Happy Halloween

If you live in Kane County...

I don't usually get very political on here although I believe most people know that I'm a strong democrat and Obama supporter. I do want to ask those of you who reside in Kane County to vote for a certain republican on Tuesday November 4th. Her name is Deb Seyller and she is seeking reelection for the office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court.

I do have to admit a personal vested interest in her being reelected because she is after all my husband's boss. But more than that, I want to see her reelected because she is a good person and really has the best interests of the citizens in her county at heart. Deb is a person who stands behind her employees. She is a person who makes sure that those (including struggling single parents) who work in her office keep their jobs despite budget cuts. She is a person who is flexible when an employee's spouse is battling cancer. This is the kind of employer we need to keep in Kane County.

We all hate getting traffic tickets or going to court, but isn't it nice that if you have to deal with these things in Kane County you can expect it to go smoothly? Deb has done a lot to streamline processes and make the system run more efficiently. The new process for orders of protection keeps people safer. Who can argue with that kind of record?

Please visit Deb's website here to learn more about her. Thank you for reading this post.

Test Results

My doctor called me this morning to give me my test result from Friday. There was no thyroglobulin detected in my blood, so this means my cancer is still in remission. My TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) was 73 and should be .05 and this is due to being off my drugs last week and getting the injections of thyrogen. It should take about 8 weeks for my TSH to go back to .05 and unfortunately during that time I will have the hypothyroid symptoms, most notably extreme fatigue. It sucks because I will be sitting down trying to read my homework or in class and just fall asleep. In the past I have been pretty bummed knowing that I will go through that, but after having several months of being at the correct TSH and feeling great, I am not as worried about it. I know it's temporary and I know that I can feel good. But a heads up, if you are talking to me while I'm hypothyroid and I suddenly start snoring, its not you...it's too much thyroid hormone in my blood.

Cross-posted to Myspace, etc, so sorry if you see this more than once.

A weekend escape

This weekend Josh, I and the kids went to Wisconsin Dells and stayed at a waterpark resort. We had such a great time. It was so nice to have nothing to do but play in the water. We did hit a few snags in the beginning when Evan realized he forgot his suitcase at home. Luckily that was solved easily by a trip the Old Navy Outlet where I used my bargain finding skills to replace most of what he needed for the same price as I'd normally pay for 1 pair of pants for him! Josh lost a contact lens in the wave pool and scratched his eyeball but he's doing better now. After we got passed those things, we had a fabulous time.

Here are the kiddos...they actually stood still long enough for Mom to get a photo.



Abby with her pink (of course) floaties that helped her swim.



We went to Build-A-Bear while and Abby got a new baby kitty:



Abby helped me make a husky. It was a gift from Josh for getting my thyrogen shots and either a yay-I'm-still-in-remission gift or a wow-that-sucks-you-have-cancer gift. We put a heartbeat in it and it's so cool! You press it's chest and it feels like there is a heart beating in there.



We also (as we do every time we go to Wisconsin) went to our favorite winery to get some wine for the upcoming holidays. The fall colors everywhere we went were so beautiful, but especially here.





Some grapes still on the vine.



And for anyone wondering, Lake Delton is still gone. Here's where it should be. Notice the "water taxi" sign....

Meow

This afternoon we took Abby to a Halloween party at our YMCA. She got all dressed up in her kitty costume and had a lot of fun playing games there. It was a really nice party, but it was super crowded.

Modeling her costume, before she decided she didn't like whiskers and a nose drawn on her face...



And after, we compromised on just small whiskers.





I told her to do a kitty pose, and this is what she came up with...



On the way to the party...




Super excited!



Playing one of the games. She got a prize (candy) no matter how well she did on the games.

Day 2 of Hypo Hell

I received my 2nd shot of thyrogen today. I didn't have the horrible anxiety that I experienced yesterday thankfully. The injection hurt a lot more though which I think I remember being the case before. I gave myself permission to miss class today because of sore fanny and the start of the hypo symptoms being a little overwhelming. While I don't like having the hypo symptoms, it's good to know that this drug I had is working. This drug that by the way, cost as much as if Josh and I went to Mexico for a week and stayed at an all-inclusive resort. But anyway....

So I figure that not everyone knows what I am referring to by "hypo". According to the thyroid cancer survivor's organization, this is what you can expect when you stop taking your replacement drugs and go hypo:

Hypothyroidism Symptoms Following Temporary Withdrawal from Thyroid Hormone

* Weakness, lethargy, cold intolerance, paleness, dry skin, coarse hair, and constipation can occur with hypothyroidism. Other symptoms may include delayed reflexes (such as the knee jerk when the knee is hit with a reflex hammer), brittle nails, increased blood pressure, and a slow heart rate.
* 'Some patients will feel relatively well except for tiredness. Some patients will feel extremely fatigued. However, older patients have greater hypothyroid manifestations, and some patients will have a difficult time performing daily tasks.Thus, as a precaution, all patients who are hypothyroid should avoid making important decisions and driving or operating heavy machinery for one to two weeks before and after the [radioiodine] scan or [radioiodine] treatment
* in many patients few symptoms occur in the time required to prepare for a radioactive scan or treatment or during the weeks afterward restarting thyroid hormone.
* However, patients experience a wide spectrum of symptoms during their period of temporary hypothyroidism. A few patients feel the same as before. The great majority feel considerably slowed down, both physically and mentally. Some describe it as feeling mildly sedated. They can converse and do household chores, but their reaction times are slower. They are also more prone to errors when doing tasks involving attention to details. A few patients feel more severe symptoms from among those described above.
* The time of recovery from the symptoms of hypothyroidism also varies from weeks to months, and this at least in part depends on how long it takes to appropriately adjust the dose of thyroid hormone


I would like to add to these:
* a headache that never wants to go away.
* staring at my hand
* staring at the wall
* not making sense when talking
* walking into a room and forgetting why I'm there
* feeling too tired to eat or just wanting to sit & eat nonstop. Can't win with the eating!

Wow, what a day!

In addition to my panic attack this morning, it has just been a rough day. I am already feeling the hypothyroid symptoms which is rough.

I also received some very upsetting news. A very close friend of mine just had a baby last week and is now in the hospital diagnosed with congestive heart failure. Not only am I very worried, but I am sad and shocked that this is happening to her. She should be at home enjoying her first baby, not worrying about having heart problems.

Despite all the negativity of the day, I am trying to find some positives. So...
*I seem to be one of the few people getting an A in french. Yay me!
*It's cold & rainy and I have my sweet Gracie to snuggle with.
*I don't have any homework to do today.

Here's my Gracie girl snuggling up in our bed.

The Good Cancer

I'm told that I have "the good cancer". I hate hearing that because no cancer is good. No one wants to be a cancer patient. But really I suppose it is the good cancer. It has a very high cure rate. The treatment typically doesn't involve chemo. It's even a slow growing cancer. I have two other survivor friends who endured far more in one day of their treatment than I have dealt with in the nearly 3 years since my diagnosis. I am alive. I am in remission. I am growing healthier and healthier. So what do I really have to be upset about? Rationally I know that this week is just something I have to do. I have to go through these tests every 6 months. It's just something I have to do...maintenance in my life. Sort of like changing your oil or your furnace filter. It's just a fact. I have no reason to expect that this will be anything but routine maintenance.

But yet, I was filled with anxiety this morning. Not over getting a shot in the butt. Not over worrying about pain or needles. Not anxiety over the rushing around that I have to do this week to accommodate all these trips to the hospital. I was anxious about cancer. All I had to do is hear the words "nuclear medicine" and my immediate reaction was a panic attack. My legs felt like jelly, I was dizzy and my heart was racing but somehow I was able to follow the nurse into the room to get my injection. I didn't really even feel it because at that point the room was spinning. I had to sit down so I didn't pass out. I had to let myself cry.

You see, it's not just about the test. It's the fact that having cancer has really made it hard for me to see the big picture realistically anymore. It's the worry over what the long term effects of all these tests and radiation and "nuclear medicine" will have on me. It's the worry that the results won't be "undetectable". It's the memories of having my neck sliced open twice. It's the memories of radiation isolation. Of being away from my kids. Of being alone. Of not being in control of what was happening to me. It's hard not to feel freaked out that they put something in my body that made me have to be quarantined for 2 weeks.

Luckily I was able to talk myself down. I was able to call my husband who is always steady and calming. This week will suck, but it's just maintenance. Next week, I know my doctor will call me and tell me that cancer cells were "undetectable" and we'll celebrate. And I won't have to deal with this for the next 6 months or hopefully even a year.

But I am wondering...when will this anxiety stop? It is after all, "the good cancer"...what's there to worry about?

Currently reading :  Gods in Alabama  By Joshilyn Jackson

Yay Huskies!

Yesterday morning we went into DeKalb to watch NIU's homecoming parade. Despite living here for 11 years and me attending NIU for 3 years out of those 11, we have never gone to any of the homecoming activities. The parade was short but nice. Abby loved it, especially catching the candy. She was jacked up on steroids for her asthma so it was nice to take her out and let her run around. After the parade we went out for brunch at the Lincoln Inn (again) for french toast.

Unfortunately we didn't get to the game because Josh and Matt had to work. But we were so pleased to hear that the Huskies won the game! Hopefully next year we'll be watching them in the stadium.

The marching band, marching down Lincoln Hwy.



Some of the Huskies we've gone around town finding were in the parade...



Abby catching candy.


One the way home, we found a new Huskie!





And a totally random photo of our cat Milo. When we got home from the parade and bruch, he was making a big deal out of sunbathing on Evan's floor.

A couple of random Abby pics

It's been a pretty busy week around our house between midterms for me, activities for the kids and Josh completing a Jamapps project. I have to say that I'm relieved that tomorrow is Friday and we don't have a whole lot planned for the weekend.

A couple of cute Abby pictures from this week. I wish I had some of Evan but anytime he sees the camera he hides his face. Ugh. Teenagers!



In her signature pose...


Reading a bedtime story with Daddy. She is really into the Pigeon books lately, such as "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" and "Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late".

Ultrasound results

Just got my neck ultrasound results and they are good. No tumors in there. My lymph nodes are still larger than they should be, but there is no change from my ultrasound 6 months ago.

Next week I'll be getting my shots, being super hypothyroid and having my blood test for the cancer marker, thyroglobulin. I am sure the thyroglobulin will come back as undetectable. I'm not worried. What worries me is how I'll survive they hypothyroid symptoms while juggling school and my mommy duties. Luckily I know I can get a doctor's note for school if it gets to be too much.

So probably 2 weeks from now I'll have those results. I'll keep you all posted. And please disregard my zombie like behavior next week. I can't help it. My TSH will probably be about 150 times what it should be and that will really mess with me.

Currently reading : Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries: Science and Pseudoscience in Archaeology By Kenneth L. Feder

Huskies on Parade: Part 5

In addition to spending some time at the pumpkin patch yesterday, we (or rather Josh and Abby) found some more Huskies.

Abby and her kitty cat to get in the photos of course.







To see a slideshow of all the Huskies we have found so far, Click Here.

Pumpkin Patch Pics

Today Josh and I took Abby to a nearby farm to visit their pumpkin patch. She ran into a girl from her Daisy troop there and they had a lot of fun playing together. Then Josh and Abby rode the haywagon out to the pumpkin patch and choose a pumpkin just for her. Evan didn't come with us because apparently it's no longer cool to hang out with Mom, Dad and little sister. ::rolls eyes::

Abby and her pumpkin:



Having a great time on the hayride:


Queen of the hay hill!


Josh and a donkey


Bouncing in the bouncy thing

Everyone loves a parade

Abby got to the march in the parade for the 2nd time with her Daisy troop. Here she is:





Everyone enjoyed the parade and catching candy.


Even Papa caught a lollypop!

Birthday photos

Last Sunday my parents threw me a little party at their house. It was just the family (us, Mom, Dad, Aunt Joan, my sis and brother-in-law).

Abby made me cupcakes which was sort of like an art project for her.


Most of the group:


On my actual birthday...

These flowers were my gift to myself. I have been treating myself (or all of us, but me & Abby are the most appreciative) to fresh flowers every week or two. I try to pick something that will last a week or two.


After my French exam, Josh took me out for French toast. The Lincoln Inn in DeKalb has the best.


Opening my gifts. Josh & the kids "scrapped" me a page with their photos on it. That was my favorite gift!


My birthday dinner. Stuffed pizza from Vinny's.


And most importantly, the cake!


Abby being silly because she was all high on steroids for her asthma:


The Orr clan. Notice how reluctant Evan is to be in the picture.


Me, Josh and Matt. Matt might as well be part of the family because he's like a brother to us.




The End.