Searching for Summer

If I had written regularly since November 8, there would be screens and screens of lots of whining.  Now I need to squash 2 months into a short explanation of where I am and what I am facing.  I had a swelling on the left side of my face, in front of my ear for several months.  I thought it was a sinus infection.  Sort of silly, since I knew there weren't sinuses in that part of my head.  About 6 weeks ago I found a painful lump under my left ear.  Because of the pain I went to my family doctor.  He sent me immediately to an ENT surgeon. 

The hope was that the lump was a stone in my parotid (salivary) gland.  It turned out to be a 2 cm tumor.  It may be benign or malignant.  I also have a small tumor on one thyroid.  When I thought the surgeon had told me more bad news than I could handle, he told me that the left side of my face could be paralyzed.  The part of the tumor under my ear is under a lot of nerves, which makes surgery difficult and delicate.  Both surgeons in the group will work together on my surgery.   There has been a ridiculous amount of tests and CT scans to give me medical clearance for surgery.  It concerns me that I am having to wait so long for surgery.

The nurse called Wednesday to give me a date, and I reminded her that I would like to have the surgery in the hospital 5 minutes from me.  She said she would have to get with both doctors and would call me back.  The doctors use our hospital, but their favorite is in Arlington.  We had to go there for my appointments.  When we left the hospital I had a nasty surprise when only 3 blocks down is the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium.  For football fans, we are nearing the Super Bowl.  I don't want to be in the hurly-burly of Super Bowl during my surgery.

After having breast cancer in 1996, this is especially frightening for me.  I pray to God a lot and cry a little.  And appreciate prayers in my behalf for healing.   

Where Have I Been All of My Life??

     My poor little blog.  I didn't intend to just stop writing.  Perhaps it was that the winds of winter started to blow through my life, and I seem to have misplaced my invincible summer.
     I cannot write this in chronological order, although I want to start back when I finished my first hCG protocol.  I have been able to maintain the 19 pounds lost and have lost a few more, even through the holidays.  It took me awhile to do maintenance right.  At first there was a gain of about 6 pounds.  I put my trusty Bodybugg back on, started journaling my food, and downloading calories burned and was quickly back to 23 pounds lost.  Someone asked why I stopped.  I could have stayed on it for 40 days, and I was losing at the same rate.  But there came a day when my body told me that she was ready to stop for that session.  I wasn't hungry, although I was ready to put some yummy oil on my skin.  I wouldn't have cared if it were Crisco!  There are times I wish I had sucked it up and gone longer, but I am a big believer in listening to my body.  And my doctor agreed with me. 
     I had a "visit" to the hospital 2 weeks ago. I mentioned to my doctor about the hCG diet when she asked if I had lost weight.  She said that a lot of the doctors and nurses are doing it with good results.
     I am back to the part of my maintaining that includes Miss Jenny's husband locking the freezer that is in the garage.  I will include pictures of one unorthodox way of refusing to gain.
     I will do another entry to bring this up-to-date, which is the real reason that I have neglected so many things in my life, including my blog.  My life has turned bleak and grim.  I wish I could go back to a time when my worst problem was losing weight.  I wish I had treasured the days better.

 

A Girl's Gotta Do, What a Girl's Gotta Do!