Waiting

It’s been 9 days since my surgery. That’s pretty hard to believe. In some ways, it seems like I just got home from the hospital. In other ways, it seems like it’s been forever. I am feeling pretty good. So good, in fact, that my fatigue sort of slaps me in the face sometimes. It’s been wonderful to rest. There are few things in the world that I enjoy more than having a cup of coffee in my recliner with my living room windows open. That’s what I am doing at this very moment.

Andy bought me this recliner 2 weeks before Mary was born. When I got home from the hospital, I watched movies with her resting on my lap…right here. I rocked her in this chair at 2:00 a.m. on countless occasions. The first day after my maternity leave, I rushed into this chair to nurse her at 5:01 p.m., before I even took my shoes off. I read books to the girls in my recliner, and it’s where I close out every day before bed…sometimes with Haagen Dazs Chocolate Chocolate Chip.

Baby Mary in my recliner – August 2009

I was sitting in this chair when I got the phone call from Dr. R, telling me I had papillary thyroid cancer. And I am sitting in this chair while I recover. I guess I am having all of these nostalgic feelings about my recliner because I don’t have a thyroid anymore. My body’s hormone reserves are all used up, and I have to sit in my recliner and wait for my Synthroid to kick in. In a lot of ways, it reminds me of how you feel after you have a baby. The hard part is over…but you’re tired and emotional, and you just don’t quite feel like yourself. I shouldn’t complain – I have zero pain, and my incision looks pretty great. Now it’s just waiting.

1 week post-thyroidectomy. Waiting for the yucky glue to come off.

Waiting for U of M to tell me what my calcium levels are…
Waiting to hear when I will have to start the low-iodine diet…
Waiting for my scan, and then waiting for the results…
Waiting to feel normal…

9 days post-thyroidectomy – looking better!

I am grateful. I know in my heart that my cancer is gone. And I also know I will be back to normal next week. In the meantime, I will rest in my recliner and wait, and I will remember to be grateful for both the moments and the people in my life.