Saturday, February 21

It's scheduled

Hello my friends! Alright, let's just get right down to it, shall we? The surgery is scheduled for April 14th. Both James and I feel good about the surgeon, the date, and the whole process. Ok, so that's that.

Right now I am listening to Bonnie Raitt sing "Have a Heart". I just love the bluesy, soulful sound of this song! One of my most favorite parts is at the very beginning where she says "Hey! Shut up!" It cracks me up every time. It's a good song that everyone should listen to. Just close your eyes and feel the music. Let it work its way up through your heart and mind. My head isn't hurting, my asthma is playing nice today, and my mind is at peace so of course I've got the music up loud and I am singing at the top of my lungs. Today it is Bonnie Raitt. She's good; she has a lot of feeling in her songs. I like days like this. Days where I can feel relaxed, comfortable, and appreciate of the music others have made. 

I was told that the surgery has a risk of damaging the muscles and nerves in my throat around my vocal chords. This could result in a hoarse voice for the rest of my life. As a definite supporter of talking (most of you know that I can take my fair share, and then some, of any conversation...including those I have with myself! This girl can talk!) this can be a little concerning. However, as an avid singer (and most of you know how much I love to sing!) this causes some anxiety for me. I asked if it happened to me would I be able to sing again. The surgeon said that most people notice their pitch is off. I think my eyes bulged out of my head, my mouth dropped open, and I said (probably a little too loudly) "You mean I'm going to be off key?!?!" James just smiled. I can live with not being able to talk again for the rest of my life, but not being able to sing? Well, that's just out of the question! He did say there was a 75% recovery rate with practice and the such. At least that's something. I just don't know what it would be like to not be able to sing. That is a very big part of my life. Sometimes I think that is the one thing I am good at; that's my one talent. I don't want to lose it, because then what else would I be good at? I guess I could always brag about my Excel skills (CONCATENATE!! again, dk, for you), or talk up my mad merging skills at Word. But somehow it's just not the same. I can picture myself at some party where I'm introduced to someone new: "Crystal, let me introduce you to the group. This is Bob, he's a real estate guru. This here's Carol. She's a fashion diva. And over here we have Leslie. She's an artist. Everyone, this is Crystal. She can mail merge."

Nice.

Anyway, I'll more than likely be doing a lot more singing, humming, and whistling here over the next six to eight weeks. Consider yourself warned. Yes, I will take requests (for both songs you want to hear, and those you don't). No, I don't do rap. And yes, feel free to introduce me to some of your favorite songs/groups/people. I am always interested in expanding my music library - both in my mp3 player and in my mind. :) Thanks!

Wednesday, February 4

My Recent Troubles

I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind.
Some come from ahead and some come from behind.
But I’ve bought a big bat. I’m all ready you see.
Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!
~Dr. Seuss

I stumbled upon this poem recently and thought it was completely appropriate to my current situation. Sure, things have been a little crazy what with the whole "you've got cancer" thing (see previous post for additional information), but I'm doing well and I still remain positive about everything. I have a surgical consultation scheduled for the 18th with the surgeon, and then right after that I have an appointment with my PCP, so I imagine I am going to be on information overload that day. It's a good thing James will be coming with me. It will certainly help me feel better and it's always good to have a second set of ears for things I will surely miss. We have been making a list of questions that we want to ask them (How long will the surgery be? Will I need to take radioactive iodine to kill off any other cancer lingering around? How long will the recovery period be? What are the chances of this coming back?) and we will hopefully get all the answers we need to satisfy us and put our minds at ease then. I feel much better now about all of this then I did on Saturday or even Monday of this week. I have been in touch with so many people who have (had?) thyroid cancer before, and I have been extremely blessed to have so many friends and family members expressing concern on my behalf. It's been an interesting journey so far...and it's only been one week!! Thanks to everyone for all your support and thoughts, prayers and advise, and your conversations. It has helped more than you know. More updates on my thyroid cancer will be posted after my appointment on the 18th, but I'll post other things on here in the mean time, so don't forget to come back and read all the fabulous happenings of my life! C-ya!