I know, I know, I’m a horrible blogger. At the very least, I’ll get our Israel pictures up this weekend. Things I need to blog about:

- Israel Trip/Leah’s Wedding
- Bikes!
- Our new neighborhood
- Mustard

Who knows, maybe I’ll get to all of this soon. =)

Categories: Uncategorized
1 Comment »

So I had my surgery yesterday. I’m feeling okay for a girl with a two inch cut across the the bottom of her neck, and I’m home from the hospital, wearing clothes and everything. Hospital gowns have their place, but I was glad to put on some pants. I am also happy to report that I can eat again! More or less. Let me tell you, chicken broth never tasted so good as it did last night. Since I experienced zero anesthesia related nausea, they gave me a cheddar cheese omelette and oat bran for breakfast! Chad is currently taking the day off and running around in the cold getting me things like my percocet prescription and chicken noodle soup from Whole Foods.

Unfortunately, the surgery was not a resounding success because my problematic parathyroid is a ninja. It’s hiding somewhere in my body, possibly in my chest. Since Dr. Purkert was not going to go poking around in my chest looking for it when he had no idea where to start, they closed me up after 2 and a half hours of looking and sent me to recovery.

Dr. Purkert is going to work with my endocrinologist (Dr. Nina Selvaggi) and the nuclear imaging and radiology people on locating the ninja. I’ll probably get another scan before I leave for Israel, but there won’t be any additional talk of surgery until they find the Ninja Parathyroid. He is probably very well trained and very good at hiding in plain sight. Just like me. What’s that? You doubt my ninja powers. Then tell me this, can you see me NOW? No, I didn’t think so - and since it’s been more than 12 hours since my last vanilla ice cream and percocet sundae, you can’t say that this is ‘the drugs’ talking.

Anyway, I’ve got a kind of creepy looking wound that is all bound up with this clear sealant, so you can SEE the CUT. It looks like I went to a Halloween store and bought some fake wound stuff, except it’s real, and kinda cool looking. I am not allowed to drive until I can move my head freely (which I currently cannot), and I cannot drive when I’m on painkillers (which I will be back on once Chad gets home with them). I will very likely be useless on Saturday for the move, but we’ll see. Now I think I’ll go watch some anime. Hooray!

Categories: parathyroid, updates
8 Comments »

Yesterday was my last day at Sur La Table. I now only have one job. Hooray! I spent a year at Bloomingdale’s, then another year and a third at SLT. The extra money was nice, and so was the discount. However, we don’t really need the extra couple hundred bucks every two weeks, and it will be VERY nice to be able to not have to worry if I can make commitments to friends and family on the weekend. Chad and I are looking forward to getting bikes and riding them around our new neighborhood - especially to the Saturday morning farmers market. Yaaay!

Categories: updates
1 Comment »

I’ve gotten 2 fantastic endorsements for Dr. Purkert from nurses - which makes me feel so much better.

The first came from a Sur La Table customer who came in to pick up his knives on Tuesday night. He had put down an @inova.org email address, and he was wearing an RN badge, so I asked him which Inova he worked at. He works at the Fairfax Inova (where I’ll have my surgery), so I mentioned that I’d be having surgery there next month. When he asked which surgeon I’d be working with, I told him Dr. Purkert, and and he said that Dr. Purkert is the best surgeon there, and the only one he’d want to work on him. So hooray!

The second endorsement is from my friend’s sister, who used to be a nurse in the O.R. at the Fairfax Inova. Dr. Purkert is her favorite surgeon. She said that he is not only careful and thorough but also respectful to the nurses. The latter statement does not apply to many of the surgeon’s there, so I’m glad I have Dr. Purkert as my surgeon.

Categories: parathyroid
1 Comment »

Well, Chad and I will be moving in a little less than a month to a new apartment in Alexandria (renting, not buying, that’s next year). The main reason we’re moving is to lighten Chad’s commute - we’ll really be cutting it in half. The building is directly across the street from a metro station, so it’ll be much better for him. It’s also six blocks from a Whole foods, so that’s exciting for both of us (mainly me).

The building is brand new, so we’re excited to be the first ones to live there. We picked out the apartment back at the end of December, and we went back today to sign the lease and take some measurements. The floor plan below isn’t exactly to scale, but it gives a pretty good idea of the place. I’m especially about the new kitchen and the second bedroom. Which will really be a den, but we’re planning on putting a futon in there to accommodate overnight guests. =D

Whee!

Categories: updates
1 Comment »

1. It is never a good sign when a fireman steps out of your plane’s gate thing.  Nothing was wrong, someone thought they smelled something funny so the fire department did some air quality tests.

2. If it is a full flight, I love the exit row, but in full flights, I always end up seated next to a very large man…

3. If I knit, the large man sitting next to me will always want to talk about it.

4. I should have brought more yarn.

5. 24 hour business trips stink.  I want to go home.

Categories: Uncategorized
1 Comment »

I just bought our tickets to LA for Naama and Greg’s wedding.  Hooray!  I’ll be flying on May 20, and Chad will fly out on May 22.  We’ll be in SoCal until the 26th.  =)

Categories: Uncategorized
No Comments »

Today I cut 11 inches off my hair to donate it to Pantene’s Beautiful Lengths program.

See:

I cut off more than half my hair.

My, that’s a lot isn’t it?

Oh no! Now it’s out for revenge!!! I must send it out as soon as possible.

Categories: updates
5 Comments »

I finally spoke with my surgeon’s scheduler today.  The first day he has available to do my surgery is February 13. That’s a Wednesday.  So I’ll probably take off that Wed-Fri from work.   I wish I could get it over with sooner, but there’s nothing I can really do about it.  *blah*

Categories: parathyroid
No Comments »

Over the weekend we got a present in the mail from the wonderful Alecia Hoyt. The DVD’s with our pictures on them! I resized and renamed them and put them online. The quality is high enough to print regular (4X6, 5X7) photos. If you want a higher resolution for bigger pictures, just let me know.

You can see the pictures in the photos section -> the wedding week -> the wedding day -> professional photos
Or just click here

Yaaay!

Categories: Wedding
1 Comment »

So, I had a visit with my surgeon today.

yay: Dr. Purkert was very nice, explained everything to me, and noticed that I had done my parathyroid research so I knew what he was talking about.

yay: I’ll get a call tomorrow to schedule my surgery - which will probably be early January.

BOO: Since my sestamibi scan didn’t show the tumorous parathyroid, I’ll need a bilateral neck exploration to find the problem parathyroid - which means a two inch incision, slightly longer surgery and an overnight stay at the hospital.

yay: I’m getting another sestamibi scan to see if they can check it this time - my previous one is over a year old.

yay: If they find it this time, I get to have the shorter surgery and go home that night.

yay: My scan is on Tuesday - the sooner this is done, the better.

rrr:  The main danger in the surgery is if my bad parathyroid is one of the low ones - this means it’s near a nerve that connects to my vocal chords.  Dr. Purkert explained that if it’s one of the low ones, they find the nerve first, then make sure to steer clear of it.

yay: Someone brought them cookies and they gave me one!  Yay for yummy gingerbread.  :D

Categories: parathyroid
No Comments »

I just bought our tickets to Israel for Leah’s wedding in March. We’ll be gone from 03/08-03/18, with a short layover in Zurich on the way there, and an overnight layover in Zurich on the way back. The best part is that we’ll be able to pay for the entire trip using Chad’s vacation payout from when he left TSP. Yaaaay!

This weekend, I’ll have to get some passport pictures printed up so I can get my passport updated with my new last name.

Categories: travel
No Comments »

Our friend and neighbor Amy got two Schweenie puppies a few weeks ago. They’re a shitzu/dachshund mix, and they’re sooo cute and fun to play with. I usually go over during lunch to walk and play with them. Today was the first snow of the season, so of course I took some pictures! I’ll post more later, but the best are up in the gallery.

Categories: puppies
No Comments »

I’m tired of having my blood drawn.  My veins are hard to find, so the nurses have to hit the exact same spot if they’re going to reach a vein.

Every time I go to the doctors office they want my blood.  Since it’s been a year since I had my sestamibi scan, the endocrinologist wanted to test my parathyroid hormone levels again.  Just to be sure.  She referred me to a good general surgeon who’s very close by.  So I need to make an appointment with him to talk.  My sestamibi scan didn’t find the overgrown parathyroid, so he might have to just open me up and take a look inside.  Bah.  Blah.  I just want to get this over with.

I’ll back up a bit for those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about.  I have hyperparathyroidism.  You can read all about it here: www.Parathyroid.com.

Categories: parathyroid, updates
2 Comments »

Well, since I sent out that massive email to almost everyone, I suppose I should welcome all of the visitors.  Would you mind taking a second to leave a comment so I know you were here?  That would be awesome.

Chad and I drove out to Rockford, Il to see the fam over Thanksgiving, which was really nice.  Forgot to take pictures though.  Shame on us.  Also, we both have colds.  Ugh.  So leave a comment and cheer us up!

Categories: updates
8 Comments »