Long Time No Post

Sorry for the dearth of posts. Everyday life as of late has crowded my journalistic time allotments. But, that 's a good thing I guess.

Anyway, I read about something a month ago and again today and thought it was definitely worth passing on. The following links tell a story about a girl with an unbelievable spirit despite the trial of life she is facing. Diagnosed with a extremely rare type of cancer of which there is not much data or research on, she has faced it down and totally embraced the meaning of the word "survivor". Her documentary of which you can see a trailer HERE is going to be on TLC (the learning channel) Wednesday night at 9.

Read her unbelievable spirit and zest for life HERE at her own blog. This girl is truly amazing.

Blood Count &Thyroid Visit Update

We got great news concerning Patty's blood counts on Thursday. There were all normal with the white count back up to 4.7! Hallelujah. Normal is 4 to 11. Patty and I went for her appointment with the thyroid doctor today. It was interesting. I'm in the medical field and I was finding his description of what might be going on hard to follow. In the end, he said that her thyroid levels indicated that she had hyperthyroidism. But, he suspected that she has what he called "Silent Thyroiditis" and that this would probably go away. Indeed he called later today and said that her thyroid levels were normal. He thinks that when she had the thyroid function test that maybe she already had some iodine in her system that prevented uptake in the thyroid.

As for the nodule, he thinks this could have been caused by the inflammation but can't be sure thus he is going to wait 4 weeks and re-ultrasound her thyroid to see if it has shrunk. If not, then he will probably biopsy it. So for the next few weeks pray that God will shrink the nodule so Patty want have to suffer another agonizing biopsy.

One Year Today

One year today, on a Wednesday morning, I received that fateful phone call at about 9 a.m. That is where this journey officially began. After 1 Surgery, 5 Chemo Treatments, 31 Herceptin Infusions, 33 Radiation Treatments, 10's of scans or tests, probably close to a 100 doctor visits, 140 blog posts, and 11,654 blog visitors, the journey is still not complete. Sometimes I wonder if it ever will be.

As I rode to the bottom of the hill we live on this morning, the sun was behind a small smattering of clouds but all the rays could be seen shining in every direction. I stopped to admire... Beautiful. I wondered if God created the sun for us as semblance of himself. Throughout history we've associated the sun with hope, light, warmth, a new beginning, growth, sustaining. All things God is to us.

Later as I realized the date and begin to reflect upon it. I remembered that vision this morning and contemplated if God did that for me. As a symbol of hope or in the least, encouragement. I think that he did.

Patty comes in today for her normal Herceptin treatment and most likely to have her blood checked. She felt as she had no energy yesterday. It could be due to her thyroid condition or because her red blood cell count is low or maybe from just being tired. Of the three, we hope that she is just tired but of the two medical conditions the thyroid would be better. In your prayers today pray that her blood counts will be normal and healthy. She goes to the thyroid doctor tomorrow of which we hope to have some guidance on that.

Endocrinologist on Friday

Patty sees the Endocrinologist on Friday to hopefully get some direction on the thyroid issue. They didn't check her blood last week so there is no update on her blood levels. Pray that the visit goes well.

The Way I See It #259

On my Starbucks cup the other day...

"People say, oh I could never do that! But when you meet cancer patients you understand the bravery and spirit those people show each and every day. Their struggles motivate and inspire you to test the limit of your endurance and to cross that finish line. You'll be surprised by what you can do."

John Kelleny - Eight-time marathoner and leading fundraiser with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training.

Patty has bloodwork again today. Pray that her levels improve.

Scan Update

Patty's scans showed that she has a couple of thyroid nodules and that her thyroid is functioning at a low rate. What does this mean? I'm not sure. Most thyroid nodules are benign. Her thyroid not functioning should result in hyperthyroidism. She has some of the symptoms but not all. I guess we will have to wait and see what the endocrinologist say when she sees him.

Her blood counts were up to just below normal. Hopefully they will move on up tomorrow.