A little less of me

And now I have no thyroid.

Ugh, waking up from surgery sucks. I think the pain was worse this time. Can that be true? I just wanted to stay asleep for a few days. Then the Dr's gave me the pain meds that make me feel crappy. I don't know why, but my body does not handle pain meds well. I try to tell the nurses that I don't want certain kinds and they don't understand. Why would I take something that is supossed to make me feel better, if it actually makes me feel worse. Doesn't make sense. Finally they listen and give me the morphine. I'm not a drug addict- I just know what works.

Sorry for not calling and talking to people. I just didn't feel up to it. today I feel better. It's weird to move my head a bit and feel pain in my neck though. My voice is almost normal which is amazing. Swallowing is still tender, but mostly in the muscles in my neck- not actually my throat. It's hard to explain.

Speaking of drug addicts- you should see my arm. My IV is in my lefty so they keep drawing blood from my righty. They're running out of places to stick me. I have to have my calcium checked several times a day. When it gets low my face gets tingly and sometimes my muscles twitch. It's strange. A couple of times my levels went up, but then dropped again. this is normal. They're going to give me vitamin D to help absorb the TUMS I've been eating. Mmmm, like candy. :o)

I feel tired. I wonder if this is from not having a thyroid and what I can expect to feel for the next few weeks. Time to take a nap.

Gratitude

When I first found out that I would be having surgery I didn't even consider the idea of having my Mom come out to help. I knew my recovery wouldn't be easy- but I also knew that Mom has lots going on at home in Cali and that it's a huge expense to travel to Utah. But when Mom volunteered to come take care of me I couldn't say 'NO'.

I am so full of gratitude for all that she does. As I was contemplating how much I appreciate her during this time my thoughts reflected on my own motherhood. There are so many times it feels like I do, do, do for my kids and they never appreciate it. I'm sure there were many years that my Mom felt this way towards me as I was growing up. Seeing how selfless my Mom is giving of her time and realizing the amount of love she has for me makes me wish I wasn't such a turd growing up. But I guess this is the way life goes. Without my own experiences as a mother I wouldn't appreciate my own Mother as much. All I can say is I don't know what I would do without her. And it gives me a little piece of mind thinking that someday my kids will appreciate all that I do for them.

She has kept my laundry under control,
loaded and unloaded the dishwasher (if you know Mom, you know what a step this is), :o)
entertain my wild kids,
let me take naps,
fold patterns for orders,
feed, take care of, and train the dog,
numerous trips to walmart,
my personal taxi driver,
gone to parent-teacher conferences with me,
bought the grandkids books at the book fair,
tucked my kids in at night,
bathed and showered my kids,
scrubbed my toilets,
vacuumed my floors,
endured countless attacks from a crazy cat,
shoveled said cat's litter box,
baked cookies,
baked MORE cookies,
bought groceries,
tended the kids so I could have date-night with Gilbert,
and many more things that I can't remember to list.

Sometimes it takes major life events to recognize the blessings you have. Through all of this I recognize the blessing of my Mom. I only hope that I can show her how much I love and appreciate all that she's done for me. Not just during this past week, but for the last 33 yrs.

Thanks Mom, I LOVE YOU!

McDreamy- I'm on my way!

Don't I wish!

Ok, so I am having surgery tomorrow- FOR SURE! But my surgeon is so far from McDreamy it's not even funny. Actually, he kinda reminds me of Mr. McFeely (That sounds gross!) from Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood!

They're taking my spleen and leaving my thyroid for another day. BAH! Those platelets just won't stay up enough for a surgery as vascualr as the thyroid. At first I was bummed- but I'm okay with it now. Better to be safe than sorry!

Wanna see what I'm taking with me to the hospital? Go HERE to see.

And when I come home? My mommy will be here to take care of me. :O)

Next time you hear from me I'll be spleen-less!

HA! HA! HA!

OK, that's not funny.

Just got off the phone with my Surgeon's nurse. No surgery tomorrow. My pre-op labs came back today and my platelet count SUCKS!!!!

I can say that- cuz it does. The lowest count they've gotten yet.

I guess those steroids didn't help much.

The only good thing is that tomorrow's weather is supossed to be the warmest day of the year so far. Glad the sun will be out.

:o(

Surgeon will talk with the hematologist tomorrow and decide what to do next. I'll keep you posted.