Saturday, July 4, 2015

My Little Ordeal....Part Two

You can read the first part of this series here.

June 1st arrived and it was time for me to head out bright and early for my Biopsy. I was scared, I'm not really a needle person and the thought of a needle being inserted into my throat was beyond terrifying. My friend brought her kids over and watched all of our kids together, we called it a pajama party and so everyone was thrilled to party in their PJ's.

Rusty and I headed out and got checked in at the hospital for my biopsy. Again I have to ask, why oh why is everything painted gray?  Seriously, think Patch Adams, and liven the place up a little! I sat in a little waiting room with a dozen other silent scared patients and tried to not lose my mind. I'm sure I only waited for ten minutes but it felt like H-O-U-R-S! My poor husband had to deal with me squeezing his hand and wiggling around to attempt getting comfortable in a dingy gray plastic seat. My name got called and the lab tech tried to stop my husband from going back with me. "Are you okay with needles sir? We can only have one patient." "Um, yeah we have five kids and I got to catch one and assist with another, I'm good. I'm not leaving my wife." Nothing more was said about that!

My procedure was explained to me and about a jillion people crowded into my small room. I promise you there were more people in this room than when I delivered my twins! I was then cleaned and prepped for my biopsy and then I felt the worst pain ever shoot through my neck before everything went numb. I stared into a screen where they were scanning my Thyroid to make sure that they got the sample from the correct spot.

After that they were able to test the sample immediately. "Okay, so tell me exactly how you found this?" I was asked. I quickly explained how I found everything and the doctor just kind of stared at me. "Okay, so normally I can definitively tell you if it's Cancer or not. However, there is a small percentage that we just don't know. You are in that grouping. Your cells are abnormal but we can't say that they are Cancer cells. I'm sure that you're doctor will be calling you soon to talk through everything but I'm recommending immediate surgery." I just sat there somewhat dumbfounded and in total disbelief of everything that I was hearing. I then asked the only question I could think of, "I'm scheduled to go on vacation can I still go and then come back for the surgery?" "Yes, I'm sure that will be fine. Try to at least get your appointments scheduled first but you should be okay to do that."

Rusty and I then left. I was feeling pretty out of it and in quite a bit of pain. I struggled to move my neck and my legs felt heavy. We sat in the car and I teared up. Rusty just let me cry on his shoulder while I had a good cry. I was expecting answers and I ended up with more questions. We headed off to grab breakfast (brunch?) and then headed home.

I heard back from my doctor pretty quickly and we went over my Biopsy results. It was nothing that I didn't already know. My cells are abnormal which points towards Cancer but isn't definitely Cancer. Thyroid Cancer is treatable and has a super high success rate. Surgery is the next step in this process. The half of my Thyroid that has nodules on it will be cut out and tested for Cancer. If it is indeed Cancer then the other half of my Thyroid will be removed. I was then sent to an Endocrinologist for a consult.

Before I went to my Endocrinologist appointment I went on vacation. You will see pics soon unless you are following me on Instagram and then you have already seen some pics, I promise there are more and they will be coming soon!

The Endocrinologist also agreed with everything that had already said before, she kept looking over my file and saying that she couldn't find any reason as to WHY I would have Cancer or nodules or anything. That made me feel better and yet frustrated as well.I asked her a dozen different questions and left feeling hopeless and lost. I then had a surgeon consultation that was really a formality. I FINALLY got to meet a doctor with some personality and a sense of humor. Seriously, you guys he made jokes about my biopsy and brought in a dozen different Thyroid models to explain everything.

This is where everything stands for now, I have surgery scheduled for July 23rd to remove the right half of my Thyroid. This surgery is a day surgery but I will have limited mobility for a while so that my neck can heal. IF there is Cancer found I will have to remove the other half of my Thyroid. Yes, that totally sucks and no they can't test it while I'm still out. I want to keep as much of my Thyroid as possible so that it can function and do it's job and I lower my chances of relying on meds for the rest of my life.

So there you have it, that's my little ordeal.

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