Home Again, Minus One Thyroid

For the first couple of days after the surgery, I wouldn't say I was in pain, but I was in some serious discomfort. Swallowing was tough and sleeping at night was not happening. However, despite all my complaining, I have to say I felt blessed. Very blessed. The surgery had been totally successful and there hadn't been any hitches with the procedure. I was alive and breathing and every day I felt better. I started taking the thyroid hormone my surgeon had given me. It was important to take it every morning at the same time on an empty stomach and I couldn't have any food for an hour afterwards. Even though it would take weeks before this little pill would register in my blood system, it was important to remember to take it all the time.

My surgeon called one week later to confirm my biggest fear: I had cancer along with thyroiditis and Hashimoto's disease. My thyroid had been really sick. In her optomistic style, however, she ended our conversation upbeat. "So, your prognosis is wonderful," she emphasized. "Only one little nodule had papillary cancer which was 1.5 cm and there was no spread to any of the 14 lymph nodes we removed." She told me she would see me at our post-operative appointment in three weeks.

I have to say, for whatever reason, I didn't fall apart. I was okay. I guess one thing that held me together was that I HAD cancer...I didn't have it any more. When this all started I had prayed so hard that my fine needle aspiration would come back normal. But, it didn't. And then, when those slides were categorized as suspicious, I prayed so hard that it wouldn't be cancer. But, it was. So, I decided to just pray that God's would help me to use my experiences in some way and that I would rely on Him. And that's what I'm going to try to continue to do with my next big worry....radioactive iodine.