I am sorry that I have not updated this thing for a while. It's mainly because everything is pretty much back to normal and I see most of you guys everyday. But for the record, here is an update.
I had the voice injection scheduled for April. I did all the pre-op stuff and showed up at the surgery center at 6am. After being stripped, poked and prodded, they wheeled me down to the operating room where a couple Anesthesiologists seemed to have some concern. They did not like my EKG and were astonished that my thyroid level was so high. Against the wishes of my surgeon, they called-off the surgery until I got an approval from a Cardiologist.
So I go to the Cardiologist and do the treadmill thing and everything checked-out. Turns out that I do have a strange little hick-up in my EKG, but nothing to worry about - evidently that's how I am wired.
So in May we try the voice injection again. Turns out that the doctor is injecting something called Voice Gell and it should last about 3-months. The whole procedure suppose to last 30-minutes.
Surgery and I just do not get along. Remember my thyroid surgery was suppose to be a couple hours turned out to be over 7-hours. Turns out that this simple little voice gell injection took almost 3-hours. Dr Hoffman had a hard time getting the injection needle where he needed it. They had a tube down my throat and he had a hard time seeing in his microscope - evidently my throat is not like other folks. When I woke-up, I found that I had three chipped teeth from all the wrangling they had to do. But as soon as I could speak after waking up, Dr Hoffman had me count to ten and my voice sounded perfect.
I thought the chipped teeth were part of the all the disclaimers that I signed and I would have to cover the Dentist cost ($176 copay). But when the Surgery Center called to see how I was doing the next week, Dana reminded them about the chipped teeth and told them about the cost. About a month later I received a Visa gift card in the mail from the Surgery Center to cover the dentist cost. Awsome!
And my voice did sound wonderful again. All the people that I work with everyday kept reminding me how much better it sounded. But, as predicted, the injection started to wear-off around August - almost 3-months exactly. I have had a visit or two with Dr Hoffman since and there is an injection that will last about two years. While that seems to be the thing to do from my viewpoint, Dr Hoffman said that injection was one of the toughest things he had to do in a while - and this is from a guy who performs surgery every week. He is trying to talk me into doing a pernament soultion that would involve neck surgery and the insertion of a box. We are still debating that.
So here it is September and while my voice is not as strong as right after the injection, it's still better than before the injection. Before we do the next thing (injection or surgery), I have to wait until my voice goes all the way back.
I am scheduled for my next scan in October. After that, if everything checks out, I will either do the 2-year or permanent voice solution.
Jeff
Monday, September 8, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
And 6-Months Later...
My last post was over 6-months ago reporting the results of my first Whole Body Scan. The plan was to have another one in January 2008 (which I just completed last week) and I am VERY happy to report that everything came back CLEAR with no evidence of remaining cancerous thyroid cells anywhere in my body. That is very good news. I will have another scan this summer.
I also have an appointment to get injections of Bovine Collagen into my throat to move my paralyzed vocal cord closer to the working one. I first have to have a video made of my vocal cords while talking so the Doctor can have a better understanding where to make the injections. Dr. Hoffman says that my voice should return to very close to what it was before all of this happened. The collagen will eventually be absorbed into my body, allowing the vocal cord to move back. But at that time, if everything sounds good after the temporary injections, they will inject something (I do not know what) that will be permanent.
I don't know if I will ever be able to sing in the choir, but I hope to be something back close to normal. My voice now is functional and I appreciate everyone who comments on how well it sounds these days. But it would be nice to be "booming" again.
I will keep you updated on the vocal chord injections.
The you Lord for all of my blessings!
Jeff
I also have an appointment to get injections of Bovine Collagen into my throat to move my paralyzed vocal cord closer to the working one. I first have to have a video made of my vocal cords while talking so the Doctor can have a better understanding where to make the injections. Dr. Hoffman says that my voice should return to very close to what it was before all of this happened. The collagen will eventually be absorbed into my body, allowing the vocal cord to move back. But at that time, if everything sounds good after the temporary injections, they will inject something (I do not know what) that will be permanent.
I don't know if I will ever be able to sing in the choir, but I hope to be something back close to normal. My voice now is functional and I appreciate everyone who comments on how well it sounds these days. But it would be nice to be "booming" again.
I will keep you updated on the vocal chord injections.
The you Lord for all of my blessings!
Jeff
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Good News All Around!
Got a call from the doctor's office this morning. The full body scan showed what they expected and wanted to see. There are residual thyroid cells in my neck (they may or may not be cancerous) - but nothing else showed outside the neck area. That is good news!
So now we have a good baseline to work from as we move forward. The next thing on the agenda is a milder dose of radioiodine and another full body scan in 6-months. Hopefully the next scan will show little or no thyroid cells left. If there are some, I will have to do the high-dose radioiodine treatment again to kill-off the stragglers.
The other good news is that I received a letter from Metlife yesterday saying that my Short Term Disability claim has been settled and closed. I feel like I had a brawl with city hall (which they say you cannot win) and actually won! My theory is that insurance is like those rebate offers - you only get your money if you follow their directions EXACTLY, make a dozen phone calls and wait 6-months for the result.
Now I feel that I can get back into the normal day-to-day routine (rut?) that I found that I actually miss. I have had enough excitement this year!
Once again, I would like to thank God for all my blessings, and for my family and friends. Thanks to everyone for their prayers, thoughts, well-wishes, offers to help and for the help. Faith, a sense of humor, good doctors and a network of support from my family and friends made this ordeal pretty easy to get through.
I'll keep posting to the blog in the future. I have to. There are just too many crazy things in my life not to pass along. For example: when I woke-up Monday morning (the day of my body scan), the radio alarm was playing the exact words, "Knock, knock, knocking on Heaven's door." I remembering saying to myself, "that can't be good!" Weird stuff like that happens to me all the time.
Thanks again everyone!
Jeff
So now we have a good baseline to work from as we move forward. The next thing on the agenda is a milder dose of radioiodine and another full body scan in 6-months. Hopefully the next scan will show little or no thyroid cells left. If there are some, I will have to do the high-dose radioiodine treatment again to kill-off the stragglers.
The other good news is that I received a letter from Metlife yesterday saying that my Short Term Disability claim has been settled and closed. I feel like I had a brawl with city hall (which they say you cannot win) and actually won! My theory is that insurance is like those rebate offers - you only get your money if you follow their directions EXACTLY, make a dozen phone calls and wait 6-months for the result.
Now I feel that I can get back into the normal day-to-day routine (rut?) that I found that I actually miss. I have had enough excitement this year!
Once again, I would like to thank God for all my blessings, and for my family and friends. Thanks to everyone for their prayers, thoughts, well-wishes, offers to help and for the help. Faith, a sense of humor, good doctors and a network of support from my family and friends made this ordeal pretty easy to get through.
I'll keep posting to the blog in the future. I have to. There are just too many crazy things in my life not to pass along. For example: when I woke-up Monday morning (the day of my body scan), the radio alarm was playing the exact words, "Knock, knock, knocking on Heaven's door." I remembering saying to myself, "that can't be good!" Weird stuff like that happens to me all the time.
Thanks again everyone!
Jeff
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Scanned and Waiting
Sorry for the delay in posting! I did make it down to the hospital yesterday morning and got strapped to a table and scanned. The table raised about 4-feet up in the air to a 2-ft x 2-ft square (the gamma scanner) which ended-up about 3-inches from my nose.
For those who know me well, you know I am a bit claustrophobic. Being strapped down and having that scanner in my face didn't suit me too well. But after about 10-minutes the scanner was away from my head as it literally traveled from my head to my toes. The whole ordeal took about 30-minutes.
No hint to what the results are. The file was going to be sent to a radiologist to read and he would then report to my doctor. So I will have to wait a couple days. Of course, with Kaiser, I'll probably have to work the phones to get any information.
Feel fine, but voice is not too strong. I told someone last week that I sounded like Peter Brady (Brady Bunch) when he was trying to sing while going through puberty. But I have had a little congestion and drainage, so that might be the cause. I am still waiting for my true new voice to settle in.
That's about it. I will be more diligent on my reporting of the scan results.
Jeff
For those who know me well, you know I am a bit claustrophobic. Being strapped down and having that scanner in my face didn't suit me too well. But after about 10-minutes the scanner was away from my head as it literally traveled from my head to my toes. The whole ordeal took about 30-minutes.
No hint to what the results are. The file was going to be sent to a radiologist to read and he would then report to my doctor. So I will have to wait a couple days. Of course, with Kaiser, I'll probably have to work the phones to get any information.
Feel fine, but voice is not too strong. I told someone last week that I sounded like Peter Brady (Brady Bunch) when he was trying to sing while going through puberty. But I have had a little congestion and drainage, so that might be the cause. I am still waiting for my true new voice to settle in.
That's about it. I will be more diligent on my reporting of the scan results.
Jeff
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Insurance Update
Kaiser gave me a call Friday last weeks saying they had the Metlife requested paperwork in hand ready to fax. It was June 4th when I resubmitted that request, so they just beat 30-days. Unfortunately, my claim was rejected by Metlife in just 12-days.
Thanks to the HR department at work for keeping the checks coming. I have been paid twice since all this STD stuff has been hanging. They have been very understanding about the whole thing and have not been putting any pressure on me to get it settled. I hope they know I have been working on it diligently.
I think old Al has the equation correct above.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Happy July 4th!
It's just past 5am July 4th morning. I just woke up to put a brisket on the smoker. I put a pork butt on last night around 9:30 and hopefully just past noon both will be done. My brother Dan is coming over today for a smoked meat feast. He is cooking something called Blackened Potato Salad (that has to be cooked outside in an iron skillet) and a coconut pie.
We decided to get good meat for this smoke. The brisket came from Harry's ($30) and the butt came from a butcher shop that we have in Acworth ($20). It cost a bit more than the grocery store meat, but it sure looks a lot better - and I am sure it will taste a lot better.
I have a Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker that's suppose to be THE SMOKER - even better than the Green Egg thing. It has always done well, which is good when you have over $50 - $60 of meat on the rack. Every now and then when I do one of these smokes, I think about all the money, work, lack of sleep and realize that Ruth Criss makes a pretty good steak. But do they smoke using wood from oak wine barrel casks (this is my first try) for smoke?
Dana and the kids made the trip back to Louisiana fine. Work was fine too, but pretty quite due to so many be out this week for vacation. I got a lot done Monday and Tuesday - and even though this feels like a weekend in the middle of the week, I am sure Thursday and Friday will allow me to finally clear my "to do" list.
I have to tell you, when I returned to the office on Monday, a white Tyvek suit with a "Radioactive" symbol drawn on it, was hanging on my office door. Now that's funny. I am lucky to be working with some great friends.
I am heading out to check the smoker temp. It has to be just right before I head back to bed. Hope everyone has a great Fourth of July!
Jeff
We decided to get good meat for this smoke. The brisket came from Harry's ($30) and the butt came from a butcher shop that we have in Acworth ($20). It cost a bit more than the grocery store meat, but it sure looks a lot better - and I am sure it will taste a lot better.
I have a Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker that's suppose to be THE SMOKER - even better than the Green Egg thing. It has always done well, which is good when you have over $50 - $60 of meat on the rack. Every now and then when I do one of these smokes, I think about all the money, work, lack of sleep and realize that Ruth Criss makes a pretty good steak. But do they smoke using wood from oak wine barrel casks (this is my first try) for smoke?
Dana and the kids made the trip back to Louisiana fine. Work was fine too, but pretty quite due to so many be out this week for vacation. I got a lot done Monday and Tuesday - and even though this feels like a weekend in the middle of the week, I am sure Thursday and Friday will allow me to finally clear my "to do" list.
I have to tell you, when I returned to the office on Monday, a white Tyvek suit with a "Radioactive" symbol drawn on it, was hanging on my office door. Now that's funny. I am lucky to be working with some great friends.
I am heading out to check the smoker temp. It has to be just right before I head back to bed. Hope everyone has a great Fourth of July!
Jeff
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Free! Free at Last!
Woke up this morning, took a shower and had breakfast with Dana at the dining room table. It was a lot different from hearing a knock at the basement door with scurrying feet going back up the stairs - and opening the door to find your meal waiting for you on the floor.
After 4-days of solitude in the basement, I was ready for some new scenery.
Once again, all the water-soluble radioiodine in my body should be long gone. The caution now is; just in case there is a mass of cancerous thyroid cells somewhere in my body, they would now be slightly radioactive - which is bad and good news at the same time. The bad news would be that the cancer would be somewhere where we don't want it to be. The good news is no matter where those cells are, they are hungry for radioactive iodine, which ultimately kills the cells. Actually Monty (Let's Make a Deal is always on during my morning doctor visits), I will take Door #1: No cancer anywhere else, meaning no radioactivity.
Went to the ballpark this afternoon and hung out with Dana in the concession stand for a while. While I actually have a pretty good voice most days, I always loose my voice at the ballpark because it is so loud. When I have to elevate the volume of my voice, it goes out. I'm sure most people there do not think I am getting any better from judging my voice.
Another thing was that my scar was nice and pink today, standing out pretty well. I think I scared a couple kids who walked-up to the concession stand window. Being down low, they had a pretty good view of the old 10" neck scar. When I asked them if I could help them (in a pretty scary voice), I got a few "deer in the headlights" looks - open, but speechless mouth and wide eyes fixed on the scar. I threw a couple of them off their game, but all managed to get their orders in. Gravel voice and hideous scar combined with a nice smile evidently equates to "Herman Munster" scary. No one cried and maybe there won't be any nightmares.
Tomorrow, after work, I am shopping for some collared shirts.
Jeff
After 4-days of solitude in the basement, I was ready for some new scenery.
Once again, all the water-soluble radioiodine in my body should be long gone. The caution now is; just in case there is a mass of cancerous thyroid cells somewhere in my body, they would now be slightly radioactive - which is bad and good news at the same time. The bad news would be that the cancer would be somewhere where we don't want it to be. The good news is no matter where those cells are, they are hungry for radioactive iodine, which ultimately kills the cells. Actually Monty (Let's Make a Deal is always on during my morning doctor visits), I will take Door #1: No cancer anywhere else, meaning no radioactivity.
Went to the ballpark this afternoon and hung out with Dana in the concession stand for a while. While I actually have a pretty good voice most days, I always loose my voice at the ballpark because it is so loud. When I have to elevate the volume of my voice, it goes out. I'm sure most people there do not think I am getting any better from judging my voice.
Another thing was that my scar was nice and pink today, standing out pretty well. I think I scared a couple kids who walked-up to the concession stand window. Being down low, they had a pretty good view of the old 10" neck scar. When I asked them if I could help them (in a pretty scary voice), I got a few "deer in the headlights" looks - open, but speechless mouth and wide eyes fixed on the scar. I threw a couple of them off their game, but all managed to get their orders in. Gravel voice and hideous scar combined with a nice smile evidently equates to "Herman Munster" scary. No one cried and maybe there won't be any nightmares.
Tomorrow, after work, I am shopping for some collared shirts.
Jeff
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