Time..it goes so fast.

I really need to be better about this.  I get so caught up in the day to day that I forget to take the time and blog about it all. 

Cody is a senior in high school and has signed into the delayed entry program to join the Marines. He will have his boot camp date already by Friday. 

Ryan is a sophomore, and he is 15. I miss the days when he was 4. His sweet little face and that voice, and all of his cute little songs. Sigh...

Braden is a 5th grader. He's playing baseball again this summer and it amazes me how much he improves and how well he does. I hope he sticks with it, he's a pretty decent ball player. 

I've been spending a lot of time in my hammock, and working. I have the next two weeks off, though... I'm having surgery (AGAIN) tomorrow. I'm running out of "extra" organs.  

When I originally went to the ER in January, blood tests showed an elevated calcium level- not terribly high, but high enough- along with the other abnormal values you have with a malignant neoplasm. (That is just a fancy term for cancer...but I like it better. It's...fancier.) After my nephrectomy, my calcium level dropped back to within normal range. Then, the headaches started and the body pain. Every scan was run to rule out the cancer recurring elsewhere and there was never any answer to the source of my pain. Pain meds didn't really help, and sometimes made my headache worse. That whole rebound effect. 

Anyway, Dr Gravino had communicated to Klingler that he hadn't found any obvious cause for discomfort and physical therapy wasn't cutting it, so Klingler ordered labs. Once again, calcium elevated. Elevated calcium can be a sign of trouble when it's cause is unknown, and suspect for cancer. So... when all of my scans were negative for growth (Thank you, Jesus!) he ordered more labs. Along with elevated calcium, my PTH (parathyroid hormone) was extremely high so he referred me to the ENT who said that I'm a very bizarre case and even questioned if I had been misdiagnosed or properly treated. That was a bit scary, but Jeremy and I are both very thankful for Dr Reussner and his amazing desire to advocate and help me. He called all of the pathology and scans into question and everyone took a second look to make sure that everything has been covered. Turns out, my RCC diagnosis is correct and I also have hyperparathyroidism. He still insists that the two are so very odd to have occur in such short time that while he is hopeful it's all coincidental, there's a strong possibility it is not. In simple terms, one or more of my parathyroid glands (we have four, only need one) are malfunctioning and have grown into masses/tumors, commonly called adenomas. They are releasing too much parathyroid hormone and causing my blood calcium levels to elevate, which is known to cause... headaches, body pain, memory loss, extreme fatigue, severe mood swings... EVERYTHING Jeremy and I have been complaining about in my case.

The plan is to go in tomorrow and seek out and remove the offending gland(s). The hope is that it's just one, but may be all four. If that is the case, 3 will be completely removed and the last one will be taken out, resected and implanted into my neck away from its original location. So strange, right?  

I had a scan done to give the dr an idea of what gland is the offending one... and the report said there is obvious abnormal adenomas present on the left, along with abnormal thyroid activity. Nothing conclusive on the right. He said that might happen... and that no matter what the scan said, he would be thoroughly examining all aspects of my thyroid and parathyroid glands. He also promised to make my incision "pretty", but I've been having nightmares of a collarbone to collarbone length incision.  I'm also having visions of becoming the modern day version of The Girl with the Green Ribbon. Anyone else still traumatized by that story? No...? Just me. Anyhow...tomorrow it is, then I wait for the pathology to be completed with the final verdict. Either way, we are going to go to Tulsa and be seen at the Cancer Treatment Center of America. Even if all they say is that I'm doing exactly what they would tell me to, I'll have the peace and knowledge that we are doing everything we can to keep me healthy. Whoosaaa, that cancer stuff sure does one hell of a number on one's psyche. 

I would appreciate your thoughts and prayers aimed my way at LMH tomorrow starting around noon. I'll update as soon as I can. Much love to you all.