Everything is good!!!!

Things are going great and sometimes when things are going great, it is hard for me to find time to sit down at the keyboard and get my thoughts in print. That is certainly the case right now.

Several things have happened since i posted last....

Doc did my (first) surgery to remove the webbing between my vocal cords. I was terribly sick after surgery again...bad reaction to the anesthesia again. Will NEVER again fail to tell them that I get terribly sick after being put to sleep. I was sick for 3 of the 5 days that I took off of work to recover, but did okay when I went back to work. Everyone at work is so used to this process by now...they take very good care of me while my cords heal. The surgery opened the webbing about half way and Doc says that is good for the first try. After being on complete voice rest for 22 days, it was not what i wanted to hear. Oh well, we plan on doing the surgery again in 6 months.

He did biopsy while he was in my throat during surgery and ALL THE BIOPSIES CAME BACK CLEAR!!! Now THIS news was totally worth 22 days of voice rest! I am so relieved to know for certain that the radiation worked and that we are starting over with a clean slate...sort of.

Went for my quarterly visit to see Dr Pak and got to visit with all the folks in Radiation Oncology. I am recovering well from the radiation and have very few lasting side effects. The Radiation scar on my neck is still fading. The skin on my neck is tight, but Dr Pak said I should stretch it like he told me to before (oops). The most obvious reminder to me is the dryness in my throat. I cannot express how THANKFUL I am that all the folks at UMC worked together to prevent my salivary glands from being damaged. I have no dry mouth. The mucosa on one area of my vocal cords was damaged, but only my vocal cords are dry. I am truly blessed! I am so thankful to be on this side of that journey. It is so nice to get to visit with the radiation oncology folks now. I'm sure they enjoy seeing those of us that are healed. Aside from the clear biopsies, I do FEEL better. It will be 1 year since my last radiation Treatment on August 31, so I am now 8 months Post Radiation. I have just recently started having many more good days than bad, but I do not hesitate to take a weekend nap if I feel tired.

Since I wrote in March, both my children have had birthdays and Calvin and I have celebrated another anniversary.

We are less than 2 weeks away from the Ladies Ministry's Spring Fling. This will be our only fundraiser for the year and I am so excited to see how different ladies have really stepped up and used the gifts God has given them to help pull this event together. My good friend Debi Green is going to talk to the ladies that day and I cannot wait to see how God will use the story of her life to bless others. My mom and grandmother will be traveling from Tennessee to visit with us too and I am over the top excited to be able to see them for a little while!

So, that's what's been happening.

My family is sleeping soundly and I think I will join them.

Good night!