40 Days of Thankfulness: Day Twenty

Posted on November 3, 2010 by MaryO

Today is a very special day for me.  I am thankful to so many, named and unnamed.  This is the 23rd anniversary of my pituitary surgery at the NIH in Bethesda, Maryland.

I couldn’t have gotten to surgery without a myriad of books from the public library, my parents who watched my son while I was at NIH for 6 weeks pre-op, an oncologist, the endo who got me there… So many, and so many years of sickness just trying to get diagnosed.

I won’t bore anyone with my “story” but if anyone is interested, it’s available here.

The short version is that I knew I was sick starting about 2003.  No doctors would offer any help.  A chance description of Cushing’s convinced me that this was what I had.  Even when I presented Xerox copies of medical texts to doctors, they would all say that I couldn’t have it.  It was “too rare”.  I was fat.  I cheated on my diet.  I was depressed.  Go away.  Take drugs.

I finally got to an endo who got me into NIH in 2006.  During six weeks away from home as an in-patient, they diagnosed me with pituitary Cushing’s.

For those who don’t know, here’s where the pituitary gland is:

I had a 7 year old son and I was sure I was going to die during surgery, if not before. I wrote letters “just in case”.  I was terrified of what could happen and also what would happen if I never had surgery.  I knew I couldn’t live with the Cushing’s.

A college contempory of mine wasn’t so lucky.  Luckily, I didn’t read this in the Alumni magazine until after my surgery. She had the same operation. She came from my home town. We  had the same major at the same college, we were the same age. We had the same surgical and medical team. I recovered. The other woman died during surgery.

So, today, on my 23rd anniverary, I am thankful that I saw my son grow up, that my husband stuck with me, that I’m still alive, that I’m able to help others beat Cushing’s…

Thanks to Dr Edward Oldfield, NIH, nurses, doctors, Fairfax County Public Library and how it all worked out in the end.

Filed under: Cushing's, pituitary, Thankfulness | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

40 Days of Thankfulness: Day Nineteen

Posted on November 2, 2010 by MaryO

Today I’m thankful for my paternal grandmother.

I was thinking of her last night when we were watching an old episode of This Old House and they were remarking about how Boston used to be a lot of swamp land.  I told DH that The Fens, (Fenway Park is on the outskirts), used to be a wetland for a long time and is now a beautiful park.

When I was growing up, my Nana used to live right on the outskirts of The Fens and in the summers I used to go there to play on the swings and run through the gardens.

So, I started thinking about my grandmother again and how brave she was.  In the early part of the century she had been living in Scotland with her husband and they had a young son – my father.   Her husband was in the Black Watch during World War I, and he died in Peshawar, India.

For whatever reason, she and her sister (who she never spoke to!) decided to come to America, to Boston to live.  So, when my dad was only 5 they sailed to the US.  I have pictures of him coming off the boat wearing a little kilt.

Somewhere along the line Nana married again, to a hard-working man who helped provide for their little family.

Until my grandmother died, she was a waitress at a YMCA.  But she managed to save a pile of money – under her mattress, in the closet, behind the sofa.  It was amazing.  Her American Dream, I guess.

I cannot imagine having her courage, leaving home with a small child, and starting life anew in a completely new country.

I wish I had been able to tell Nana while she was still alive how much I admired her.  I am thankful that she came here – or I wouldn’t have been born.

Filed under: Thankfulness | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

40 Days of Thankfulness: Day Eighteen

Posted on November 1, 2010 by MaryO

This is going to sound really stupid but today I am thankful for my dropbox.  I have files all over the place and I work on them on different computers (PC and Mac), or my iPhone, iPad and other places.  If I’m away from home without anything (rarely happens!) I can still access my stuff online and do with it whatever I want.

I am really lazy and it’s so nice to have my files synced everywhere.  I don’t have to try to find a cable, zip drive or SD card.  Sometimes I’ll find an image or a program I want to install on a different computer and I just stash it in my dropbox.  When I’m done, I delete it or move it to its permant home to save space on the dropbox.

I’m also cheap so I just have the free version and I’m always monitoring how much space is available.  I seem to be running about about a third capacity most of the time.

This really makes my life a little easier and, for that, I’m very thankful today!

Filed under: Thankfulness | Tagged: , , , | Leave a comment »

40 Days of Thankfulness: Day Seventeen

Posted on October 31, 2010 by MaryO

//

Today I am thankful for my dog, Mimi.  She’s a beautiful dog, sweet, loving and usually very mild-mannered, but she’ll bark her head off whenever she hears someone in the driveway.

Tonight, she barked at potential trick-or-treaters and we have lots of candy left over.  🙂

Thanks, Mimi!

Filed under: Thankfulness | Tagged: , , , | Leave a comment »

40 Days of Thankfulness: Day Sixteen

Posted on October 30, 2010 by MaryO

Today I am thankful that the skunk already passed by when  I took Mimi out for a walk!

It’s so not fair!  I can’t smell lots of flowers or perfumes but I can smell a skunk blocks away.

Filed under: Thankfulness | Tagged: , , , | Leave a comment »

« Previous Page — Next Page »