Lessons Learned!!!

I really do apologize for not writing on here for so long! I wish I could say it was because I was off on some fabulous vacation or that I have just been out having so much fun and feeling so great that I forgot to do it! Well.... it has been quite the opposite lately.

I don't even know where to begin. It seem that since hurricane IKE hit I have been feeling worse and worse. First it was just every few days and now it has gotten to the point where about 60-70% of my day I am feeling very poorly. Yesterday I stayed home all day and had quite the "breakdown" and just cried and cried due to being so frustrated that I can fix certain symptoms with pain medication or eating less iodine but there are certain things I cannot control and quite frankly I have had it.

So, today I called my doctor and I explained that I felt they had me on to high of a dose of my thyroid medication. Just a couple hours later I was eating lunch and I felt this strange sensation below my jaw on the right side and then a sharp pain and you would NOT believe (I have witnesses) that a large bump popped out the size of a golf ball! Everyone panicked at the table and once again I was calling my doctor. It hurt to talk, eat, swallow, etc...... I have not been feeling like I was getting a cold or flu so I didn't know why my glad had blown up like that.

I waited and waited for the endo doctor to call me back so I called my internal medicine doctor's office (my actual doctor is on maternity leave). I explained all these symptoms that I have been having as well:

• Chest pain


• Hard to breathe sometimes (either heavy chest or sometimes it feels like something is in my throat)


• Increased migraines


• Headaches about 50% of the day


• Extreme dizziness


• Motion sickness


• I have developed severe acne on my face, scalp, etc.....


• I have a salt taste in my mouth quite often


• Feeling flush quite frequently


• Hard to focus

So, I see the internist tomorrow who thinks I have some sort of infection. Then on the way home my endocrinologist called me and asked me all sorts of questions and she thinks it could be a saliva gland stone (I explained it was not that gland that blew up but she couldn't explain it).

Here is the GREAT news...... SHE SAID THAT I WAS DUE TO COME SEE HER IN 4 WEEKS BUT SEEING ME THIS WEEK WON'T HURT ANY SO I GET A BIG UPDATE THIS WEEK!!! YEAH!!!

I feel great tonight and I contribute it all to having a sense of relief in sight! I just want to get to the doc and explain everything and have her FIX IT! I know, I know... this is not a quick fix but I do feel so much better when I know something might change soon.

Now, on to the "Lesson Learned" part. As most of you know Gene's 33 year old brother passed away last year and ever since we have called our insurance agent a couple of times saying we wanted to double our life insurance (mind you if you are buried you are looking at a minimum of $7,000 - without a service!!!). The reality just hit home and we started thinking about how much we would need to pay off the house and live comfortably with out any worries ,etc...... So, you know how it goes when you get busy with work, etc...etc.... As of a couple of weeks ago we STILL hadn't changed our insurance!!!

So, I called our agent again and he asked me if we were still healthy. You know me.... I couldn't say otherwise so I told him I had thyroid cancer. First he said his "sorries" then he said, "well, I hate to tell you this but you are UNINSURABLE". He said even though thyroid cancer is not going to kill me that just the WORD cancer is an "insurance killer" so he is going to check into adding another 5 year term policy to my current one in a few years after my "remission".

PLEASE LEARN FROM THIS THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE NOT UP ON YOUR LIFE INSURANCE!!! Do it before it is too late and you are stuck with a policy that will only get your spouse a Corvette and not the Ferrari! HAHA!!! Oh, and make sure you have your short term and long term insurance!!! I have had both since I started working 20 years ago and wouldn't you know MY COMPANY made a mistake and it dropped off... I noticed it and called my HR department and she said I just needed to fill out a form. WELL I SAT ON IT AND A MONTH LATER I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER!!!!!! I went without a paycheck for 6 weeks, if it would have been a "worse" cancer I would have been out with out pay for MONTHS!

Please learn from my laziness and take the necessary action

TODAY if you need to!!! :-)

I will give you an update after my doctor's appointments. I cannot wait to see what kind of testing I will have done soon (remember my Nov 24th appt was a BIGGIE and now I get to have it THIS WEEK!!!).

Again, my apologies for the delay.... this is one of those moments I can blame MADGE!!! She does come in handy once in a great while! HAHA!!

LOVE YOU ALL!!

GO MOMO!!!!

* My great bro-in-law also ran the marathon this past weekend in Chicago! I am hoping to have an update on that and some pictures!!