A summer respite, then back to business
Previous posts in this story can be found here.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 , Part 6
As well as the public Facebook group Beat It.
First things first….
for those of you who have read my previous posts, i’m hopeful that you’ve now done the following.
- Checked your will, or got one made if you didn’t already have one. Remember if things were to go South, you don’t need to be running around sorting this out.
- Private medical insurance and regular health checks. Honestly, i’d cancel my Sky subscription, my Netflix and my Amazon prime, all long before giving up my private medical cover. When the time comes, it’s a God send. If you have it, make sure your getting the check up. Better dealt with now than finding out later.
- Live life to the max. Make every day count. Keep it simple.
Now, to catch you up.
I’ve been enjoying a good few months of respite which enabled me to focus on life, and it’s all been great. I’ve had an awesome time with my family and we’ve shared many amazing experiences, the pinnacle of which was my recent trip to Hawaii. Work has been full on, but I really enjoy what I do and it’s been great to be able to focus and get stuff done, a real sense of achievement.
I even celebrated my 40th birthday, another experience where I was blown away by the generosity of my friends and family as they all made lots of effort to come and spend time with me and help me celebrate. It was the best birthday yet!
Last weekend saw me back at the Goodwood festival of speed. Those of you who remember part 1, will recall that it was on this day 1 year ago that my lump got spotted completely by chance by a lady i’d only just met, who happened to be a thyroid specialist. Pippa was there again this year, and she was keen to hear the news. On hearing my story she was very relieved, and confirmed once more how lucky I was. In her years of being a thyroid specialist, only twice had someone been identified as having a problem after a visual inspection, of which I was 1. Every other case she had worked on was due to someone having a different complaint, and whilst investigating that, had the cancer been discovered. I felt very lucky once more.
I’ve had to start my low/no iodine diet, which is possibly the most boring diet you can imagine. No fish, no diary, no salt. It’s basically a case of eating naked cooked British meat and vegetables. That soon gets boring.
This week i’m back and forth to the hospital. First of all a blood test to get a base line and to see how my thyroxin levels are doing. I met with my consultant today, and got the lowdown.
My calcium levels are normal. My para-thyroids (you have 4) may well have been damaged during the multiple operations I’ve had, but with the daily supplements, my calcium levels are spot on. Good start.
My TSH levels are high. TSH is the chemical the brain creates to stimulate the thyroid to do it’s thing. As I don’t have a thyroid, if my thyroxin levels are low, the brain will keep making TSH. This is a sign my thyroxin dosage needs to be increased. A ‘normal’ human should have a level of TSH from 0.3–0.4. My levels are 6.7. Very high. My prescription has been altered and as of tomorrow i’ll be in my new, high dosage, which should help with the tiredness I feel.
He then jumped behind me and grabbed my neck and gave me a thorough poke and prod. He’s spotted that the right side of my neck was larger than the left. This was the side of the lump. He was quick to confirm he couldn’t feel a lump, but there is also a large thick muscle on that side of my neck, and there could be something behind it pushing it out. So this needs an investigation, and an ultrasound was booked in immediately.
Over the next few weeks, the tempo picks up. Next week is quiet, but then the it’s time for action. I have two days of injections, an ultrasound, followed by 1 day of radiotherapy, no staying in hospital this time :) followed a couple of days later by my scan to see whats what. Then I get a two week break, then back in for a few tests and the results of my ultrasound and scan.
At that point we take stock, see whats what, and plan the next step, indeed, even if there is one. I’m looking forward to this possibly being the end of it all, but am also realistic that it may not be. But i’m still full on confidence that this is being managed as well as it could be, and i’m in great shape to deal with whatever comes my way.
Making every day count.
The photo below is one I took in Hawaii, and now one I keep close to hand to remind me there is so much beauty out there in the world, but you have to get out there and look for it some times. Trying to see the best in people, and find the beauty in everything, has really helped me become a much more positive person than I've ever been. You don’t have to go to Hawaii to find it, but in this day and age, sometimes you have to wonder. When i’m not in Hawaii, i’m just blessed that I don’t need to look any further than my family and friends, to remind me of how lucky I am.
Next chapter https://medium.com/@glenprobinson/its-good-news-people-928ae8df0a66
