foremost, Enjoy!

Yes...that is a tire around his waist.  Where else would he put it?!?!?! Hee hee.

I'm glad he didn't see me taking this picture at the red light.



Now...on to the exciting thing.

Apparently, when you have cancer, you are automatically welcomed into the I HAVE CANCER club. Who knew?!?!? There are all sorts of things available to people with cancer.

Case in point--about a week ago, I got a call from a really nice lady who told me she was sad they missed me while I was at the hospital.  She runs the "Face In the Mirror" relaxation suite at the hospital I had both surgeries at.

The Face in the Mirror is a program where those who have (or who have had) cancer are welcome to go get a free facial, makeup application, hand & foot massage, and face massage. They also serve you tea (or herbal tea or water for those like me!). Look at these cute cups!

I also enjoyed an almond chocolate biscotti.  I could have had chocolates if I wanted them, but I passed (never been a huge fan of boxed chocolates.)



That "director's" chair is where i sat to get my makeup application.  There are comfy chairs you sit in for the foot & hand massages.  They even have the lights dimmed and soft, relaxing music playing (with video of calming nature scenes on a small TV.)

I got to take home a bag of goodies--like face wash, moisturizer, an eye shadow, lipstick, chapstick, body lotion, eye cream, eye liner, a pair of yoga pants, and a tank top.  I also got a little bracelet that has a mirror charm on it.

A cute little lady named Sun did my massages and facials.  Everyone there is a volunteer.  It's really small, there were only 2 women running it, Sun and Patricia.

Sun thought my eyebrows could use a little darkening...yikes! Please enjoy the cheesy, unflattering selfie below.  I probably won't be darkening my eyebrows (at least not this dark) ever again.  PS...you can see my incision on my neck in this photo for those interested.  Don't worry mom, I was driving, but I was at a red light.

The coolest thing about this program is that I am able to go back for more massages/makeup/facials/pampering ANY TIME I WANT! Like I said, I am a member of the cancer club now. I might as well enjoy a few perks right!?!?!?

Something else cool (that doesn't apply to me...at least not yet and I hope it never does) is that for those women who have to go through chemo and lose their hair, this organization offers them 1 free wig a year. They had a couple boxes of wigs in the relaxation room (should have taken a crappy cell phone pic...sorry I didn't). One of the wigs they had on a dummy head was actually super cute.  The other 2 on dummy heads weren't bad, they were just a little mature (read: old lady style) for my taste.

Bottom line: I am glad that organizations like this exist! It was nice to "get away" at least for an hour or so. For those who are sick in bed in the hospital, they come to you and apply makeup and give massages...which would be awesome for those who are not feeling well enough to stop in.  Prior to getting cancer, I had no clue that adults with cancer were treated so well.  I knew that organizations like Locks of Love and such existed, but I thought it was just for kids.

I guess you learn something new every day!

On a sort of different note: Patricia asked me if I would like some tea.  When I said no she wondered why.  I did my best to explain the Word of Wisdom, but I sure wish that I would have been able to explain it better. Next time right!?!?!  For those who don't know what I'm talking about, here is short description (click on the image to make it bigger) and a link below that for more information.

http://mormon.org/faq/word-of-wisdom

The way my day looked

You probably can't see this picture very good because it was taken in my dark office with my horrible cell phone camera (I don't own a smart phone).  But, this is how most of my day looked.  Poor baby is either getting sick or is teething.  All she wanted was for me to hold her or rub her back.  Sometimes she would pat my back which made me smile.  She's in bed now FINALLY! Which is were I should be.  I have a big day tomorrow!  I will post about it soon promise! It's actually something really cool! But, I don't want to spoil the surprise for all of you!

-Allison

The most common question I hear

Inquiring minds want to know (aka...the most common question I hear):

How are you feeling? 

Physically, I am almost back to normal.  Still a little lacking in the energy department, but that could be due to a number of things.  I have 2 children that are very active...especially Beau. I just got done having 2 surgeries (the biggest contributor to my lacking energy).  And...I am getting used to being on thyroid medication instead of actually having a thyroid.  I'm not sure how much that contributes to the overall package, but I'm sure it does. 

Beau has figured out that I am all talk and no action.  Since I can't lift more than 20 lbs until Tuesday, I can't put him in his booster seat, put him in his time-out chair, lift him out of the bath, or put him in bed.  He caught on pretty quick, and now his daddy is having to be the main disciplinarian.  He pretty much knows that I have no authority. 

Tuesday, I can start lifting again, and I will begin to re-establish myself as an authority figure at our house :)! I am pretty sure it's going to be a bumpy ride! 

Spiritually, I have had many many moments of quiet peace.  I don't always feel peace--I wish I did, but I'm human like the rest of you! One thing that was hard for me today was not being able to sing the hymns at church.  I have always enjoyed singing, but right now it hurts really bad to sing and I can't keep my voice steady enough.  Talking is no problem, but SINGING??? yikes! But, the hymns still meant so much to me today.  I had the unique opportunity to quietly focus on the words that others around me were singing.  The most touching hymn to me today was "Come Unto Jesus" (click on the link if you're not familiar with this particular hymn). The verse that touched me the most was the 3rd verse which goes like this: 

 Come unto Jesus; He'll surely hear you,
If you in meekness plead for his love.
Oh, know you not that angels are near you
From brightest mansions above?

I have had so many moments when I feel like I have had the help of angels comforting me and getting me through the hard patches. 

I also feel like I have had lots of help from "angels" all around me.  Dinners brought in by friends from church. Even a couple dinners brought in by friends from when Jereld and I were single. Angels have watched my children or helped me put my kids to bed night after night without complaining! Angels have asked me how I"m doing and shared words of comfort.  Angels who have shared their own stories of trials and angels who have offered hugs and cried with me.  

Mosiah 2:17 says, "And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God."

For now, I am trusting in "good things to come." This short clip makes me tear up every time! It gives me great hope!

An update from the cancer front!

Just copied the email I sent my family...sorry it's in email format!

Hey everyone, 

I thought I'd send an update since I went to see my endocrinologist today. If I've already talked to you (Mom & Cam) sorry--just ignore this email if you want! 

Dr. Wadwekar is of the opinion that I need to be treated with Radioactive Iodine (RAI).  It would be a lower dose and, therefore, I would only have to be away from people for 3 days (YAY! I was so worried it would be 8 days). Dr. Wadwekar is not the final word on my treatment though.  I am being referred to Dr. Maggas, a Radiation Oncologist.  He is the one who will ultimately order any Radioactive Iodine treatments or scans, etc. At this point, I feel like I'm being passed from doctor to doctor to doctor which is slightly frustrating.  Jereld & I asked if there is a way that I could get a scan first to try to detect any leftover cancer cells and Dr. Wadwekar said that it's possible but that the scan is roughly 50-60% accurate, so the scan isn't worth a whole lot.  He said he would like to err on the side of caution and just have me get an RAI treatment.

He also mentioned that I am a very unique case.  They don't often find thyroid cancer in a lymph node without also finding it in the thyroid.  Strange! 

So, I don't have an appointment scheduled with Dr. Maggas yet.  They will call me once they get my referral apparently.  A few weeks before my RAI treatments I will have to go on a low iodine diet.  Dr. Wadwekar also mentioned that the recommendation is that you wait 12 months after the RAI treatment before getting pregnant.  Looks like our kids are being spaced for us! Not our favorite, but we don't have a choice. 

Hope I covered everything! 

Love, 

Allison  

Walking!

Kendi took 11 steps without falling yesterday! Yay! What a way to cheer up her mama! She has also added a couple new words to her vocabulary--"done" and "bye."  She can already say hi, uh-oh, mama, dada, and bath.

I'm starting to feel a little better day by day.  I'm not sure if it's normal, but an hour or so after taking my thyroid medication I start to feel a little strange.  Not totally normal.  I wonder if my body has to adjust to this artificial stuff or what.  The sad news is that I'm on a temporary one right now in case they end up doing radioactive iodine.  They have to keep me on meds that can get out of my system quickly.  So, I wonder if right about the time my body adjusts if I will have to go off or switch to a more permanent medication.  We'll see.

I keep getting tons of people asking me questions about the radioactive iodine treatments and whether or not I have to have them and what that will be like...etc. etc.  Truth is--I don't know! I wish I did, but I haven't spoken to the Endocrinologist yet.  That will happen on Thursday.  All I know up to this point is what my ENT/Surgeon has said and what Dr. Google has revealed.

I promise to give a full update after my visit on Thursday. 

Update

Hey Everyone, 

I got a call this morning from Dr. Rothman (my ENT/surgeon) letting me know that the pathologist did not find any cancer in the right side of my thyroid.  So they weren't able to find the source of my cancer presumably because it is so small/microscopic at this point.  I asked him what that meant for the Radioactive Iodine (RAI) treatments and he said that it's controversial at this point if I need RAI treatments.  He said that if you got a group of experts together in a room you probably couldn't get them all to agree.  His opinion is that I should talk to my endocrinologist (Dr. Wadwekar) about it and see what he thinks.  I go to Dr. Wadwekar on Thursday, September 5th. We'll see what he has to say! 

Jereld & I are still amazed that this cancer was even found.  Heavenly Father has definitely blessed us! 

Thank you for all of your prayers,

Allison

The other side of surgery.

I'm out of surgery...for the 2nd time.  Feeling very yucky! Surgery went as smooth as a 2nd surgery can go I suppose so I am blessed in that regard!

I feel tired.  I also feel restless and bored, but have no energy to do anything but feel restless and bored if that makes any sense at all.

My kids are glad to have me home! I'm glad to be home with them, but wish I could be the mom I usually am instead of the kind of mom that just sits there or cringes when her kids try to touch her neck in any way.

I'm grateful for all the prayers that have been said for me! Keep them coming! They help so much!