New Milestone!

I've graduated from 6 week visits to 4 month visits to the doctor and 3 week bloodwork to 2 months! My arms are very glad about this! The thyroid hormone has brought my TSH levels back to normal. Dr. M said my body should be leveling out and all should be returning to normal very soon! Now if I can avoid all the winter germs and flus life will be fantastic! Thanks again for all your positive thoughts and prayers!

The light is on!

I'm finally starting to feel just a little bit better. I've actually been making it through the day without passing out! I think I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel! The doctor is watching me a little closer to monitor the meds and says I should be feeling pretty much normal in 3-4 months. I actually got to excercise last night...did a pilates class...ouch! But it felt really good to do something. Thanks again for all your prayers and good thoughts!

Still waiting

Well, it's been about 2 weeks since I started the thyroid hormone. Nothing yet. I am still in the middle of the worst and am so tired I think I may fall asleep in the middle of teaching! I've had a few problems that I'm working through, but God has truly blessed me this year with a co-teacher from the special educ. department. She has saved me more times than not! The doctors said it could take about 6 weeks for my body to adjust to the hormone. Thanks for all your prayers!

My Natalie

Natalie is enjoying school and her friends. She's going to be in the middle of every social event. She's not as in to sports and competition as Maggie...unless it's competing against Maggie. While she has the skills to be a good soccer player she prefers the sidelines right now. No big deal:)
She is continuing with gymnastics and is working hard on her round-off backhandsprings which is a big deal for a 6 year old. She has joined the cheer team at the gym because her friends did. Oh how I love her social instincts...I'm the same way. She told Mike she wants to play basketball so I'm sure we'll do that.

Right now I just love that her favorite thing is to just play with her friends outside...reminds me of my childhood! Of course, our home is constantly filled with kids that aren't ours, but it is worth it! I'm glad we have a home children enjoy playing at with my kids.

In school, Natalie is reading away. I know I teach her not to brag but as a mom I get to! She is reading beyond her level and is wearing me out with the chapter books. She thinks it's a big deal! Which for a 1st grader it is a big deal. I am really enjoying that she is reading because she wants to and not because she has to read.

It is so fun to watch my children grow! I am truly blessed that God has given Mike and I these two beautiful girls to watch over.

My Maggie

I know I created this blog to keep family and friends updated on my diagnosis, but just have to take time to talk about my beautiful girls! Even though they fight like sisters, I still think they are the best!
Maggie is winding down her fall soccer season with the Netsurfers Futball Club. The team has grown so much with their skills. We are now wininng and tieing more than losing! We played in a tourney last weekend in Louisville and we beat a good team from Louisville and only lost 4-5 to one of the best teams. Maggie scored 3 goals on Saturday!!!! On Sunday, she played mostly defense but had a great pass to score and anticipated a shot from the other team and came out of nowhere to stop it! Thank goodnes because our goalie wasn't quite ready for the shot! I'm so proud of her footskills and all her improvements on the field. She is having fun playing and we are having fun cheering for her and the team.

Maggie has also been working very hard to make the SpellBowl team at Silver Creek. This was a hard task as there are about 280 kids in grades 4 and 5 and they only pick 15. Her teacher said 4th graders don't usually make it. But, of course those of you that know her well know that was all it took. So Maggie made the team! The fun thing is I'm the SpellBowl coach at my school so we'll be competing against each other. Sadly, she knows more words than me right now.

Maggie's also still tumbling away. She flips backhandsprings like it's second nature. She's working on mastering her back tuck and front limber. With her detemination she'll be doing both independently by next month.

I love Maggie's dedication to life. I could learn from her as I enjoy relaxing more. I'm so proud of who she's becoming.

Long over due update

It's been a while since I've updated the blog...sorry. I can honestlly say there wasn't much to say about my treatment. It's been about 7-8 weeks since my treatment and I've begun seeing a change about 2 weeks ago. I have to admit I'm not enjoying or liking what I see. I'm gaining weight, 5 pounds this week!, so tired I can't stand it but can't sleep. I am having some very dry skin issues which come with this and just don't feel myself. The worse thing is I can't excercise beyond stretching and resistance training. I can't do anything that would cause me to break a sweat as it will put stress on my heart. The nurse told me that will all go back to normal and I can excercise again once I'm on the hormone and stable. I spoke with the nurse, who was fabulous, and she explained that this is all part of it. The doctor told me I would feel worse before I felt better so I guess I'm in the middle of it. I'm going to start going for bloodwork checks every two weeks now. Once I hit a certain level the doctor will start me on the thyroid hormone and all should return to life as I knew it before all this! I just pray I don't gain too much weight. I admit that 112 pounds was a little too small for me. I'd be fine with where I'm at now but don't want any more pounds. The nurse said I could lose the weight but it would be very hard and slow. So for now if you have room in your prayers please pray for strength as I am going to need it to keep up with my family and work. I am also trying to keep a very happy heart. I know God brought me to this and HE will get me through it. I am blessed in so many ways that this is just a bump in the road.

Things are getting better

It's been about 4 weeks since I had my treatment. The good news is my blood levels are coming down. The bad news is they are still considered high. The radiation is still in my system so it should continue to bring my levels down. I have gained about 8 pounds which is good. I think this is a good weight for me but am afraid I'll just keep on gaining. My symptoms subsided for a while but have come back in the last week or so. The doc. wasn't super helpful as I had a hard time understanding him. For now, I'm just going to keep positive and count my blessings. I think that going back to work has stressed me out and is contributing to my symptoms returning. Anyways, that's about all I can tell at this point. Thanks again for all your prayers and good thoughts.