" oh, i get by with a little help from my friends ( and family)" (the beatles)

 i drove for the first time since my surgery. i was a little nervous,but it was just into town to get blood work done. it takes 30 minutes to get there- of course i have to negotiate the " barrel maze" on 321 and luckily i did not run over any barrels or hit any of the workers! i had my calcium checked, starting the" once a week, six month process." i will find out today what my level is. i sure hope i do not have to go up on my tums.i can not even stand to watch the tums commercial on t.v.

i found a good way to get the "surgical glue" off of my neck. of course, you can not  do this until your doctor tells you it is time. but instead of ripping it off and having to stifle a scream do this: the night before, wash the area gently with a mild soap and water. pat dry. then slather on a good, thick vitamin e oil. leave it on overnight. the next day, the stuff will just come right off, no screaming involved. i gently washed the area again, and applied more vitamin e oil. the skin was a little pinkish, but this method was so much kinder to my neck/skin. i plan to use vitamin e oil on my scar every day. my surgeon told me i could use what i wanted, but that nothing works. i disagree with this( this is a personal decision, i have no evidence to back it up, of course) i think the vitamin e oil will help with the scarring, and besides, it makes my skin feel better. he did tell me to use sunscreen on the area when i go outside. but of course, that is just good advice for all of your skin,especially this time of year.

i will have to admit i got something wrong. i said that thyroid cancer colors are: teal,pink and purple. i think i accidentally put in the purple because it is my second favorite color( green being my first). actually, the colors are: teal, pink and blue. i wanted to correct that, though they are pretty close,because the blue is a dark blue.

i really do appreciate the cards,emails ,phone calls from my friends and family during my adventures with cancer.i can not put into words how much their support has helped me or how much it has meant to me. sometimes you really do not know how lucky you are until you have a little bit of bad luck. but i think things are on the upswing now.