A new weekly activity since October has been spending at least an hour with my mentee. She's a delightful 1st grader who is full of energy. We spent most of the fall doing outside activities which she loves. We played in parks, went on a nature scavenger hunt and hiking, and we played at the beach. Her mother says she isn't very athletic but the child loves to run. The favorite game at the park is tag and the trails at the park were often taken at a run. It's a good thing I'm somewhat in shape so I can attempt to keep up. She can run faster but I can run longer. Activities have been more difficult since winter arrived. We went swimming at the Y and last night we joined some people from my church at the bowling alley. Even the kid bowling balls were a bit heavy but she managed a decent score thanks to the bumper pads being up. The bumper pads added a few points to my score and I broke 100 which was my goal. My mentee was excited to see a classmate there and she enjoyed interacting with the other kids who cheered her on.
A friend jokingly asked if the program was for at-risk kids or at risk adults. Probably a bit of both. It's hard to tell what impact I'm having on a 1st grader, other than I'm providing a listening ear and one-on-one time in which she has a hard time getting in trouble because there are no other kids around to egg her on. Even when there have been other kids around she's been obedient. For me, it is an opportunity to be around a kid, which means even more to me because I spend my work day primarily with the geriatric population. My creativity is also being challenged as I come up with ideas of things to do and places to go. She has ideas as well which helps.
Try a mentoring program in your area. There is especially a need for men to be a role model for the boys who are waiting for a mentor of their own.
Saturday, January 23, 2016
Sunday, January 10, 2016
Surgeries
I don't usually make New Year's resolutions, but it will take some resolve to get back to writing here on a regular basis. There is plenty to write about but after a month (and now months) of silence, there is too much to write about and I don't know where to start. I've decided the best way is to jump back in with the most significant change over the past several months.
In May of 2014 I noticed a nodule on my neck in the thyroid area. I was in St Cloud at the time and didn't know a doctor even if I had the time to go. Besides, I was preparing for a six-week bike trip and didn't want it derailed. A doctor friend told me it wasn't urgent since I wasn't feeling any differently. I let it go longer than I should have, but I did finally get to the doctor in September. That began more trips to doctor's offices than I've had in 20 years.
The results from a fine needle aspiration biopsy was suspicious enough that the right side of my thyroid was removed on November 16. The diagnosis came back as follicular carcinoma which meant the other side needed to come out too. The second surgery was on December 24. I was off work for a week both times but recovered fairly well with little pain. The first time I stayed overnight at the hospital with a drain. The second time my surgeon allowed me to go home that same day and without the drain I had more swelling. But overall it didn't make much difference in my recovery. Both times I ran 3 miles 4-5 days after surgery. I went slow but I had no problem doing them. I did have a lifting restriction for a week and I dealt with some lightheadedness which evidently was due to being dehydrated.
People have asked me if I'm feeling better now. I wasn't feeling bad to begin with. In fact, in some ways it's "worse" now as my body adjusts to the thyroid meds and we figure out the proper dosage. It's only been a couple of weeks but they made a change in the dosage following a blood test on Friday. I haven't quite figured out how it all works, but I was feeling rather amped up especially in the early morning hours when I would have just as soon been sleeping. This will be the biggest challenge in the weeks or maybe months to come. I've joked with nurses that I now have a medical history and yes, I do take some medication. In February I'll be swallowing some radioactive iodine which will destroy any remaining thyroid tissue in my body. No further treatment should be needed. If I have to have cancer, thyroid cancer is a good kind to have.
In May of 2014 I noticed a nodule on my neck in the thyroid area. I was in St Cloud at the time and didn't know a doctor even if I had the time to go. Besides, I was preparing for a six-week bike trip and didn't want it derailed. A doctor friend told me it wasn't urgent since I wasn't feeling any differently. I let it go longer than I should have, but I did finally get to the doctor in September. That began more trips to doctor's offices than I've had in 20 years.
The results from a fine needle aspiration biopsy was suspicious enough that the right side of my thyroid was removed on November 16. The diagnosis came back as follicular carcinoma which meant the other side needed to come out too. The second surgery was on December 24. I was off work for a week both times but recovered fairly well with little pain. The first time I stayed overnight at the hospital with a drain. The second time my surgeon allowed me to go home that same day and without the drain I had more swelling. But overall it didn't make much difference in my recovery. Both times I ran 3 miles 4-5 days after surgery. I went slow but I had no problem doing them. I did have a lifting restriction for a week and I dealt with some lightheadedness which evidently was due to being dehydrated.
People have asked me if I'm feeling better now. I wasn't feeling bad to begin with. In fact, in some ways it's "worse" now as my body adjusts to the thyroid meds and we figure out the proper dosage. It's only been a couple of weeks but they made a change in the dosage following a blood test on Friday. I haven't quite figured out how it all works, but I was feeling rather amped up especially in the early morning hours when I would have just as soon been sleeping. This will be the biggest challenge in the weeks or maybe months to come. I've joked with nurses that I now have a medical history and yes, I do take some medication. In February I'll be swallowing some radioactive iodine which will destroy any remaining thyroid tissue in my body. No further treatment should be needed. If I have to have cancer, thyroid cancer is a good kind to have.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)