So I went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago for my annual preventative care. Almost all is well.. she wanted me to go get an ultrasound. So I did and I got a call yesterday that the results were "borderline" and I need further tests and a visit to the doctor again to determine if a biopsy is needed.
I was getting ready for a work function when I got the call and I just felt the air go out of me. My rational mind said, "do not panic or think of the worst since you don't know for sure yet what's wrong".... and the irrational part of my mind said, "oh no, here we go again... inconclusive, borderline, only 5%..." I had to literally tell myself to stop scaring myself. I feel a little better today. After talking to Frendell, who is my voice of reason and calms me down every time, I will look at this the same way we did @ the first diagnosis. Find out what's wrong and then come up with the strategies on how to deal with it. I told him i had more concerns this time around, because I know that anytime something comes back a second time, it is always harder to deal with.
"One day and one problem at a time, honey" is what he told me. So, for now, I will wait until next month to see the specialist and then whatever will be the next step will be. It's easier to allow myself to freak out and panic a little bit, but I will not allow myself to do that.... I know that no matter what happens, God is still in control, Mahal will be my strength and together we will have the constant support of our family and friends.
Happy Sabbath...
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Great checkup
So I saw the oncologist this week before I got my treatment. She answered all my questions: the MRA, MRI and MRV all turned out to be fine. The double vision on the left eye is still present but she did not say I couldn't drive. So, that's great news for me :-) Of course, they will continue to monitor it as well as the Graves disease. She said I have eczema and this may be the cause of some of my pigmentation discoloration in several parts of my body. I am officially HALFWAY done with my treatments!!!! I AM SO EXCITED about that!!! Woo-hoo!!! Fortunately, it was Frendell's birthday yesterday when I went to the doctor, so I took him out to lunch and then celebrated with dessert afterwards. I am so grateful for so many blessings that God has given me and one of my greatest blessings is my darling Mahal. He has been my rock, my encourager, my strength and I can always rely on him, no matter what I need. I am so thankful to have in my life... and I am so blessed to call him my husband. Happy happy birthday, darling and may God grant you more years full of happiness, peace and health. I have made appointments for my mammogram and also a pelvic exam to make sure that I'm not developing any problems there. I have a heck of a sinusitis infection, although fortunately for me, I am not showing too many symptoms for... well, let me re-phrase.. at least I am not having sinus headaches. I have been getting alot of colds and low-grade fevers and coughing all through this summer :-( yuk My sense of smell has also diminished quite a bit. Other than that, I am doing well :-) Praise the Lord for His grace and mercy and healing!!! Juicing has worked; chemotherapy is working; exercise; eating well; having and living a life with purpose; having a wonderful and supportive and loving community; being grateful for all these gifts that have been given to me....so many factors are influencing the healing of my mind and my body. And central to it all is God's grace and love for me. I am humbled by this experience and I hope that I am a better person today than I was before my cancer.
Until next doctor's visit, live with purpose and joy, love with passion and be grateful for your blessings.
Until next doctor's visit, live with purpose and joy, love with passion and be grateful for your blessings.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Home Alone
Mahal has been gone for a week and it has been a little tough on me. He usually drives me to and from work and I am afforded the luxury of getting more sleep and not worrying about food or safety or anything. He is my comfort and my strength. This week has pushed me to do things I would not normally do. I have been taking the train in to work and it has been good to get more exercise and walk around. More than that, it has made me appreciate more my health, my opportunities and the family and friends that support and surround me when I need them. Over the week-end, I didn't want to just stay home and be idle, so even though I was very tired, I made myself take the train downtown and take a walking historical architecture tour. I'm glad I went. The docent is a friend I used to work with. It was very nice seeing him again and meeting his wife. Plus, I learned so much about the history and reasoning behind building the first skyscrapers... which happens to be in my city :-) I got home exhausted... took a nap and woke up with a cold :-(
Sunday, I did some work outside in the yard... oh my goodness. I don't think I've done that in years. My right arm was throbbing by the time I got done with watering the plants. I didn't even weed everything that needed to be needed. I couldn't find my garden shears so had to use a dull pair of scissors. I couldn't reach the flower planter box and had to push myself into the bushes so I could water them. The vegetables were wilted, but I have lots of basil :-) yummy... pesto... In the afternoon, my dear friend brought her brand new baby boy and we spent the afternoon catching up on life and she gave me such encouragement and love and support that I was ready to face the week again.
Mahal comes home today and I am so eager to see him. I missed him... missed his company, his smile, his jokes and his laugh. I miss talking over what happened in the day with me.... I miss cuddling up to him at the end of the day and holding his hand in the car. I'm glad he's coming home... being home alone now doesn't seem too bad :-)
try to stay cool in this hot summer heat!!
Sunday, I did some work outside in the yard... oh my goodness. I don't think I've done that in years. My right arm was throbbing by the time I got done with watering the plants. I didn't even weed everything that needed to be needed. I couldn't find my garden shears so had to use a dull pair of scissors. I couldn't reach the flower planter box and had to push myself into the bushes so I could water them. The vegetables were wilted, but I have lots of basil :-) yummy... pesto... In the afternoon, my dear friend brought her brand new baby boy and we spent the afternoon catching up on life and she gave me such encouragement and love and support that I was ready to face the week again.
Mahal comes home today and I am so eager to see him. I missed him... missed his company, his smile, his jokes and his laugh. I miss talking over what happened in the day with me.... I miss cuddling up to him at the end of the day and holding his hand in the car. I'm glad he's coming home... being home alone now doesn't seem too bad :-)
try to stay cool in this hot summer heat!!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Time has flown by....
Wow, it's been exactly 6 months since I've posted here. So many things have happened and some new challenges have arisen. We were able to go on our mission trip middle of January to beginning of February. Coming home ended up being tricky because of the blizzard that hit our city before we even flew out of Manila. But all was well.
Came home, packed up the house to get ready to move at the end of February. The day before we moved, we had gone on a church retreat in Wisconsin and we had already exited the freeway and were 3 blocks away from home when a car hit us from the back. He was exiting the freeway because he left the scene of another accident in another city. He hit us so hard we were catapulted across the intersection into some bushes. Thank God for His protection. Even though the light was green on the cross traffic, no one was in the intersection. Otherwise, we would be been broadsided as well. To top it all off, both the driver and the passenger of the car tried to flee the scene. They were both caught. We both suffered from whiplash, contusions and muscle spasms. I had linear fracture in my left rib. But the show must go on.. I went to a seminar the next day and poor Frendell had to organize the movers for our move.
Two days later, on Mar 2, I had another eye surgery to repair my left lid. Same surgery as last August. things went well with that and i healed quite fast. shortly after though, I started to have vision dimming. It was like someone was turning off the lights and it happened at random times and places. Sometimes I was driving, other times I am walking outside or working on the computer. One time I was in the shower. It happened in both eyes and lasted about 5 minutes. It was usually accompanied by headaches. I thought I was just under a lot of stress and didn't really worry about it. But it happened several times a week and so I mentioned it to the occuloplastics doctor. He referred me to a neuro-opthalmologist. So, I went. He doesn't think there's anything significantly wrong, but just to make sure, he referred me to the neurologist. But when my primary found out, she right away ordered a brain MRI and blood work done.. she said as a precaution to make sure that I do not have brain tumor. Because of the history with cancer and HB pressure, she wants to be sure. So, on April 20, I had a brain MRI. Brain tumor has been ruled out. I finally saw the neurologist end of May and I thought he would just say, "oh, nothing to worry about.. don't worry about it". Apparently my left eye is now limited in range of motion at end range to the left. I have had double vision since the fall due to the opthalmopathy from Grave's. So I told him this. But he just wants to be sure. So, he ordered me back for further tests: MRI, MRA and MRV. What?!? I didn't even know what MRA and MRV stood for. Now I know. MRA - magnetic resonance angiogram. These checks the arteries (for me it was the brain) to see if there's any clots or aneurysm. MRV - magnetic resonance venography - used to assess abnormalities in blood vessels. They recommend this when one has frequent headaches to make sure there are no blood clots in the brain. Well, I'm still waiting for the results.
The first MRI showed that I have a pretty significant sinus infection on the right. Funny thing, I've never had a sinus headache, although I have lost my sense of smell.
And the most recent blood test taken earlier this month showed that my thyroid levels are kinda going out of whack again. So I've been put back on medication for Grave's again. The first time I took it again, I had really back nausea for a couple of days. I am scheduled for a repeat US of the thyroid in early July. Of course, another blood test to see if the levels have improved with the meds.
Okay, so that's the latest medical things going on. I wanted to write about my birthday surprise from our MG church but I guess it will have to wait until the next time... this is quite long already.... night :-)
Came home, packed up the house to get ready to move at the end of February. The day before we moved, we had gone on a church retreat in Wisconsin and we had already exited the freeway and were 3 blocks away from home when a car hit us from the back. He was exiting the freeway because he left the scene of another accident in another city. He hit us so hard we were catapulted across the intersection into some bushes. Thank God for His protection. Even though the light was green on the cross traffic, no one was in the intersection. Otherwise, we would be been broadsided as well. To top it all off, both the driver and the passenger of the car tried to flee the scene. They were both caught. We both suffered from whiplash, contusions and muscle spasms. I had linear fracture in my left rib. But the show must go on.. I went to a seminar the next day and poor Frendell had to organize the movers for our move.
Two days later, on Mar 2, I had another eye surgery to repair my left lid. Same surgery as last August. things went well with that and i healed quite fast. shortly after though, I started to have vision dimming. It was like someone was turning off the lights and it happened at random times and places. Sometimes I was driving, other times I am walking outside or working on the computer. One time I was in the shower. It happened in both eyes and lasted about 5 minutes. It was usually accompanied by headaches. I thought I was just under a lot of stress and didn't really worry about it. But it happened several times a week and so I mentioned it to the occuloplastics doctor. He referred me to a neuro-opthalmologist. So, I went. He doesn't think there's anything significantly wrong, but just to make sure, he referred me to the neurologist. But when my primary found out, she right away ordered a brain MRI and blood work done.. she said as a precaution to make sure that I do not have brain tumor. Because of the history with cancer and HB pressure, she wants to be sure. So, on April 20, I had a brain MRI. Brain tumor has been ruled out. I finally saw the neurologist end of May and I thought he would just say, "oh, nothing to worry about.. don't worry about it". Apparently my left eye is now limited in range of motion at end range to the left. I have had double vision since the fall due to the opthalmopathy from Grave's. So I told him this. But he just wants to be sure. So, he ordered me back for further tests: MRI, MRA and MRV. What?!? I didn't even know what MRA and MRV stood for. Now I know. MRA - magnetic resonance angiogram. These checks the arteries (for me it was the brain) to see if there's any clots or aneurysm. MRV - magnetic resonance venography - used to assess abnormalities in blood vessels. They recommend this when one has frequent headaches to make sure there are no blood clots in the brain. Well, I'm still waiting for the results.
The first MRI showed that I have a pretty significant sinus infection on the right. Funny thing, I've never had a sinus headache, although I have lost my sense of smell.
And the most recent blood test taken earlier this month showed that my thyroid levels are kinda going out of whack again. So I've been put back on medication for Grave's again. The first time I took it again, I had really back nausea for a couple of days. I am scheduled for a repeat US of the thyroid in early July. Of course, another blood test to see if the levels have improved with the meds.
Okay, so that's the latest medical things going on. I wanted to write about my birthday surprise from our MG church but I guess it will have to wait until the next time... this is quite long already.... night :-)
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
And off we go
It never ceases to amaze me how fast time really flies. Can't believe it's been over 2 years since our last mission trip. After so many challenges, I can't believe that we are on our way to another mission trip. It has been very humbling to see God orchestrate this whole trip. We couldn't have planned it to work out the way it has. Wow!! Mahal & I are flabbergasted at the generosity and support that people have given us. We want to be faithful to the work that has been entrusted to us...
Please keep us in your prayers. I have been sick more than twice the past month. I have a sore throat and have been coughing. I have not had much rest or sleep and it will be a very long flight. I am so thankful that Mom & Dad & Froy are here to help us organize, pack and sort through things. I still have to pack some more things, but the end is in sight.
I will try to update as much as I can, but if I can't, I will post when we get back. God bless you all and I hope you experience miracles in your life daily :-) talk to you again soon!!
Please keep us in your prayers. I have been sick more than twice the past month. I have a sore throat and have been coughing. I have not had much rest or sleep and it will be a very long flight. I am so thankful that Mom & Dad & Froy are here to help us organize, pack and sort through things. I still have to pack some more things, but the end is in sight.
I will try to update as much as I can, but if I can't, I will post when we get back. God bless you all and I hope you experience miracles in your life daily :-) talk to you again soon!!
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