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.

"No longer Glowing"

I'm officially done with my radiation restrictions! It was hard but I'm praying for good health now. Bless Natalie's heart...all she could do is hug me today! She about knocked me over once because I didn't see her coming. Maggie's older now and isn't as snuggly but I got plenty of hugs from her too. We celebrated by going to see a movie...just the 3 of us! Natalie sat in my lap for most of the movie:)

As for how I feel...I feel the same. My symptoms have let up yet (unsettled stomach, irritablity, the shakes) and I've added a new one...tiring easy. The good news is the doc said I'll start to see improvement in the next week or so. Just in time for school to start!

Now it is time to get ready for school and do some final fun things before the girls start school next Tuesday. We are going to Holiday World Thursday and bringing home my cousin Jeff, his wife Michelle, and his 3 children to stay with us for a couple of days. Friday we'll have the entire family here to visit! Saturday night we'll have 10 little girls here dressing up and posing for Maggie's Fashion Birthday and Sunday Mike and the girls will go to his sisters for a swim party while I go to driving school! I guess they'll teach me to slow down...good luck!

To all of you I want to thank you for your good thoughts and prayers. I am truly blessed to be surrounded my such wonderful people. Through you I see God smiling down on me. Thank you!

Day 3 is done!

I am finally at the end of the 3rd day! I can now see the girls tomorrow!!! I really just want to go home and sleep on the couch and keep my 7 feet distance from the girls, but Mike isn't too keen on the idea. He thinks it's easier on the girls just for me to be gone than to stay away from me.
I've been pretty successful filling my time away. I read the first book in the Twilight series then watched the movie. I went to see The Proposal and laughed my butt off! I even went to Edinburgh and did some shopping at the outlets to help out the economy. I may try the flea market tomorrow...who knows.
Mike got to register the girls for school today...I'm kind of glad I missed that! They are very excited and called me to make sure I ordered their backpacks. They are so cute...they keep calling me on speakerphone but don't realize I can't understand them that well when they talk at once. Oh well, it's just good to talk with them.

Treatment Started

I had to cancel my Girls' Trip to Gatlinburg to start my treatment since I was going to have to be away from the girls for 7 days instead of the 3 that I was first told. So, once again I went to the hospital to take a scary looking pill from a scary looking container. I feel great except for being very thirsty. Which it is good to drink alot to "rinse out" the excess radiation. The good news about all of this is that I can go out in public and passing by people is not dangerous. I'm not dangerous to adults just children and pregnant woman and sleeping beside my husband. So, I think I'm going to go see a movie with Mom. The other good news is that I can visit with the girls on Friday...just not cuddle or stay close to them...just a quick hug and then that's it.
As far as medically, it will take a couple of weeks for me to start feeling better and about 6-8 weeks for it to fully kill my thyroid and take effect. Then I'll start taking a thyroid hormone for life...not so bad I guess. I've been told by friends of work of family and friends that have had the same treatment and live a normal, long life. So, I guess that is not all bad.

Goodbye Otis

I finally threw in the towel and found a new home for Otis. Jill McQuillen gave him a trial run but Otis didn't get along too well with her dogs. Then while I was picking up Otis from Jill's my friend, Angie, called and told me her parents wanted him. Otis got along well with Sandy from the start and I believe that he will become very spoiled. I felt very good about him leaving and feel that God brought him to me to wait for his new home. I admit I will miss him and wish it would have worked out. However, I feel much less stress and I really need that right now. Good bless Otis and his new home!

The Test is Over!

So I went yesterday and took my "radioactive iodine" pill for my test. It was a little scary since it came in this metal chamber. She pulled a glass tube out of the chamber and I had to dump the pill in my mouth straight from the glass tube that had a bright colored caution radioactive sticker on it. The lady's name was Dory and she was so nice. She assured me it was for her safety since she handled it so much. I still wasn't sure so I said a quick prayer and downed it. I went back to day and they took various pictures where I had to sit perfectly still for 3 mintues each....OMGosh the itches that arise when you can't move!!!! So now I'll wait the long weekend and call on Monday to get my results. I'll keep you all posted! Please pray :)

The Girls' Swim Season

Maggie and Natalie just finished their swim season. It was a pretty good year and they finished with medals and ribbons. The funny thing is at the Champs final meet Natalie got a free pass for the Jeff Aquatic Center for winning her heat...but she got 6th place overall because there are several heats for each race. She was more excited about that free pass than winning. Her innoncence is precious!!! Maggie also got a free pass for winning one of her heats so I guess we are going swimming for fun!!!!

My Prognosis

For all those of you who have been concerned with my weight loss and health I finally have a prognosis. I was diagnosed with Grave's Disease. Pretty much it is that my immune system attacked my thryroid and now my thyroid produces too much of a hormone. One of the worst side affects is that it increases my heartbeat to an unsafe amout so now I'm taking heart medicine until I go through treatment. This week I'm having a radioactive iodine scan that will determine the cause and treatment. The doctor has told me that pretty much the best treatment is radiation in a pill. It will kill the thyroid. The good news is my heart will go back to normal but the bad news is that I could then have hypothryoid disease, but I can take medicine for that and go on with life as normal.
I'll try to update this blog after my treatment. Please pray for us and especially for my girls as I can't be around them for 3 days after the treatment.

Otis

We finally broke down and got the girls a dog. It's been two years since we lost our beloved Ali (our Golden Retriever) and so we agreed. I had 3 rules...it can't shed, must be housetrained, and needs to be out of the puppy stage. As you can imagine it took some time to find a dog like this. The girls were getting impatient. I really wanted a cockapoo but we ended up with a mutt. He's a cross between a yorkie and a cairin terrior....looks like Toto or Benji. The first couple of days were great...then Otis's true personality came out. I got 1 1/2 of my wishes. He doesn't shed, he's crate trained, and mostly house trained....but he's ALL PUPPY! We have discovered that a can full of pennies works wonders at breaking bad habits. For the most part the girls and I are growing to enjoy him...Mike not so much.