I feel like that's all I do on my blog - write a post, disappear for months (unintentionally), and then come back and say "hi! btw here's another life update!"
Story of my f*king life, right?
Really though, I have drafts saved that I had planned to write. And it just never got done. Call it laziness or life happening. Call it whatever you want. At this point, I will just accept that I'm not a consistent blogger and nobody probably really cares. But this was supposed to be my journal and I like looking back on my posts for memories sake. And so 10 years from now when I look back at the beginnings of this blog, Ima be like "hmmm, guess 2020 & 2021 just wasn't eventful enough to write about huh?" But it's been quite the opposite... I just never got a chance to document it all. *sigh*
Okay, so let's jump right into it.
The biggest most eventful thing that has happened since my last post is: I had surgery. Anything that has to do with my health, I don't share on social media or my blog until I know for sure that I'll be OK to actually share. So now that I've recovered, I feel comfortable enough to share that I had a thyroidectomy back at the end of August.
Quick back story on that: found some nodules in my thyroid in 2013/2014 which turned out to be benign after having gone through multiple biopsy procedures. They were considered to be tiny enough that surgery was not needed at the time. And I was told they can't just remove the nodules. The entire thyroid would need to come out. My endocrinologist said if it wasn't bothering me (swallowing and breathing can be a problem if it gets too big) then I shouldn't have to worry about taking it out. Anyway, after 2 pregnancies and having my hormones go up and down, my nodules grew and caused my thyroid to become enlarged. I was encouraged back in 2019 to have them taken out but I kinda prolonged the event mainly because I was scared. Then when COVID hit last year, I used that as an excuse to prolong it even more. Until I realized that it's been giving me enough trouble with swallowing and breathing and it just caused me so much discomfort that I need it to come out. So after numerous appointments with my primary care physician, my endocrinologist and then a meeting with a head & neck surgeon, on August 25th, I went in for surgery and had it removed.
I didn't realize how risky my situation had become until I was in pre-op and had conversations with the head anesthesiologist and my nurses. All of which said they hadn't seen a goiter as big as mine in their career here in the US (some of the healthcare workers assigned to my case were Asian and originally from Asia). Then in post-op, I learned that my operation was a bit challenging and took longer than expected because I had many blood vessels attached to my thyroid that needed to be individually cauterized. What was supposed to be a 2-hour procedure turned into a 3+ hour procedure AND included an overnight stay at the hospital. Something I was not prepared for, by the way. I did not bring an overnight bag, not even a phone charger. And the sucky part about it, I was not being able to have visitors because of COVID. I also learned that I lost a lot of blood. Had I known how risky it was to have surgery on a very enlarged thyroid, I would have definitely done it sooner. But not once did my endocrinologist have a discussion with me about any of it. Only that I should take it out because it's big and could really affect my ability to swallow and breathe.
I also learned that my thyroid was growing down into my chest. Had it grown any bigger, I probably would have needed a chest surgeon in there too to open up my chest to take it out. My head & neck surgeon said he had to reach down behind my sternum to take it out.
Now if that doesn't give you a mental picture of just how big my thyroid was...
Anyway, I'm just glad it's finally out. The pressure my thyroid put on my esophagus is no longer felt. I can swallow vitamin horse pills again without feeling like it'll get stuck in my throat. And I can lie down without feeling like I'm being suffocated. Yup, that's the discomfort I've been dealing with for the past 2 years or so. But I also have a battle scar to show for it, too. Because of the size of my thyroid, my scar is a lot bigger than normal. And it's still healing so it's pretty noticeable. And it's definitely an eye catcher. I see the stares from people when I'm out in public. It doesn't bother me... I just wonder what they're thinkin' when they see it lol.
Other than that... life has been good. I'm still homeschooling my girls... we celebrated Everly's 4th birthday at the end of September...
And I've also been decorating my house for Fall/Halloween - which I'm hoping to share on a separate post but who knows if that'll ever happen lol. Here's just a couple of photos of what I posted on Instagram...
Call me crazy, but I'm already in the mood to decorate for Christmas. Yes, I know it's too early. But what can I say - I'm a sucker for holiday decorations. And because this is the first holiday season spent in our new home... I'm just a tad bit impatient.
Also, I may have started my Christmas shopping already... ok ok, I'll stop with all that lol.
Anyway, that's pretty much all the things that have been happening in our lives. Nothing too crazy... which is perfect for me. Let me know in the comments what y'all have been up to!
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