Oh no, not again!

Mr Thyroid is gone and his cousin Thymus is causing trouble.
Last Friday, before I went to get my stitches out, Old Doc wanted me to do a ct scan. I went early and did it then went home before my appt. I went back to the hospital for the appt and the Doc was downstairs in radiology discussing the findings of the ct scan.
RED FLAG!!!!! Hmmm, it took him a while to get upstairs to me and I could tell he had some news. He is such a sweetheart and I really get a kick out of his bubbly personality. He's the kind of person that you wouldn't mind being stuck in an elevator with because he's humorous and happy, no matter the circumstance.
Anywhoo, He told me that my thymus was enlarged. Mr Thyroid was big,but Cousin Thymus was gigantic and that's probably why they couldn't get the probe down my esophagus. My esophagus was being pushed aside by this gigantic mass and it was sitting on my aorta. It needed to come out and he wasn't the man to do it! Bless him. He knew when to call in reinforcements!!! He emailed another Dr in Cambridge and said that they would be contacting me so that I could be seen soon. We looked at the ct scan and he showed me all the exciting bits so I knew what he was talking about.
Hmmmmmm. Interesting.
The phone at home rang around 3pm and a loverly British accented lady named Beryle told me that I was to come to an appointment on Monday at Nuffield hospital. Now, I've been here many years and have seen that the British healthcare system does not work fast. Weeks and weeks pass and you are still waiting. This was a remarkable event! I was to be seen on Monday! And I was seen on Monday and guess what else? They are to do surgery on Friday! Miracles happen. Apparently this thing, Cousin Thymus, is really awful. As I was describing the new symptoms I have accumulated since the original surgery, the new Dr's eyebrows slowly creeped up his head. He looked quite concerned when I finished speaking to him. He declared that we needed to have surgery quite soon and the soonest he could do it would be Friday. So here we go again.

That's the latest update. Can you believe it?

Happy Trails, Mr Thyroid

I didn't get to post for Thanksgiving since I was so busy cooking and eating. I didn't post afterwards because I was embarrassed about the lateness of it and also that we had NO guests since the weather made the roads slippery and our other guests had the flumonia that day. The week after began with me preparing for the upcoming thyroid surgery that I had come to grips that I was going to have to have in the next few years. This thyroid issue is something of a family curse just like the generational phrase I heard all of my lifetime in our small community in Texas.(Ohh, look over there. There's one of those Server women!!) Apparently the women in my family were quite the Cleopatra of the neighborhood.
So where was I? Oh yes, back on the thyroid again. So this problem dates three generations and dosen't seem to skip any woman in our family. About 75% have had surgery for this thyroid which enlarges and seems to make ones neck bulge. At least that's what happened to me. I went to the Dr for a new seasonal allergy medication and he felt my lymph nodes, stepped back and declared, "My goodness, we have to get a ct scan on that thyroid of yours!" As soon as he said thyroid, I knew I had a problem. You see, my mother passed away after having her thyroid removed just last year. She had many other complications that led to her death, but the word thyroid strikes fear in my heart. I did eventually see the ear, nose and throat Dr who said that if I began to have problems and I would know what problems they were, then we'd meet again and discuss what to do next.
Fast forward to October. I was having a few problems swallowing and couldn't seem to sleep on one side because of pressure on my throat so I made the call. Well, Old Doc said that we better get another ct scan and see what's going on. The ct scan revealed that it hadn't enlarged much, but was putting pressure on my throat. So what's next? Out he goes! Old Doc and I named this offender "Big Boy" and gave him an eviction date of Dec 2, 2010.
It had taken weeks to prepare for this and Mother Nature messed up my plans for childcare so "The Oldest" hesitantly stayed home from school to help out Mr.with the little ones. I was scheduled to show up at 06:30am for a suspected surgery time of 8:30am. I was running a bit late since we had no heat or hot water, and showed up about 06:50. I check in and waited until about 07:45. I thought they forgot about me and was talking myself into leaving and postponing the whole fiasco when they called my name. I nearly felt as if the executioner was waiting for me. I went back to the preop, dressed in the hospital garb of the day, in went the iv and minutes later, the multiple questionings began. In walks Old Doc with his happy self to mark up my neck with his initials and a diagram of the work to be done(just kidding). He at least had to mark the correct side he was to work on so that I wouldn't wake up with a lawsuit pending. Anywho, the nurse anesthetist and his colleague came and wanted my to suck on this lollipop made of a gauze, tongue depressor and a giant glob of numbing medication. When he asked me to do that, I looked at the colleague and rolled my eyes up heavenward relaying to him how i felt about the suggestion. He kindly spoke the words that I didn't say."I don't think so, buddy! You picked the WRONG person. I don't like lollipops!!!!"
Needless to say, the first fellow whipped out a syringe and pumped something into my IV and the last thing I remember is grabbing the colleagues hand and squeezing it for all it was worth!
Later that day............ I awakened with a really sore throat and could hardly speak. My neck was wrapped up and there seemed to be a constant stream of visitors to check on me. I sipped a bit of water and then some broth but it came back up. Oops! Nevermind, they'll feed me again later.
Old Doc came in and explained to me that there were a few twists during this surgery. They couldn't get this probe in my esophagus. It just wouldn't go down and that's when I grabbed the nurse's hand. He also sent a sample of the thyroid and thymus to the lab for a biopsy. Both samples came back negative for cancer.(Thank God!)
You can go home tomorrow......
I got home and Baby Dear boohooed on me for all she was worth! Oh did she cry! It's as if she was telling me what happened while I was gone, and scolding me for leaving and confessing that she wasn't treated right either! Then she nursed beautifully and has been ever since.
My scar isn't bad looking either. Nice and small and it will blend into the seam of my neck just beautifully!
Sorry I had to shorten this. More news to come later......