Treatment

Morgan was busy with doctors appointments early this week and is now bored while being confined to her room until Saturday afternoon.

She is glad to be coming off from the low iodine diet.  We are amazed at how many foods contain iodine.  She is tired of eating salad and fruit and is very much looking forward to having pizza tonight.

Monday morning she had an appointment that did bloodwork and labs. Then she had a Thyrogen shot - this shot takes away the affects of the synthroid medicine that she takes each morning.  She could have gone off from her synthroid (the thyroid replacement medication)  for two weeks, but this shot is a better option then going off from medicine and having the side effects of no thryroid hormones in your body.

Tuesday morning she had another appointmet for her Thyrogen shot.  She then had an appointment with Nuclear Medicine where she got a tracer dose of the radioactive iodine (this was three pills) and a body scan.

Wednesday morning, she had more blood drawn before going back to Nuclear Medicine.  She had more body scans, two different types totaling two hours of scanning.  We then waited for the doctor to read the scans and come up with a dosage amount for the radioactive iodine.  Her scans came back with only one spot that was of concern.  It is in the lymph gland area on the left side of the neck and the doctor felt confident that the radioactive iodine would take care of it.  The rest of her body looked free from any cancer cells.  Praise God!

The radioactive iodine that she took was about 5 ounces of liquid that she drank through a straw.  She said that it really had no taste. The only side effect that she has had was some swelling in her jaw/saliva gland area and this is very normal.  There were many other side effects that she could have had, but thankfully she has felt fine through this process.  Her dosage required her to be in quarantine for 72 hours.  She is very ready for Saturday afternoon to get here!  Her bedroom walls feel as though they are closing in on her.

The rest of us have been doing our best to maintain our distance from Morgan. Steve and Zane are up at camp with Grandma and Grandpa for a couple of days and Lance and Max are hanging out in our man cave (that is not anything new). Suzie (Morgan's dog) has been missing Morgan, she will lay outside Morgan's door and cry to be let in. 

Her next appointment is on Thursday, April 28th, where she will have another total body scan.

It has been amazing to see God's hand through all of this, from her first visit at the Minute Clinic to seeing no permanent side effects from surgery or treatment.  A big concern had been damage to her vocal chords, but her voice has now returned to full strength!

Thank you all for your prayers and support.  We know that we would not have made it through this trial without all of your prayers being lifted up on Morgan's and our family's behalf. 

Kim

Treatment Scheduled

Morgan will receive her radioactive iodine therapy on April 20th.  Starting on April 3rd, she will go on a low iodine diet.  The lower her body iodine level, the better the therapy will work.  On Monday the 18th, she will have some lab work done and receive a Thyrogen shot, this shot reduce the thyroid hormones in her body that she is receiving through the drug Synthroid.  Tuesday the 19th, she will again receive another Thyrogen shot and also receive a tracer dose of the radioactive iodine.

On Wednesday the 20th, she will once again have lab work done, then have a total body scan and a three dimensional image taken before receiving her full dose of the radioactive iodine.  This will be a long day at the hospital - up to 5 hours.  Depending on the dosage she receives, she will have to be isolated from the family for three to four days and away from the general public for at least five days.  She is hopeful that she will be able to return to school on Monday, but it may not be until later in the week.  On Thursday the 28th, she will have a follow up appointment with labs and another full body scan.

Morgan is doing amazingly well.  She seems to have more energy than pre-diganosis.  She has returned to all of her previous activities.  Her voice continues to sound stronger, only after a long day does it show some signs of strain - especially after Lance's volleyball games.

We thank you all very much for all of the prayers lifted up for Morgan and our family.  We know that it is through your prayers that we are all getting through this time.