So the last two days have been extremely difficult. I'll give y'all the rundown.
My brother-in-law had surgery yesterday. His head and neck doctor found some follicular tissue in his thyroid near the nodules, and wanted to remove that half and send it to pathology. If it came back cancerous, the rest of the thyroid would be removed. Well, he has papillary carcinoma. Same as me.
It's a little coincidental that Michael and I both have the same type of cancer, especially since we both live right near each other. My mind is just as boggled as yours is.
His surgery did go well, though it did take a good three hours to complete. He kept complaining about the back of his neck hurting him (when you have surgery on your throat, they tilt your head back as far as possible so they can get a clear view and are able to do the job properly). The surgeon came in and saw us (he's my surgeon too), checking Mike to see if he's feeling well. He told my sister earlier that the cancer looked like it was encapsulated within the malignant nodule, which is good, meaning it didn't spread anywhere else and his lymph nodes looked good, whereas I had 6 removed and two malignant. Unfortunately, Mike still has to go through radioactive iodine in 6 weeks. I told him we'll have to get a picture of both of us together with our scars. ;-) The papillary twins!
Later on in the night last night his calcium level dropped, which is one of the risks involved in this type of surgery. The parathyroid glands control the calcium level, and sometimes they react badly to the thyroid being removed. So, alas, they caused his calcium level to drop. He was given supplements and checked on every hour. As a result, my sister didn't get any sleep, nor did Michael.
Mike's home now and doing pretty well. He'll bounce back in no time. I know from experience. ;-)
My dad had his surgery today. It wasn't a big deal, he just had some torn cartilage in his right knee (same as his left about two years ago), so he got that fixed. He's fine, and home, and on medication. :-D
So, that's basically it. I took a five hour nap today, and I'm still worn out. I'm glad I'm not working tomorrow...I need it to rejuvenate.
My brother-in-law had surgery yesterday. His head and neck doctor found some follicular tissue in his thyroid near the nodules, and wanted to remove that half and send it to pathology. If it came back cancerous, the rest of the thyroid would be removed. Well, he has papillary carcinoma. Same as me.
It's a little coincidental that Michael and I both have the same type of cancer, especially since we both live right near each other. My mind is just as boggled as yours is.
His surgery did go well, though it did take a good three hours to complete. He kept complaining about the back of his neck hurting him (when you have surgery on your throat, they tilt your head back as far as possible so they can get a clear view and are able to do the job properly). The surgeon came in and saw us (he's my surgeon too), checking Mike to see if he's feeling well. He told my sister earlier that the cancer looked like it was encapsulated within the malignant nodule, which is good, meaning it didn't spread anywhere else and his lymph nodes looked good, whereas I had 6 removed and two malignant. Unfortunately, Mike still has to go through radioactive iodine in 6 weeks. I told him we'll have to get a picture of both of us together with our scars. ;-) The papillary twins!
Later on in the night last night his calcium level dropped, which is one of the risks involved in this type of surgery. The parathyroid glands control the calcium level, and sometimes they react badly to the thyroid being removed. So, alas, they caused his calcium level to drop. He was given supplements and checked on every hour. As a result, my sister didn't get any sleep, nor did Michael.
Mike's home now and doing pretty well. He'll bounce back in no time. I know from experience. ;-)
My dad had his surgery today. It wasn't a big deal, he just had some torn cartilage in his right knee (same as his left about two years ago), so he got that fixed. He's fine, and home, and on medication. :-D
So, that's basically it. I took a five hour nap today, and I'm still worn out. I'm glad I'm not working tomorrow...I need it to rejuvenate.
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