doctors, doctors, doctors

this is the week for me to see doctors... Monday, I finally got my new contacts from ophthalmology.. yeay... I can see better but I continue to have the other symptoms from before, some even feeling worse. Dr. Russo was flabbergasted when I told him that no one has called me about the results of the CT Scan yet. He said he could've read it to me. I told him I asked whoever answered the phone if he could read it and they told me that since he was not a medical doctor but an optometrist, they did not feel comfortable having him read it to me. Anyways, he insisted I see the ocuplastics right away. I guess he's back from his trip....

Tuesday was blood work day. I like going to the clinic in Oakbrook Terrace because the lab techs there are very good and precise in getting my vein... they always get it on the first try... didn't feel too faint this time around. I hate that I always bruise though, every time... oh well...

wednesday was tx day. I also saw the oncologist... she wants to be kept in the loop with what's going on with they thyroid and with my eyes.. she's pleased with my increased energy and activity. i really like talking to her and seeing her. The MRI results were fine, we will keep an eye if things change.

I finally got the follow-up visit with Dr. Yoo... apparently he was on a mission trip to another country. How can I be upset with someone who went on a mission trip? so all's forgiven. He asked questions, measured my eyes again and told me the results of the CT scan. He said there was no swelling behind the eyes, so that's good news. But, it is getting worse, as far as the eyes being more exposed/more open. He feels that it has something to do with my thyroid. He mentioned Graves disease.. this is the 2nd time he mentioned it to me, but I think my blood work in not too conclusive in this area.. that's why Dr. Fearon has been monitoring my thyroid for almost 3 years now... one level is low and the other is in the low normal limits, so it's difficult to make a solid diagnosis. But, I am having symptoms similar to those of Graves disease. tingling in my feet and hands; tremors in my hands; sweating; some nervousness/anxiety; most of all my left eye. All the other symptoms I thought were side effects from my chemo drugs... I guess they overlap, but how do you tell? All I know is that Frendell told me he can see the white of my eyes when I sleep and I do wake up with alot tearing (meaning more dryness) and sometimes when I shower, water and soap gets in my eyes. So, he recommends some drops for the PM in addition to the ones I use during the day. If this doesn't work, I need to try an eye cream. If that sill doesn't work, I have to tape my eyes shut when I sleep. He said that I may eventually have to have surgery to lower my eyelids to protect my eyes. Yikes... I certainly don't want to have eye surgery.

So, the PCP nurse called me today for the blood test results. My Vit D level is up to normal! Yeay!! I guess the 50,000 IU/week for 3 months worked. Now, I only have to take 1,000 IU/day. The thyroid levels are the same... one low, one straddling normal. I mentioned to her that I had seen oculoplastics because of my eyes. Not even 20 mins later, I get another call... the PCP wants me to have more extensive blood work done and thyroid scan scheduled asap. So, that's where we are now. I am scheduled for next month. I even spoke with the doctor from nuclear medicine.. she assured me it doesn't hurt but it is a 2-day process because I have to take some medicine with a small amount of iodine. So, 2 weeks prior to the scan, no sushi, no kale, no iodized salt, no multivitamins, etc. I'm glad the PCP got involved; she usually wants to check things right away and she's very thorough.

I worked today and I am tired... and I have a cold... and I am sleepy.... and did i mention tired? have a great holiday everyone... I hope it's sunny but not hot :-)

Eye Doctor

FINALLY got a call from the ophthalmology dept... my new contacts are in :-) I hope they work. The oculoplastics doctor is still out of the country, so no one is able to read my CAT Scan.. how is that possible? No coverage? my oncology nurse is very upset that it's taking them this long to give me the results... i hope i get an answer in the next week or so...

today, Winnchee is having surgery... I hope everything will go well and the repair done that she needs on her knee. she'll have several weeks, if not months of rehab and PT.... I know she's going to miss playing hockey for awhile...

and because the weather is so unpredictable here these days, when it's overcast and rainy, I want to bake... so I baked some vegan chocolate cupcakes again... tried a new recipe... it's delicious... used different flour (not white) so it does not have that whole wheat taste. I also baked some vegan choc chip cookies with almonds... I couldn't believe how delicious they turned out. Of course I used carob.. can't even tell they're vegan.... I'm really enjoying experimenting and trying out these vegan dessert recipes... good, delicious dessert without eggs, milk, white sugar and white flour... yummy :-)

The ALLISONS

Yesterday, it was cold and rainy here and Frendell was in Wisconsin fishing... so, in between typing my reports and trying to catch up with things, I decided to try and bake some cupcakes... Here they are:

CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES WITH PEANUT BUTTER GANACHE

I found the recipe at a website called Bankrupt Vegan and adjusted some of the ingredients...

so DELICIOUS!!!

Joe and Cindy surprised us with a visit last Sunday... I heard a knock on the door and viola there they were...

Frendell and Joe

Cindy

Mr & Mrs Allison have been our friends since we've been married. They even went out to California to attend our wedding. Mr. Allison was the principal at Northshore Jr. Academy when Frendell was the youth pastor there in the early '90s... We are so blessed to have the Allisons in our lives.. wish they lived closer to us, though...

thanks for the visit... we hope to see you all again soon :-)

Walk2Empower 3

the race course... we did the 5K

Mahal and Auntie Lucy.. she was the oldest member of our team and the ONLY ONE who RAN!! and did it in 37 minutes.. we are so proud of Auntie Lucy and she inspired us all.. maybe we'll run next year with her :-)

our captains.. Faith, Ron and Claress

with Froy..

MPOWER TEAM Picnic after the walk...

Thank you everyone for participating in this year's walk. I really appreciate all the love and support you gave us. I am so blessed to have you all in my life.. God has blessed me so much for you all have touched my life in so many different ways... thank you and see you next year :-)

Walk2Empower 2

with my co-workers, Carol and Cheryl

with Cheryl and her girls

with Hannah and Patricia

MPOWER TEAM PHOTO... although we are missing half of our team

with Ron, Michelle, Meng, Presa and Claress...

Walk to Empower May 9, 2010

The starting line at 6:45 a.m. See, not very many people there... when the walk started at 8 a.m. there were 50,000 people who did this walk

with our niece, Joy, her friend Christianne, her husband Mark and cute little baby :-)

with Merrysa, Evelyn, Edgar and their girls..

with Michelle

Michelle, Mahal, Kim and Ed

CT Scan

So they called me yesterday and scheduled me for a CT Scan for my eyes right away. I went this afternoon.. it was painless. I just had to lie down on a machine that looks similar to an MRI machine, but not as big or enclosed. They did a scan of my eyes. The tech said that the main difference is that CT Scan uses radiation to take the pictures and the MRI uses magnets. The whole thing took like 10 minutes, including setting me up. The wait was more than 3 times as long. They said the doctors should have the results in 48 hours. I kinda wonder what my doctors are writing to each other on my records. I got a call from the PCP nurse reminding me that I needed to get a follow-up blood work to check my thyroid levels. I wonder if all these work-up about my eyes reminded her that I haven't gotten the blood test done. I am waiting for another 3 weeks until i finish my intense Vit D therapy. What is going on????

Wellness House Walk

Me and my hero... ever constant support and driver to all my endless doctor's appointments,

my darling husband, Mahal :-)

starting line.. 8:15 a.m.

I was so happy to step on this finish line.... 5k in one hour.. I took so long they turned off the clock...

This is the Wellness House in Hinsdale. I attended the support groups and also took some classes here.. they offer so many resources to individuals and families who are touched by cancer.... worthy cause and I am so glad that they are in the community to help me and others who have faced cancer

It was overwhelming for me to realize that I did not have enough room to write down all the names of people I knew who had been touched by cancer... over 1600 people were there for the walk, all have been affected by cancer.... either themselves or someone they know...

please join us in the fight for cancer... and support the causes to find the cure

Walk for the Wellness House in Hinsdale. Sunday May 2, 2010.

Amabel

Me, Belle and Mariezel

Mariezel, Auntie's friend, Auntie Lut and Ambel

Da girls with Frendell

This was Frendell's bib.. I am touched, honey

Oculoplastics

I had never heard of this specialty until last Wednesday when I went in for an eye exam to get new contacts. As you read earlier, I was referred to this specialist due to concerns with my eyes. An ocuplastics doctor specializes in eye problems related to thyroid issues; they may also do surgery in the eyes as it relates to the eye lids and the outer structures of the eyes. They are trained in ophthalmology with an extra internship in plastic surgery for the eyes... Well, the gist of it is, he wants me to get a CT scan of my eyes/or is it my head? He wants to check and see if there is swelling in the back of my eyes that may be causing it to kinda bulge out a bit. He and the ophthalmologist who saw me last Wednesday looked at a couple of pictures I brought, looked at each other, said "Hhmmm" and "okay" and the verdict? My "eyes are significantly bigger than in the pictures" taken 8 years ago, especially my left eye. Did any of you notice that my left eye was kinda bulging out? Don't everybody look at once! When I asked Frendell, he thought he noticed them bulging out starting 2 years ago... I'm so glad my husband is a great observer of my eyes.. of course he thought the left one was getting bigger because my right eye was getting 'droopy'... and it probably is.

Anyways, Dr. Yoo wants to see the results of the CT scan and then he will make a recommendation for an appointment with an endocrinologist if there is swelling. He thinks its related to my thyroid... I told him I kinda get nervous now whenever they refer me to another doctor, cause they always find something wrong with me. He assured me again that for the moment, I am not going blind. He did not dilate my eyes again today since it was done last Wednesday so he couldn't verify if my retinas are detaching, but he did not believe so, as I do not have any symptoms of that. They gave me a very interesting test to check for color blindness. I kept saying pink and it was purple, the brown looked like dark purple; the grey looked blue, the dark blue looked like dark blue (I got that one right).. in spite of all that, I still passed it and apparently am not color blind.. I just cannot distinguish the correct colors :-) He prescribed some eye drops to use to decrease the irritation. Apparently, since my eyes are wider now, it dries up more often, so it gets easily irritated and then it tears more often to make up for the dryness. Our bodies are amazing in the way it compensates for the problems. The symptoms, he told me, may last up to a year. I sure hope not.. It hurts a lot and I don't like the feeling of discomfort. I hope they get me new contacts soon so I can at least see better. I'll let you know when they schedule the CT scan... another day in this journey :-)