Before I discuss the events that occurred during the time frame listed in the title of this post, I should give a little background.<\/p>\n
Last Fall, while pursuing\u00a0our annual visit to our doctors in Savannah, GA, Barb saw a cardiologist \u00a0to see whether she should be taking statins for her cholesterol. Among the tests he\u00a0ordered\u00a0was\u00a0an ultrasound\u00a0of her carotid arteries. \u00a0She had no alarming symptoms, but saw the doctor\u00a0given the medical history of her family and because numerous doctors had recommended statins, an option about which she was skeptical.<\/p>\n
The full report was not available by the time we left Savannah to return to the Caribbean, but the initial indication was that there was no significant blockage and that all was well. \u00a0Early this year when settling up medical bills from last year and paying the balance for the ultrasound, she decided to find out what the report said. \u00a0The only way she could \u00a0get it\u00a0was to have it sent to our mailing service in Green Cove Springs, FL. \u00a0She eventually got the report and learned that a 1.3 cm nodule had been found on her right thyroid.<\/p>\n
So this year during our extended visit to Bismarck, Barb decided to seek medical advice. \u00a0The ultrasound\u00a0was repeated, with no change in size. \u00a0But the recommendation was to take a biopsy by needle to investigate the nature of the nodule. \u00a0That biopsy revealed a cell type that is consistent with\u00a0follicular neoplasm. \u00a0We were told that cells of this type are suspicious and could be cancerous, but that the only way to be sure is to remove the entire affected wing and then examine it. \u00a0If it is cancerous, the other wing would also be removed (and additional treatment would probably be undertaken.) \u00a0So surgery was strongly recommended. \u00a0We decided to involve the medical facility currently ranked number one in the United States: \u00a0Mayo Clinic. \u00a0We were able to secure an appointment, but several weeks in the future.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Mom was recovering from her own medical issues, so we decided to take our RV to the west and visit Yellowstone National Park and then join our friends in McCall, ID for an informal rendezvous at the home of Tom and Leslie Arnold.<\/p>\n
And that brings us to the events of this post. \u00a0On August 10 Barb and I left our friends (still partying) and our RV in Tom & Leslie’s yard and drove our little Chevy Tracker to Boise to catch a flight to Minneapolis, where we rented an automobile to drive to Rochester, MN.<\/p>\n
In the following days Barb met with an endocrinologist, had yet another ultrasound, and had another needle biopsy. \u00a0Same result: \u00a0surgery recommended. \u00a0We also got a more precise meaning of “for this type of cell, most turn out to be benign”. \u00a0“Most”, as in e<\/strong>ighty-five percent.<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0Remarkably, \u00a0Barb was able to schedule the surgery for\u00a0the day after we got the results of the biopsy. \u00a0The surgeon, a specialist who performs hundreds of these a year, \u00a0removed the\u00a0right thyroid (and the small isthmus that separates the wings), waited for the removed tissue to be examined, and then closed up the incision, because, yes, the nodule was benign<\/strong>.<\/p>\n They call this situation a VOMIT<\/strong> – “Victim of Medical Imaging Technology”. If the nodule had not been discovered by the initial\u00a0ultrasound in 2015, Barb\u00a0would not have had the surgery. But of course if it had been cancerous, it would have been a good thing that it was detected.<\/p>\n The surgery was done in the morning and Barb walked back to our hotel room late in the afternoon. She had a sore throat for a few days — the after-effect of a tube they put in her throat for the surgery — but otherwise felt generally fine. Well, there were some early episodes of low energy, but we don’t know if that is the consequence of anesthesia or of having lost half of her thyroid. \u00a0Hopefully her left thyroid will make enough hormone to compensate for the missing right side.<\/p>\n We made it back to McCall, ID and our RV very late Wednesday. \u00a0Thursday morning I Installed a new charging relay on the RV — restoring the ability of the RV alternator to charge the house batteries when underway– and got underway after Leslie and Tom fed us a huckleberry pancake breakfast. \u00a0Our destination: \u00a0Sun Valley, where we would meet Bill & Colleen. \u00a0But that gathering deserves its own post. \u00a0Stay tuned.<\/p>\n\n\t\t