More health news

I saw Dr. Davis yesterday and he says I am fine! He doesn't think I need a body scan, but says that if Dr. Miner wants it and I want it, it's reasonable to do. So, once again, I am a cancer survivor. I don't identify myself as such, because I didn't have to go through any treatment, but I count my blessings when I think about it. Maybe the cancer came from growing up about 2 miles from a nuclear plant. Hmmmmm.......it would be interesting to see if others who grew up in that neighborhood have had cancer problems. A friend asked me if I am scared about it. I'm not. I told Dr. Davis that either I am rolling around in denial, or it's not something to be frightened about. He said I should not be scared or worried, because they are finding that about 7% of people who have autopsies have microscopic papillary carcinoma of the the thyroid, but that's not what they died from. That's reassuring. I figure my heart will get me in the end, but not for a long time, I hope.
Speaking of heart problems, here I am, eating an omelet with ham and cheese and drinking a coke for breakfast. What ever happenen to the vegan diet? I have gotten really lax about that, but I heard Charlie Gibson's news report the other day that Americans account for 30% of the heart problems in the WORLD! The people who eat mainly a fresh fruit, fresh vegetable diet are the least likely to have heart problems. Even the tofu eaters don't do as well as the vegans. Tori and I need to have a "come to Jesus" meeting about our diets. She is much better than I am. But after I finish my omelet. LOL

One week later

My neck is healing well. The scar is going to be small, I can tell. The bruising is almost gone, but there is still some swelling. Last week, when I came back to work, I worked almost too much and was pretty tired by the end of the week. Also, I had a little scare on Wednesday. I had worked at IMC on Tuesday and we had a busy day. Then, Wednesday morning, while I was getting ready for work, my neck started hurting, just twinges. But it hadn't done that before, so I was concerned. When I got to work, my "other mothers" all thought it looked swollen and told me to go to the dr. They worked me in at the office but he felt that it wasn't getting infected or more swollen. I didn't think it was more swollen, but was concerned about the pain and was relieved that he didn't think it was getting inflammed or infected. Since then, I have been putting a warm pack on it at night to speed up the absorption of the bruising and it is doing well.
Last Sunday was KC's blessing. It was a beautiful day and we had a picnic outside after the blessing. David did a good job with the blessing. I think it is hard to give a blessing to a baby, because you have so much you want for them in their life, so it's hard to limit what to include in the blessing. Kristin's family came up from So. Utah, or rather Central Utah. That was so nice of them to do that. Both of her grandparents were there, along with her mom, dad, Alyse and an aunt and uncle. And of course her sisters. Jeanie came also, which was so nice. It's wonderful when family gets together at these special times in your life. I just wish Mike had come. I don't think he understands how important it is to be involved in family things.
I get to baby sit KC tonight after work. Yahooo! I really like hanging out with him. He is so cute and is starting to smile at things. Dave and Kris have a cycling class tonight and again on Thursday, so I will be the baby sitter again then. I won't be able to baby sit each Tues and Thurs, but I like to help when I can.
Tomorrow night is the opera! Tori and I are going to see "Madama Butterfly" I love that opera and wish I could have been in it. But maybe next time. Besides, I wouldn't have had the operation on my thyroid if I had been in the opera, so this was best.
I am not sure about the thyroid cancer. I see the surgeon tomorrow and will discuss some options with him. I also see Dr. Miner in Nov. but I want to be scheduled for the body scan by then. It's a little worrisome, but not much.
The weather is changing. I like it when it is windy and cloudy. It reminds me of growing up in Eureka and also it is how I imagine England and Scotland to be, like in Wuthering Heights. I would like to visit there someday. Hope I can. TTFN

Thyroid surgery

Last Tuesday, I fell among cutthroats!  I had the left half of my thyroid removed.  Wahooo!!!  It's all gone!  No more thyroid surgery for me.  It has been hanging over my head for 6 years, since I had the right half of my thyroid removed.  I almost died with post operative complications, so I approached this surgery with a little trepidation.  But I had a wonderful surgeon and he has been so careful with me, based on the complications from last time.  It went as smooth as possible and I didn't even lose my voice, not even for a day!  Again, there was a tiny bit of cancer in the thyroid and we need to decide what to do about that, but no rush.  I am bruised and swollen, but I feel pretty good and have had remarkably little pain.  I just took some photos of myself, so that the bruising is documented.  I usually look pretty good in pictures, but I don't look good in these.  So, I am only posting one of them.  Ignore the wrinkles and bags under my eyes.  But you can see the bruising and the incision.  Dr. Davis removed the old scar, so that I will just have one long one and I hope it is thin.

This year, I planned on having some veins in my legs fixed.  I ended up having knee arthroscopy and thyroid surgery.  I still need the vein work done, but that is scheduled for next January.  I am really ready to have a few years of being really healthy and normal again.  I still have issues with my left hip, but I am so tired of it that I think I will just "will" it away.  Can you do that?  Call it the power of positive thinking or whatever, but I am just not going to let it slow me down anymore.  

I think that I didn't get called for "Madame Butterfly" opera for a reason.  If I had been involved with that opera, I wouldn't have had the thyroid surgery until after the first of the year or maybe not until February.  Because I didn't get called for "Butterfly", I decided to go ahead and have the surgery, in case I lost my voice for awhile.  Opening night is this Saturday and they start rehearsing for the next opera in November.  I hope I get called for that one, because I will be ready to go.  I would have loved to be in another Puccini opera, but it was important to get the thyroid thing done.  I sure hope Susanne will call me.  She is the chorus mistress and the Queen of my opera world. 

Okay, now I am starting to whine.  Enough of that.  Tori had a high school symphony performance tonight and she had a solo.  She sounded so perfect and is really proud of her performance, as she should be.  It was beautiful.  TTFN

The Scooter Saga

When I finally pass the scooter driving test, I am going to go out and party.  As I mentioned before, the first time I tried the test, I "dropped" the scooter.  That means I fell over.  Then Mike helped me with some of my problems with the scooter and I practiced and was able to pass the course.  This was done on a Sunday evening with no witnesses, but I passed.  So, today, with a tester watching, I didn't do quite so well.  He told me that I was psyching myself out and helped me with that, but to pass the test, you have to score 90% or above.  I got 89%.  So, I am now scheduled for October 16th, but I don't want to wait that long. They told me to call in the morning of the day I want to try again to see if there were any cancellations and they could work me in.  I want to get this done before my thyroid surgery, which is October 7th.  Plus I want to get it done before the weather gets bad.  I asked the lady at the desk at the DMV how many times I can fail the test before they tell me that I have to sell my scooter.  She didn't really have an answer for me.  But she said that some people have to take it 4 times.  I hope I am not one of those people.  I watched another guy take the driving test after me and he failed too.  He was freaking out over the rapid stop part of the test.  I don't have any trouble mentally with that part.  I am thinking it is as much mental as it is skill.  I guess we all have our little crosses to bear.  

Here I sit, waiting for my last testing patient. So far, she is 10 minutes late. But I am testing her for being post dates, so maybe she has delivered. That would be okay with me. I think God is trying to tell me that I need to lose weight. I already know that, but I think He is trying to show me. Since I have started doing more testing, I have noticed how many overweight pregnant women there are. I mean REALLY overweight. Like 100 lbs or more. I am really starting to get grossed out having to do what I have to do with the ultrasound machine to get the test. I am tired of having to be up to my elbows, literally, covered in aquasonic gel, trying to get a picture of the baby's head or heart beating. I won't describe any more, but it is getting gross. I try hard to not show it on my face and I really hope I am successful in that, but in my head, sometimes I just want to scream, "Stop eating!!!!!! Get more exercise!!!!! You are putting your life in danger and your baby's life too.!!!!!" Last week I was trying to adjust the monitor on a really large woman and she was crying because she was hurting and wanted the baby out. Her father said, "Why don't I go to the cafeteria and get you some food?" I suspect that has been the way she has always been comforted, either by her parents or by herself. Of course, she is an insulin diabetic. Most of these women keep themselves really clean, but some don't and when you lift the covers to adjust the monitors...... Whew!! It can make me nauseated. I wonder how they got pregnant in the first place.
Well, enough. I found out that my last patient already delivered, so I am off.

Another day in the neighborhood

Yesterday, we had to put down one of our chickens. She had not been acting quite right for awhile, but when I saw her yesterday, she could barely stand up and had blood on her backside. Tori and I decided that she was too sick to save, so we took her to see Dr. Orr. He is such a nice man and we credit him with saving Scooter's life. Anyway, he said that she was badly fly struck and also had a mass in her abdomen the size of a baseball. I felt it when I lifted her up to see if she could stand and I hadn't felt it last Saturday when I thought she wasn't acting right. Dr. Orr said that he thought he might be able to save her for awhile longer, but we decided that she looked so miserable that it wasn't worth the effort (and expense). As it was, it cost me $128 to euthanize her and dispose of her body. That's an expensive chicken. So now we are down to 6 girls. Dot, Arwen, Nefertiti and Buffy are the older ones, Osiris is a year younger and then Blackberry is a couple of years younger. She has spent nearly the entire summer brooding, which means she is crabby and not laying eggs. I can understand why farmers never seem to know what the life expectancy of a chicken is. I suspect when they stop laying very much, they get eaten.


Yesterday, KC came over to visit Grandma. Dave and Kristen came, too, to pick up Dave's new cell phone. KC was more awake than I had ever seen him before. He was very interested in looking around and didn't want to snuggle or lay down. He liked to touch the kitty, who let him. Ketza is a good cat. He just layed next to KC and purred.


I am excited for the weekend. I have worked everyday since last Monday and I desperately need a day off. My hip and feet get so achy when I am on them that many days in a row.


This is the list of stuff I want to do tomorrow. Tell me if you think I am dreaming. I am on call 7 amto 11 am. Super Saturday is from 9-12. I need to go grocery shopping, especially at the Farmer's Market, where I need to get a couple of boxes of peaches to can. I need to make applesauce with the two boxes of apples sitting in my kitchen. I also need to get more apples to make more applesauce. I want to see a movie at the dollar theater before it goes away. I want to go to Monet to Picasso because Sunday is the last day it is here. I need to pull everything out of the garden next to the driveway and plant bulbs there. I need to ride Cloud. The table is being delivered sometime tomorrow, so I need to get the dining room ready for that. And last but not least, I want to have a nice dinner on Sunday with the new dining table, so I need to get ready for that. Do you think I will get it all done? Oh, and I need to tow my car down to Tunex because it won't start. I think I need more days off.

New News

 

A new day is coming for me.  The past 2 weeks or so have been really hard for me.  I won't go into it all, but I will mention some things.  

First, 2 weeks ago last Thursday, I went for my driving test for my motorcycle license.  I failed the test when I fell over on my brand new scooter.  I wasn't hurt, unless you count my pride, and a few scratches on my new scooter.  But my confidence was destroyed.  I started thinking that I was an old fool, trying to ride a 250 cc scooter at my age.  Then a few days later was the first home game for the Utes.  Tori and I walked from Dave and Kristen's apt. down to the stadium, probably 2 miles or more.  Then we walked up to the 51st row to our seats.  I thought I did pretty well for the first really long walk on my knee since the surgery.  But walking home was another thing.  I am sure it was 4 miles back and the longer I walked the slower I walked.  I was in so much pain in my left hip and my lower back that finally I had to lay down on the lawn by the side of the road.  Tori was very patient with me, never complaining about how slow I was.  When we finally got to the apt. complex, I was turned around and lost and would have never made it if it hadn't been for Tori knowing the way.  When we got to Dave's, he sort of barked at us for ringing the bell so late.  He didn't know how much pain I was in and how depressed I was, thinking that just a year ago, none of this was a problem.  I sat in his bathroom and cried, feeling very sorry for myself and wondering if I need to get a rocking chair and sit on the porch.  When I had gathered some strength, Tori and I drove home, but I cried most of the way.  That night I took Motrin, Percocet and Ambien because I was in such pain all over and didn't think I could sleep.  I felt better the next day and have actually felt better on my knee since then.  I still don't have enough strength in my quads, but the flexibility in my knee seems improved.  

Another thing that has been weighing very heavy on my mind is the problem with the neighbor horse.  Cloud is my horse and Maia is the horse sharing corral space with Cloud.  Her owner, whom I will call Robert, is very hard to "live" with.  There are a myriad of things that I don't like about him, but the one thing that is bugging me the most these days is his laziness.  He rarely comes over to see Maia, only shovels her manure once a week (if we are lucky) and never offers to take the garbage can full of the horse manure out to the street on garbage night.  And he never cleans out the water trough and refills it.  These are rather heavy chores and since his horse is there, it would be nice and equitable if he did the chores 50% of the time.  He pays the landlady to feed his horse, doesn't clean up after the horse, rarely rides her and doesn't spend anytime working her on the ground.  I could understand it a little more if he worked at a job, but he is on "disability", so he doesn't have a job, which means some of my taxes go to support him and then I still have to do the manual labor.  Lately, Maia has been cribbing on the wooden divider between the two stalls.  Cribbing is when  horse chews and eats the wood, destroying fences, posts, etc.  I finally bought some stuff to paint on the fence, but it didn't slow her down.  I spent 3 hours one day, with my drill/screwdriver and some deck screws, trying to shore up the boards where she was chewing them apart.  No sign of Robert, either to see the damage his horse was doing or to do anything about it.  Finally, I texted him, complaining about the filthy bandages the vet had left in the corral when he came to change Maia's leg bandage.  Robert, of course, didn't know anything about it (because he never comes over to see his horse) and then left messages on my phone all weekend, wanting to talk to me.  After about a week, I returned his call, only to have him say that he knows Maia is chewing down the divider and he will "get on it" this weekend.  That was last weekend.  No Robert.  I was so mad today when I fed Cloud that I started thinking about where else I could board her.  

This evening, I rode my scooter to the DMV riding course and practiced on the motorcycle  test course and I think I can now pass the test.  Thanks to Mike, who spent an evening helping me to gain control of my bike and listening to me complain about how I couldn't do it.  I now have a lot more confidence and control on the scooter when I am going slow.  Then, I went over to feed the girls and found that the landlord had taken down the remnants of the wooden divider and put up a metal panel, which is basically a section of metal bars used in fencing.  I cannot express the relief and joy at that problem being solved.  It will be interesting to see how many days go by before Robert comes by and sees the solution provided to him.  And the lovely thing is that I can't think of a reason that I need to speak to Robert on the phone for a long time.  

So, my life is making a turn around.  Things are looking up and the best part is that I am regaining some of the confidence in myself that I had lost.  It is hard to think of yourself in the same way when your mobility is diminished.  I told my Physical Therapist that I feel old these days.  I have never felt that way before, at least not to this depth.  But it looks like maybe this was just a big bump in the road and that I am coming up the other side.  

Yesterday was my grandson's one month birthday.  I am now going to attempt to put some pictures of him on this blog site.  Here goes......I am a retard.  I can't figure out what I did with the pictures.  But they are pictures of K.C., mostly. I don't know how that  picture of bicyclists got in there.  I don't know how to add the pictures later in the text.  I will work on this later.  Sue