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| Background: | Links | Encouragement | ||
| Disability | Discovering Cancer | Today |
Two years ago, in February 2005, I went down with what we thought was the flu. I ended up in the ER twice. The second time the ER doctor said I should switch doctors to get better health care. I did, and ended up on a treadmill of doctors. I ended up with constant flu-like symptons, having good days and bad days, and I lost use of my short-term memory, and cognitive abilities. I couldn't think and couldn't write, which is really bad for a full-time technical writer, and part-time ventriloquist!
Unfortunately, I had more bad days than I did good days. My energy was always low. It was bad. I kept going through test after test after test, and no one could figure out what was wrong. It turns out that the thyroid tests they did could not diagnose what was actually happening to me.
I decided that since I wasn't good for much and was absolutely sick of sitting around I would join the Kenya Missions Team that our church was sending to Kenya. It didn't take memory (everything is written out for you!) or writing skills. It didn't require a lot of energy, except to walk from the Passionist (the dwelling place in Langata) to Grace Children's Center/Church on the Rock. Ok, I could do that. (I was keeping up with some walking, when I could, to help keep me sane, and to lose weight!) Plus, what does it take to hold AIDS babies? Nothing! I was hoping to help out with some of the building stuff, but mostly was tagged to do ventriloquism for the school kids as the medical team taught first aid and CPR to the teachers and staff of each location we went to. (That was about 15 minutes of material, most of which was ad lib since there was a language barrier. It amazed me how exhausting that 15 minutes was!)
Last July I blacked out after a very bad headache and slammed my head on a cabinet. As a result, I was in the ER for many hours.
They couldn't find what the problem was and sent me to a neurologist. (At that time is the time when I joined the Kenya missions trip as a replacement member.) After many tests they accidentally found my lymph nodes were enlarged in my neck when they were looking at the neck arteries. The technician accidentally found the problem! Is that a God-thing or what? They found it by chance as that wasn't even the thing they were looking for.
I was scheduled to go to Kenya on Nov. 6, yet had to have a biopsy to check the lymph nodes on Oct. 20 as the doctor said the enlarged lymph nodes weren't going away, so I had the biopsy.
The pathologist actually did the biopsy himself (generally unheard of) and ran it upstairs and tested it immediately. He came back right away and said it was papillary carcinoma thyroid: cancer of the thyroid. It is a very slow growing cancer and generally people don't die of it. Also, it is one of the easiest cancers to treat and actually beat.
Since the test came back as papillary carcinoma thyroid, the "good" cancer, I was able to still go to Kenya. (It was a blast and we helped out so very many people! See the Kenya page!) Had it been the "bad" cancer, the doctor said he would have grounded me right then and there. Bummer! But, God is good! I got to go.
Right after we got back, just after Thanksgiving, I had my surgery, Nov. 30, to remove the cancerous material and thyroid. Well, I was in much longer than expected as the doctor said there was a lot more cancer than he originally thought. It was the worst case he'd seen in years. When I went to get the stitches out I asked the doctor/surgeon, why wasn't the scar a lot bigger like he originally thought? Well, as it turns out, he hadn't read the report since before we left for Kenya. He didn't review the reports before the surgery and went by memory. So, he didn't get it all. I had to go back in for another surgery on Dec. 14, two weeks to the day after the first surgery. Recovery was a bear. Again, he said it was one of the worst cases he'd seen and surgery went longer than expected. My throat was so swollen I could hardly breath. It was a mess.
This picture was taken by my daughter, who was home from college and visiting me just hours after the second surgery on Dec. 14, 2006. (I had just been moved to the room from recovery.) She thought she would torture me by taking my picture. She wanted to get in the tub, which was soon filled. Um, ... use your imagination! (I was sick from the anaesthesia.) Soon afterwards, the power went out four times, the the power outages of Dec. 2006 began! (Remember those? They made national news!)
But, he was mindful of my ventriloquist and worked very hard to keep my voice.
Well, I am recovering and had a great Christmas and great New Years! I hope you did, too! Now, I'm working on getting my voice back. It is very weak from surgery and recovery. I'm was off the thyroid pills while waiting to do the radiation treatment. Again, since this is the "good" cancer, radiation treatment is much better! It is very specific. It is radioactive iodine which just targets thyroid cancer cells! Nothing else! I was in quarantine for a week, which was hard! No wife, no pets, no energy, no fun. However, I seem to be blessed with the easiest of the possibilities, for which I thank Christ Jesus.
Now, I'm in the process of the thyroid adjustment. This means working up to a level that seems to work, then backing down a little and tweaking it until I hit the mark. I'm very weak right now, and struggle to do vent (only half of my vocal chords are working and the other half is working back up to strength.)
We don't know if the cancer and the surgery with all the treatments is going to be the cure to my disability. However, there is a pretty good chance it will. We'll see. I will say that since the recovery has begun I've had some pretty good days of cognitive ability. I can think more clearly (on the good days!) and deeper than I have been able to do in two-years! (I've got four book outlines in mind and I'm working on two of them when I have a good day. I just wish I had more energy and time awake to work on them!!!)
Thank you for all your encouragement and prayers! You folks are amazing! Thank you!
Chet
When I get the good links to what this cancer is all about, and how it is treated and conquered, I'll post them here and in the links page.
Feel free to write me if you are battling this or any other cancer. Supporting each other is a huge key to beating cancer!
