Kaley wrote this update herself. Thank you for your prayers!
Hey Everyone,
Thank you for continuing to check-in on me. I have spent the past few days at home resting and recovering from surgery. It hasn’t been easy at times, but we are managing. I can honestly say it’s a little better each day, and for that I am grateful.
The hardest part is sleep and symptoms. Until this morning, I had two drainage tubes in my neck with little rubber grenades that attached to my waist. I have had to sleep upright and it’s not very comfortable. This morning my surgeon checked my stitches and removed the drains. 🙌🏻 I give the drain removal experience a 0/5 stars 🥴… not something I’d like to do again, but certainly glad it’s over with. Very grateful for Dr. Pendarvis and his work. My neck is still very tender, but he believes all is well. I will have my stitches removed on Wednesday of next week.
I began my new hormone medicine and I’ve been taking calcium supplements. It’s been hard to get it “just right”, so we are adjusting based on symptoms. I’ve been having numbness in my face and below my chin, which is normal after this type of surgery, but awfully strange-feeling. I’ve been having some double vision, but not too terrible. I’ve noticed it’s based on the calcium levels. My Dr. also believes I could be having symptoms from the anesthesia.
Michael has been INCREDIBLE caring for me. I can’t thank him enough for his attentiveness, love, and care. I can’t believe he’s doing this with me and we’re still having laughs. He keeps me going and encouraged. He prays with me when I can’t sleep and holds my hand so that I don’t feel alone, all nestled in my pillows. He encouraged me to listen to the Bible when I can’t sleep, so I just renewed my Dwell Bible app and I listened to the book of John last night. My parents are going through a study on Revelation with their Bible study and I asked Michael if we could study Revelation too during this time. We are enjoying all our conversation, but also deeply missing our kiddos! We aren’t used to this space. Honey and Seve have sent us some of the cutest pictures of the kids this week. Now that my drains are out, I plan to see them for a bit tomorrow. The girls have seen my neck on FaceTime and don’t seemed too phased… maybe that will change once they see it in person. 🙂
Speaking of… y’all are cracking me up- so many of you wrote me to see my post operation picture and I’ve been surprised by all the requests!! But I’m happy to send it, and I thank you for your reactions of love and commitment to pray for my scarring! I keep calling myself Frankenstein because I’m not quite used to my new appearance just yet. Someone responded with… “I will not let you be labeled by cancer. You are not Frankenstein. How about Perseverer. Overcomer.” ✨ That’s why I need y’all!! So much of this cancer stuff is a head game. The mental can be harder than the physical for me at times. Now that I realize I’m a human pin cushion each week, I’m starting to get used to the constant labs needed and anticipating the prick at each appt. It’s exhausting!! My mom came over and helped me shower for the first time since surgery yesterday. She even blew my hair dry for me, lol. Thanks, Mama!
We continue to get snail mail, plants, books, visitors, meals, Amazon packages, donations, and messages. It’s amazing and overwhelming. 😭❤️ Thank you to everyone who has donated to our GoFundMe. Thank you also to everyone who CLEARED OUT our Amazon wishlist in a matter of hours! Unreal. The pillows, super greens, sleep mask, lap desk……. everything! It’s all being put to use. We love you and can’t thank you enough! I will be making some more personal posts on my Instagram as I feel up to it. That is where I can share more pictures and stories from this healing journey. So please follow me there too, for more updates.
Several people have asked me how I found out that I have cancer and want to know the symptoms I was having. I plan to share that part of the story soon and will make a highlight. I’ve learned SO much in the past few weeks. I hope my story might help someone else who needs a “neck check”. I have made new cancer fighter and survivor friends online who have been so kind to share their experiences with me. Some are currently in the fight with me and some have healed and thrived. There are online thyroid cancer communities providing me with resources that I can’t even believe exist. God is so near in my suffering.
As for a cancer update: I’m really trying to not think about scans and such just yet. I’m trying to focus on healing from this surgery. I knew there would be space in-between this surgery and the next step due to recovery time. Today we reviewed my tissue exam with Dr. Pendarvis. My type of cancer is atypical. He believes the cancer originated from excessive ectopic tissue above my thyroid. He says I could have had the ectopic tissue since birth or it could have formed over time, but my thyroid was intact. It was removed as precaution being so close to the cancerous ectopic tissue. There were 7 metastatic cancerous lymph nodes out of 20 removed. He still seemed confident and optimistic that we got as much of the cancer out as possible. In 6-8 weeks I will begin RAI radiation. Before then, I will be preparing for radiation by starving myself for 4 weeks of the thyroid hormone I just started. I will also do 2 weeks of LID diet- Low Iodine Diet- before my first RAI. I will also be doing thyrogen, thyroglobulin, and TSH levels through blood work and injection. May 20th I will do imaging and scans. Apparently a lot of this will cause me to lose weight, be fatigued, and feel sick. Like I said, I’m trying not to think about it just yet. For the 6 weeks of radiation, I will not be able to see my kids. Possibly 7 weeks by the time I’m no longer considered radioactive. This is for their safety, as to not sterilize them. It will be really difficult to not see them. I’m already anticipating lots of FaceTime and use of technology! I will report to the Nuclear Medicine Department at the hospital each day to take an RAI pill. I will be able to see Michael for certain hours of the day, from six feet away. This is pretty much all they’ve told us so far. I will share more as we know more.
If you have made it to the bottom of this update…. God Bless You!! I didn’t realize I had this much to say or share. THANK YOU for your continued prayers. I’m so grateful for your outpouring of love and support for my family!
In Him,
Kaley Shawley
