Countdown to Disney

Hello again - yes, I know my updates are far and few between, but it's hard to do updates when there isn't much going on!
Mom & Dad Horton visited for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I've noticed my dad is starting to match his age. We had good holidays, too much food, and a lot of time together. The pups & kitties liked having visitors around - more fun with newer people.
Sad news: Dec. 28th, 2008 Brenda Stima, one of my past team mates and an honored team mate for TNT lost her battle with multiple myeloma. It's so sad and shocking to all of us. In the meantime, we are still counting down to Disney, PF Chang Arizona & Gasparilla. Most of us have completed our longest runs and are in taper mode (Disney & PF Changs). We have to keep up the good fight - for Brenda and all the others.
Disney is less than 2 weeks away!!

quick update

Sorry I haven't been updating too much lately.
First and foremost - Gil had his CAT scan & check-up recently and he is still cancer free and is now on one year check-ups (w/CAT scan). He does have an appointment in May with the oncologist (Dr. Ball) and will be setting up for an annual physical with our general practitioner (Dr. Ray) soon.

Gil is still currently seeking employment, if you know of anyone seeking an employee!

Today we are going to the eye dr. - Gil feels his eyes may have changed some more. A little chemo, a little age, I guess it happens.

As for me, I just did 16 miles today - ok, honest truth, it was closer to 15, and I did not do well - I walked A LOT! Hopefully it was just a bad running day for me.

I've been taking the Wii to school. It's been a bit of a fund raiser with the kids - $1 to play. Something I need to enforce a little more than I do. But it's also been good for my side-job as school 'wellness coordinator' or 'champion' or something....I used the Wii fit portion to start our "Biggest Loser" program at school. And there has been anime club, salad day, Principal's brunch next week, and "Cold Turkey Day" (formerly known as the "Great American Smoke-out").
Soo much fun!

'til next time.

TNT time again!

Oops - I did it again!
A little de ja vu? Nothing to do with Brittany Spears, but I think I have used that opening before.

Well, I have joined up again with Team in Training, the worlds largest endurance training and fund raising program. This time I am training to run the full Disney marathon (yup - 26.2 miles!). AND they asked me to be a mentor! How cool (or insane) is that?

So, let's see - school's back in session and we are enjoying some of the new stuff in our library (tables, chairs, built in presentation station - screen, sound & ceiling mounted projector). Hopefully I can get the Wellness program going and do a "biggest loser" contest with our faculty and do a 'fit fair' with the 3 other surrounding schools. And our first Anime club meeting is next week; and i have yet to do the faculty listing on the website, or Sept. calendar, or ...whatever else.

Gil is still looking for a job. He got a rejection letter from the county the other day, and an cofirmation/rejection email from one of his electronic submissions. I feel so bad that this is just such a bad job market right now and he's never had to job hunt before. It's rough, but we will manage. We've been in tougher spots before (I think)

Well, it's getting late and 5am comes awfully early after a nice summer of sleeping in.
AH - but Labor Day is coming! OH and I'm still signed up for the "human race" on Sunday. I don't know how/where/when I'm gonna squeeze in 6.2 miles after church, but...Can I do it? hummm.....

Don't forget....I need your donations! Help me fight blood cancers one mile at a time...
http://pages.teamintraining.org/sun/wdw09/csterling

Most insane race EVER!!

I just finished the last in the series of Picnic Island Adventure runs yesterday - and what an adventure it was!

From the back-up on the Gandy bridge, to losing my car key, to starting the race late due to an impending storm and being told that the race will go on but we run at our own risk.

Not too bad - the first 1.5 mile, sand & grass, was breezy (ok, windy - thought I was going to have to carry my hat) and the rain was just starting to hit. After the obstacle course (cargo net crawl, tires and hurdles), there was a course change - instead of going around the mangroves, which often meant going out into a little water, we had to run thru the mangroves, and the back area was really wet & mucky, like mid-calf. This meant a lot of single file run/walking. At this point, it was full tilt thunderstorm. When we hit pavement, my (prescription) sunglasses were almost impossible to see through. Then it was an other stint through some mangroves, and up onto shell and grass where we ran up and down hills, then around the end of the island and, as we hit the second set of hills we could see lightning hitting the water - not so bad - then hitting the hills! EEK!

Made me run a little faster.

Then it was back out onto the beach with another slight course change - a little more grass and no water run (usually the run goes about 200 yards out into the water, around a buoy, then back to shore for the finish).

I really have no idea what my finish time was - race clock said 35:??; my watch said 33:03 - if/when the pictures come out, I think I will have to buy them.

That was totally INSANE! Can't wait till next year!!

oh, btw - we found my car key about 20 feet from my car. Fell right out of my pocket (darn, so that's what the zipper is for!). Also, check out some pics I took at the June 27th run (http://www.myspace.com/librarylady411 - click "view my: pics" right under my photo, then select the "Picnic Island" album)

busy busy...

OK - I think in my last post i left off with mom getting a stint put in her heart - all is well there.
So, since I last wrote here is how our busy life has gone:

Gil had a few Dr's visits - Dr. Ray, CT Scan, and Dr. Ball. Everything is good and on track. Next years visit is the milestone: He recently turned 45 (July 5th) so I guess that means some extra special ...stuff. In the meantime, all is good.

Let's see...I've been running a lot. Hog Hustle 5k on May 7th, Picnic Island on May 30th and June 27th (Last one is July 25th), Dunedin Midnight run 10k 12:15 am July 4th; I also ran by Seminole High School's graduation (June 3rd).

I've been doing lot's of training since school let out - the first of which I was one of the instructors and it was my birthday. How fun is that? Yes, by birthday was very interesting...there was an accident on 301 & Interstate 275 three days before my birthday, so my birthday dinner with my parents was post phoned until they returned from their Delta Queen Cruise. We finally met up July7th for a double birthday dinner.

What else? Well, Gil helped me with VBS this year the week of June 16th. Our church is welcoming a new pastor. Cleo dodged the bullet; we thought we were going to have to put her down for the long sleep, but with fluid therapy, she is back to messing with the dogs. And...BIG NEWS ... Gil had a job interview with the county today. It's a county print job and he was the first interview. We are hoping for news soon - 4-6 weeks.

I guess that's about it. I go for another thyroid test tomorrow. I was put on 50mcg of Levothyroxin (Synthroid); I suppose that may change. I'll know in about a week.
Hopefully it won't be 3 months before I update you all again!

Much love to all ...

Hashimoto's Thyroiditis

OK, it may be a Japanese name, but we're still going to blame it on Jason even if he is from Hong Kong, China. 

First of all, sorry I haven't updated in a while. I actually thought I had already posted some of this information, but...well, on with the show...

I have (had?) what is called "Hashimoto's Thyroiditis" which is an auto-immune disorder. Not a big surprise - having the ANA's in the blood stream, tested for lupus, and having psoriasis. Thursday (4/10) I will begin taking thyroid medication (synthroid or generic).

Spring break was last week. It was OK - it wasn't work. I did some bookkeeping, a little house cleaning, hosted our nephew, David, for the ENTIRE WEEK! "Enjoyed" a little drama there - what is it with teenagers and drama?! Visited Mom & Dad in Pt. Charlotte. Tried to get back to a little running - decided to start joining TNT Alumni runs during the week. That was fun. Picked up a couple of French kids for their spring break - hosted them for 2 nights before their other host family was able to take them. 

Really, that's about it! Mom had a catheratization today. All went well there. She'll have a reading tomorrow and we'll hopefully find out when she gets her stints put in. I've been back at work for almost 2 months now and things are going ok. Been a little tired; weight is starting to creep up. Had a blood test done last Tuesday, so I'm going on medication (as mentioned above). Not much really beyond that.

OH - I do have one bigger thing to mention. March 5th Dad & I did the Harbour Heights 5k. I ran it in 27:42 (22 sec. faster than last year) and Dad walked it in about 55 minutes. I also did the Carrollwood 'Tour de Village' 5k the following weekend - a trail race. Did it in 30:21 and took first in my age division - My first WIN!!

That's pretty big news!

OK - feeding time at the zoo....till next time...

our story so far...part 2

As somewhat mentioned before, over the next...24 hours...after surgery, Gil had to empty my drain bag and "milk" the tube, which made us both kind of queasy. Because of the drain, I had to sleep in our recliner, so Gil slept on the couch. Not exactly the most comfortable of circumstances.

Now, if I didn't mention it before, I was very taped up and couldn't lift my head to well. So, the next morning, when I went to get the drain taken out, I was walking a bit like Frankenstein's monster. I was trying to hard to straighten my back, but couldn't lift my head...so I looked so stiff. I was really happy to get that drain out and get the tape & bandages off, which left me looking like bride of Frankenstein (or Franken-chick as David called me). I felt I could handle a little more movement. As we left, Gil took me to Target where we got some soups, pasta, and other groceries that I could eat (my sore throat could only handle so much) and I bought a Starbucks coffee (of course!).


After that, things are pretty uneventful. It took a little bit before I was really comfortable in our bed - sleeping on my sides rather than my back. I'm not supposed to lift much and take it easy talking. Talking gets to be like a workout - the muscles get sore and the voice starts to waver. I did a little walking on the treadmill Sunday - about 1.5 miles. I need to get back to working out. Merlyn got into something in the backyard and I had to give him a bath, which, it turns out, he is over my lifting weight limit - 12 lbs.; I'm not supposed to lift over 10 lbs. And last night I went to give Gil a kiss goodnight and lost my balance. Funny how much you use your neck when you are trying to keep from falling forward.

Today, Tuesday, Feb. 12th, I had the staples removed. I feel I have a lot more movement in my neck. Turns out I had a benign tumor called Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, an inflammation of the thyroid, but I don't know who Hashimoto is or how really it differs from a goiter except it's not an iodine deficiency. Should be good for a little research.

I'm still kinda tired, and very sore, like I've been "clotheslined", but I think I might try to go back to work Monday. I definitely want to give it a few days before I go back to work the kinks out of my neck. Voice still gets weak too. So, today is kinda blah. Good day to just sit home and continue my recovery.

Until next time...this ride is over!

Our story so far...

Tuesday, Feb 5th I got a call about 1:15 pm, shortly before school ended for the day. Actually it was the second call, but I missed the first one and hadn't returned the call yet. It was the surgery center with all my pre-op instructions and questions - no food or drink after 12 pm, surgery was to be at 8am but I had to be at the center by 7am, had I ever had this or that, make sure to wear a button down shirt, and so on...

So about 5:45 am Feb. 7th we got up and got dressed; left the house about 6:20am. It was still very dark. When we arrived at the surgery center, I was surprised at the amount of children. Evidently there were about 5 kids, under the age of 10 scheduled for surgery very early. That made me so sad. About 7:30am I got checked in and about 15 minutes later was called to go in the back for prep. Gil was brought in a little later to see me off. Before I was taken, Dr. Steineger stopped in, 2 anesthesiologists, and one other Dr. that I don't remember hearing mentioned when they told me who all would be in the operating room. She made me nervous because she asked me all the questions I had already been asked by the pre-op nurse and some by my Dr. I was taken away about 8:15, I guess.

One of the anesthesiologists that had already introduced herself put something in my IV, and I quickly felt a cold sensation in my hand as they wheeled me away. I asked if that we my anesthesia and if I'd be feeling loopy any minute...that was the last thing I said as they made a left turn down a hall. Next thing I knew, I was waking up in the same place they took me away from.

It wasn't like I just fell asleep and woke up - I KNEW something happened in between. I heard them welcome me back. I smiled at Gil, and periodically acknowledged he was there. He looked a little scared. I didn't feel so good either, but mostly just sleepy. I don't remember too much at that point; I seem to remember the Dr. coming by and saying the operation went smoothly; I remember the Nurse getting me to sit up, breath, asking me if I felt ok...I felt a little rushed to get dressed and moving. Gil seems to think that was to get the anesthesia out of my system; I don't know, I think they needed the space. I felt a little queasy, but with the nurses help, I got dressed and we moved to a sitting area. There I really got kinda sick and dizzy. She waved some kind of wet-nap type pad under my nose. I'm sure it was like smelling salts (which, by the way, you never want to smell when you are ok - because they stink and will make you pass out). After some apple juice and coffee (which I spilled - good going Carol), we got under way.

Oh, somewhere in there, the nurse showed Gil how to clean out my "drain" - a tube that was under the incision , and about 5 foot of tubing on the outside that dumped into a bulb like bag. Yeah- almost every time we cleaned out that thing, I felt sick.

Well, we got home.I was so taped up at the incision that I couldn't lift my head and stand up straight, so my back was really starting to hurt. I got sick when we got home, but kept it in (eww). Once Gil got me settled in, he called him mom to sit with me while he went and got my medication - pain pills and anti-nausea. I slept through most of that.

Once, just before Gil got home, Mom got to talking to me. It's hard having a one way conversation because I really couldn't speak, let alone make much sense. It was then that I realized, Gil had practice, and Lori was supposed to sit with me, but I became real uncomfortable with that idea. I ended up being a bit selfish and asking Gil to stay with me instead of going to practice, which he did. We spent the rest of the day with him playing video games (Call of Duty 4 online with his Xbox 360) and me sleeping. I think I eventually had some tomato soup and crackers - was that dinner? And I know I drank some.

Well, that's enough for now. This looks like I'm writing a book! Who knows, by the time I'm done, it may be darned close!

Until next time...

Upcoming surgery

Well, did the Disney 1/2 Marathon on Jan. 12th and finished in 2:25:02 - a little off the 2 hours I had hoped for, but not bad for a newbie (I think).
Got thru final exams and have trained my new TA's to the best of my ability. I've also lined up my sub, so everything should be ok while I'm gone. As for my time off...

Surgery is Feb. 6th sometime between 7am and 12 noon at the Mease Surgery Center (dunno where that is off hand). I have a Dr.'s note that says I should be able to return to work Feb 25th, but I'm hoping to be ready sooner.
So, knowing that you are going to have your throat cut open and part of your thyroid removed, right near your trachea and vocal chords, how do you NOT worry?

Beyond that, who knows? I'm hoping to sign up for the Harbour Heights run in Pt. Charlotte on March 8th and the Carollwood run on March 12th. I'm pretty sure I should be ok to do that.
More later....much love to all...