Closure

Well, there has been a lot happen in the last few weeks.

First, we went to the doctor, and realized we were seeing someone who didn't know enough about thryoid cancer, got a second opinion, and felt an answer to our prayers. And, all of Dave's levels were right, so he did the radiation treatment on Friday, May 22. With only a few hours of sore salivary glands, he has faired quite well, not even missing a day of work.

I took my boys and went to Rupert for the weekend. It ended up being a last minute trip, but was wonderful. We stopped on our way there on Friday at Grandma Peterson's for an hour or so, and it was nice to visit with her. My boys call her "Grandma Puterson with the crane truck" and enjoyed playing with that crane truck that is only 40+ years old.

In Rupert we had a nice time. Grandad took us on a tour of the area, we saw the fields and the pivots and trains and a dairy and all sorts of other things. Stuff my boys thrive on. Grandpa and Grandma Peterson and Mitch came it was enjoyable spending time with them. We worked in the yard and helped Grammy plant flowers and such. Gma & Gdad were celebrating their 60th anniversary, and I thought about the significance of that. Sixty years is a long time, and they obviously still like to be with each other. I can only hope that my marriage is that happy too. We celebrated with everyone around at Perkins for dinner, and it was so fun to catch up with cousins. My boys went to Declo to play with their cousins, and that was so handy. Sunday we enjoyed the Acequia ward. I don't know why, but I love sitting by my dad in Sacrament meeting. It seems kind of weird since he is the Bishop, but I love it. And I love that everyone else entertains my kids. Sunday we had dinner wth all the cousins again. I just love those people.
There was a train wreck in Rupert earlier in the week, and as my brother commented, "Today was a trainwreck" has a whole new significance! It was awesome, so we stopped to take pictures.
On the way home on Monday, I stopped at our car accident sight. I walked around to see if I could see anything left over. I looked for a while, then I came upon it. It was still a mess. I collected a piece of our van, and found one of the headphones the boys had been wearing. Oh, I am so grateful they were wearing seatbelts and only the headphones flew out the window! I took pictures up and down the road, and of the sage brush covered median the other driver came through. When it happened, we didn't think to look around, and now have lots of curiosity and questions. I wondered how I would feel about being there, but I just felt so grateful. It wasn't weird or scary. Almost peaceful. What a blessing it was that we are all okay.I smiled to see the potatoes still there amidst the mess.All in all, I think things are coming to a close. If everything goes as planned (which it rarely does), I think June will be the start of a calm year! We'll pray for that!

He's Home!

Surgery went well. I think that both of us were less nervous this time since we felt like we had "been there done that." In fact, it was the same pre-op nurse that helped us. She looked at me and said, "Weren't you guys just here?" I said, "yes, we had such a good time last time we came back for more!"

Dave was in a lot more pain right out of surgery this time, but felt a lot better than last time by day 2. I guess when they remove your thyroid they worry about the parathyroid because they get bruised in the process, and the parathyroid has something to do with your calcium levels. So, they wanted to keep Dave 2 nights to watch the calcium levels, but since the right parathyroids were likely recovered from surgery 3 weeks ago his levels stayed fine and he came home after one night. That was nice so that I didn't have to worry about staying at the hospital and having my kids and parents here at the house without me. Plus, the hospital wasn't exactly capable of having a patient that couldn't eat anything with iodine. It does make meals tricky.

On the ballot now....Recovery. Then we do the urine test to determine the iodine levels on Thursday, have post-op dr appts on Friday, and have a dr appointment with the endocrinologist on Monday to check his TSH levels. If the iodine level is low enough and the TSH level is high enough, then hopefully we can do the radioactive iodine therapy around the 22nd. And, at that point my big boys are going to go on "bay-cay-shon" at Grandma and Grandpa Peterson's again because they won't be able to be closer than 9 feet to Dave. Thank goodness for a Grandma that is able to take the boys so frequently!

Anyhow, it has been a lovely Mother's Day and Dave is laying on the couch healing the fastest he can!

Surgery #2

Today is the thyroid completion surgery for Dave. Please keep him in your prayers. In 2 weeks from today we are hoping that the iodine and thyroid levels are such that he can do the radiation treatment. Then, if all goes well, we will be mostly done with this mess by the end of the month.

Thanks so much for your support. I have been overwhelmed by the comments you are leaving and the prayers in our behalf.

Kate

Blowing out the candles

Who knew 4 candles would be so much work?!?

Happy 4th Birthday, Tanner!

Tuesday was Tanner's birthday, and he is now 4. Something weird happened to ME when he turned 4. I suddenly feel old. (I've been told it only gets worse!) We had a very happy day. I asked Tanner what he wanted for dinner, that he could choose to go to a restaurant or we could have a nice dinner at home. He said "I want a nice dinner at home." I told him to pick what he wanted to eat, and he said "chicken nuggets and applesauce." And, so it was. Dave couldn't believe that we were eating chicken nuggets for dinner, but boy were they tasty! We even got the dino shaped ones! I asked Tanner if he wanted to have a friend come over. He asked if Grandpa could come, and when I told him no he asked about Aunt Cami. I told him that they would be coming in a few weeks. He then decided on Matthew, his "best friend".

Then, coming up with the cake design was tricky too. It was a hard choice between the firetruck, tractor, and snake, and thankfully (since we did the other 2 the last 2 years) we got to have a snake. The Taylor's came over and enjoyed cake and ice cream.



Tanner was spoiled rotten with all the gifts. His grandmas got him everything he could have wanted. It was a fun fun fun day. Now Colty can't wait until his in June!


The birthday spankings weren't so fun....DAD!! We can't wait until his birthday so we can give him some spankings and a "pinch to grow an inch!!"

No iodized salt, dairy, or egg yolks

Our adventure for the next few weeks includes eating food without iodine in them. Salt has iodine added to it, so if there is anything from the store that says "salt", we have to assume it is iodized salt and avoid it. You would be surprised how many foods have salt in them. Also, cows produce their own iodine, so dairy is out. And, egg yolks have iodine. Egg whites are okay. I bought some plain salt and have been cooking with it, making my own bread, treats, salsa, and meals. Most of this is no big deal, but condiments are a little tricky. Dave found a recipe for mustard, and I found one for mayo. That makes an okay sandwich. Dave has to do this to prepare for the radiation treatment. The thyroid is the only kind of cells that uptake iodine. So, basically we are "starving" the thyroid cells for 3 weeks, and then he will take the radioactive iodine and any cells that are left after the thyroidectomy will be so "hungry" for the iodine that they will eat it all up and--zap'o--die. Until then, we are finding creative ways to eat the normal foods.