September 7th the battle had begun!

This is a photo of my scan prior to the "hot pill" RAI (radioactive iodine).  It was a crazy day.  Only a couple of months ago was I unaware of the dangers lurking in my body and now this!?! I was terrified. Allow me to point something out though.  Many of you may be wondering how someone was able to take a picture of me during my scan.  Well, my boyfriend Bob, has been by my side through this whole thing and never once has missed an appointment or a scan or a treatment.  Mind you I have 4 doctors and they all know him by name as well.  Noone was going to stop him from taking this and frankly they didn't even try.  He sat there for 45 minutes while this machine scaled my body from head to toe.  After the scan they calculate the dose needed for the hotpill then the radiologist calls out to have it made.  That's right made to order! like Jack in the Box! Once the pill arrived the doctor made Bob leave the room and the doctor stood in the the doorway while I stared into my lead-lined microwavable future.  This "hot pill" came in a lead tube, inside of a lead jar, surrounded by lead bricks and they had to yell at me from the doorway how to take it.  I thought to myself "wow! something they can't even get close to I have to swallow!!"  and so I did it one pill and a glass of water.  Seems simple right? The unsimple part was yet to arrive.  For the next 5 days it was actually illegal for me to be in public.  I had to remain quarantined at home, away from my kids, dog, and Bob.  The amount of radiation radiating off of me was that of an x-ray machine that's on all the time.  Could damage otherwise healthy people.  Bob was allowed to sit 6 feet away from me for a half an hour and I almost had to kick him out of the room when that time was up.  It brings me tears to think about how much support I had during my darkest days.  I know that it helped with my recovery till now.  I feel it's very important to have that and that is what i'm here to give.  Support.  I can now honestly say "i've been there" but i'm very aware that the same situation can affect everyone entirely differently and you will never 100% understand what anybody goes through. 

This one is for you Brother!!!!

So I have this amazing brother-in-law whom I looooooove dearly. He's amazing to my equallly amazing sister and half the reason the most beautiful girl in the world is here.  My niecy poo!!! I was so excited to tell my sister and him about my blog because they are literally my biggest fans in the world and definately the core of my support system. Love them! They enjoyed it and brother told me he would advertise my blog as soon as I wrote another entry and i'm holding him to it!  I am really eager to get this stuff out there.  I don't think enough people are aware of how important your thyroid is and how common thyroid cancer is becoming.  I am also really looking forward to answering questions and lending an ear for those going through similar experiences.  I'm a very compassionate person and always willing to extend my heart to a new friend.  Dear god I think this is starting to sound like a dating profile.  sorry guys.  As for my acupuncture yesterday I feel really good today! I know it's a long road ahead but i'm on my way! lookout world! I'm making a come back! Do I use too many exclamation points? If I do, it's only because I can put all of my mental energy into words and that helps balance out the lack of physical energy.  Considering i'm starting to sound like a complete and total dork I will leave you now.  Enjoy your night world and be safe!!

Dear Lord it's a needle!

So i don't really know what i'm doing yet here, but i thought as part of my cancer recovery i would reach out in hopes that someone going through the same things as me knows they're not alone.  I had my surgery back in June and it's been a hell of a roller coaster ride since.  My doctors and I still haven't gotten my thyroid pills in order and it could be awhile unfortunately.  So i'm sittin steady at about a 27 TSH la dee la and I guess my other levels are low too.  I'm almost maxed out on my thyroid pills and just as i'm starting to feel hopeless I hear a little voice in my head (what my mother would say) " Giving up already? That's not the person I raised, the Sierra I know would make this cancer her bitch."  So I thought to myself, you're right ma, this is my body, my life, my health, and i'll be damned if something or someone compromises that without my approval.  Considering I would never in a million give that approval to anyone anywhere anytime I figured it was time to take back my life, in a bear hug, death cholk hold, arm bar sort of way.  My LIFE is on my TERMS.  This was yesterday, and dammit I felt good today.  I will give you my background later but this is so much more exciting.  My first step in defeating this awful trespassor..... NEEDLES! That's right folks, Acupuncture and other TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine). I made the appointment this morning and went in this afternoon.  Though my condition is more severe than they've seen, it's definatly do-able and i'm all for it!! So I said "Go ahead and poke me!" (my boyfriend wanted me to rephrase this but it's all about reality on this blog and that's really what I said).  Instantly needles in the neck, CRAZY!!! Felt like my muscles in my neck turns into a tropical thunderstorm, kinda cool actually.  Didn't hurt and was really relaxing.  Were going to do this once a week for awhile and i'm looking forward to it! He also put me on Jin Gui Shen Qi Wan, 10 pills morning and night.  Supposedly the combo of herbal and acupuncture is key! I'm game considering nothing has really worked thus far.  I will definately keep you posted and i'm so excited to start spilling my beans!!!