I look forward...

I look forward to when my body adjusts to the Synthroid so that I can effectively burn calories and have the energy to dispel through exercise again.  I had to go three weeks in an energy-deprived body to prepare for my RAI treatment, and now it will take a few weeks for my body to adjust to getting out of its hypo state.  I'm not too worried about weight gain.  I'm just waiting for the time where I can be running the treadmill again and back to my lifestyle the way it was before the big C.  Next Wednesday I hope to receive a clean bill of health.  You know I will be posting about it when I do. :)  Excited to get there.  For now, my body is healing and it is not in a state to deprive it.  I am doing light exercise on my recumbent bike which the hubby pulled upstairs to put in my isolation room.  I do not have much energy to go around though, so I have to be cautious about overworking myself.  I cleaned a bit yesterday after sleeping all night and day because it was after the third day of my isolation, and I needed to remove trash, laundry, bedding, and mop and wipe down surfaces and clean the shower and toilet to remove my radioactive residue while it was at its highest.  Now I have four more days and then I will need to do it again.  I was beat after one hour.  The hubby cannot touch these items though, so it had to be done.  I miss my kitties.  They are confused as all get out why mommy isn't letting them cuddle with her like usual.  I know, babies.  I know.  I miss you, too.  Having them near me helps me heal.  Right now it's not safe because their mommy is still sick.  They don't understand.  They sleep against the door--have been for four days.  Heartbreaking and precious.

My senior project is coming along nicely.  My time in isolation has been giving me uninterrupted time to work on it.  No worry about giving attention to my husband or the kitties.  I sleep, play on the computer, read, eat, and work on my project.  I've been webcamming with my mom, which is nice.  I've been watching the rain out of my big pretty window, and that is my favorite.  It's been raining a lot and will continue for days.  I'm living hour by hour, day by day, and that is best for right now.  I have some light projects to do as I am part of the graphics committee for our senior show in early May, and that has given me a boost.  Before I was put on fundraising, and that was not helpful for either party as I don't have the desire nor the ability to do such an activity from where I am.  I took it upon myself to switch to where I felt my talents could be utilized, and in regaining that sense of control, I feel more upbeat and positive about my contribution to the graduating class and to myself in general.

Life is good.

Wow

So, now that I am no longer required to eat a low-iodine diet, I can have chocolate again.  In preparation for this (started late Friday), I got myself these new amazing chocolates by Dove, Silky Smooth Coconut Creme Milk Chocolate Eggs.  But when I eat them, as good as they are, they leave me feeling blah.  All I want is fresh fruit.  Three weeks was definitely long enough to change my tastes.  My hubby has been bringing me my food during my isolation period, and the fresh pineapple and strawberries the size of my head are sooooooo good.  I think the chocolates will go into a drawer, and I will have one once in a while when I need a nip of chocolate and coconut.  Who knew!?

Update on Treatment

Today I had my full body scan and received my dose of I-131.  The scan showed that I did have some cancerous activity in the remaining thyroid tissue so they gave me a larger dose to make sure it gets taken care of.  I have a week of safety precautions now and am all set up for that.  I'm feeling better about it than I was this morning.  It's just scary.  I know everything will be alright eventually.  Well, not KNOW.  Just being positive.  I've met several people who have been through this that ended up having multiple surgeries over the years and there are other complications like permanent vocal cord damage, other cancers, and spreading.  I will be getting scans every 6 months and then every year to try to prevent that.  I found out yesterday that Roger Ebert no longer can speak because of all his surgeries for thyroid cancer.  There are actually several celebrities who have endured this type of cancer.  I am finding that the support group I went to has helped me to get more in touch with the real feelings associated with all of this instead of the ones patients often put out there to make other people feel comfortable or rather not feel uncomfortable.  That is a blessing for me to be able to just exist in the room with the other survivors and not even have to speak, and we just know how each other feels.  :)

Lately

Yesterday, my mom came over for a visit, and she tagged along on my trip to school to meet with my professor to look over the progress of my senior project.  Then we came home and went for a short walk outside since it was warm enough.  James shot some nice images with his new digital SLR camera and here is one of Mom and me.  I got worn out pretty quickly since I'm hypothyroid right now, so my energy reserves empty fast.



James made me some homemade salsa which was delicious which I got to eat with some salt free chips he found at Trader Joe's.  I couldn't sleep last night, which was odd since I'd barely slept the night/day before.  My body and eyes were worn out, but my brain wouldn't shut down.  It was stuck on the screensaver hehe.  So I took a long warm shower in the middle of the night and that helped me get to sleep finally.

Today is a gloriously beautiful day.  64 right now.  It's supposed to be 69 this weekend with rain on Sunday.  James is working today and tomorrow, so I'm using this time to work on my project and have had enough spurts of energy to tidy up the downstairs area.  I opened all the windows to air out the house and the kitties are loving it.  I used a steamer bag to steam some organic broccoli, cauliflower, and baby carrots, and had the leftover wheat pasta and turkey with veggies for lunch.  It was tasty.  I'm going to nap soon since sitting up at my computer is a little draining.  Love to all, and have a fabulous Friday and weekend ahead.  xoxo