"Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him."
Psalm 34:8
My surgery was almost 6 weeks ago (hard to believe), and other than recovery and spending as much time as possible with my two favorite people, not a lot has happened around here. Sam did take his first steps, so that is definitely newsworthy! I was home to see it, so the fear of missing that moment is gone. He just wobbles all over the house now. It's great!
I had a chest x-ray on Tuesday to make sure my lungs are clear, and ok to proceed with treatment. I haven't heard from anyone, so I'm assuming I have super healthy, wonderful lungs! I am scheduled for my treatment of radioactive iodine on Monday, April 21st and then I will have a whole body scan a week later to make sure all of the thyroid tissue in my body is completely gone forever. The iodine treatment is the day after Easter, and two days after Nate and my 6th wedding anniversary! I couldn't imagine spending either of those days away from my guys, so I was very happy that Radiology could accommodate us. Nate will have the week off for Spring Break and he will be playing the "Single Dad" role for 7 whole days. Please pray for him, and for Sam... and for me! I will be staying with my parents, locked in the garage so that I don't radiate anyone.
Right now, I am gearing up to go off my thyroid medication on March 31st. That means I am trying to pack as much fun and energy requiring activities as I can into the next 10 days. According to the Radiologist, I will be exhausted while off the medication. I won't want to get out of bed, or do anything for that three weeks! Let's be honest, I don't know anyone that would look forward to that, regardless of whether they have a toddler to chase around or not. Please pray for patience and an extreme, only from God, grace-filled amount of energy for those days... and for super-long naps for Sam and me!
For two weeks leading up to the treatment, I have to be on a low-iodine diet. This consists of (basically) fresh, iodized salt-free, non-processed foods. I don't think this part will actually be too difficult, thankfully, since I make most of our food anyway. I am working on meal planning/prep now though, so that I won't have a meltdown trying to decide what to eat! I do love food!
As for the treatment itself, I may feel "flu like" symptoms for about a day after I swallow the pill. (I had a dream that it was this big black/grey metallic pill that I had to swallow, weird!). My taste buds will be out of whack for a few weeks potentially, and the radiologist also encouraged me to drink a lot of water to flush my system, and to suck on lemon drops to keep my salivary glands working.
It is a bizarre thing to know that I will be radioactive, and that I will have no "true" human contact for the first three days. I guess it's appropriate that we are doing it around Easter? (I am in no way at all ever comparing this situation to what my Savior did on the cross, but instead stating that I can observe with a little more reverence than in years past.) Having the forced solitude will be a blessing to my walk with the Lord, so in that way I look forward to it. I am also incredibly grateful for FaceTime, even if my phone will be in a plastic bag!
Thank you for your continued support and prayers! I will update information as I can. I'm sure there will be many posts during my week of isolation.
Love,
Beth
