One year post-op

Today is another milestone, marking one year since my neck dissection surgery. It brings a smile to my face when I remember that today, I am physically in great shape. There was a lot of fear in the last year about how things would turn out, and how my nerve damage would heal. Nothing pleases me more than to tell you my body made a full recovery from that surgery. I was out of work for 11 weeks and I had physical therapy. My left arm and shoulder had pain and limited mobility, and I credit a regular yoga practice with healing that up for me. I think around six months post-op my arm was completely normal again. I can't believe it's been a year. It's been such an interesting ride. While I'm emphasizing that physically I'm the same as I used to be, I will never be the same as I was before having cancer. Here are some photos I want to share. I want to share incision/scar photos for fellow thyca patients because I can never get enough when it comes to seeing how others have healed over time.

7/31/10 • Freshly graduated from high school and headed into college, had no idea of any health problems

5/31/12 • The last night I had my thyroid...note the lump on my neck

6/13/12 • 12 days post-op of total thyroidectomy surgery, with infected incision and rash from surgical tape

 7/10/12 • Feeling good! Off medication and observing a low iodine diet, but on vacation

9/18/12 • Four days post-op from lateral neck dissection surgery, just home from the hospital. Swollen face from displaced lymphatic fluid

9/24/12 • 10 days post-op, face is still swollen

10/8/12 • 26 days post-op, with a crooked smile due to nerve damage

10/28/12 • Six weeks post-op, jawbone definition is back!

12/14/13 • I got some cherry blossoms tattooed onto my left shoulder, just for good juju and good vibes for my damaged shoulder

12/31/12 • In Morro Bay with Johnny to celebrate our fourth anniversary, notice my left arm won't straighten

1/16/13 • Reluctantly went skiing and felt so strong!

1/23/13 • 19 weeks post-op

2/14/13 • My smile is back to normal!

2/16/13 • 22 weeks post-op, this is one of the first times I was able to hold my left arm straight out

3/10/13 • Six months post-op, and my scar is starting to disappear. It really trips me out

6/3/13 • This night was life changing for me, at 7.5 months post-op. Once I saw that I could hold crow pose, after everything by body has been through, I really felt like wow, I can do anything. This was something I always saw as beyond my ability. After this, I really put yoga as a higher priority in my life and it took off from there

8/1/13 • Headstands (albeit lopsided) all the time now at 10.5 months post-op

8/5/13 • Arms straight out on a camping trip in Big Bend, CA!

8/23/13 • Arms straight out at Stampede Reservoir

8/25/13 • I took this as Johnny made me laugh. If you look closely to the right side of my neck, which is actually my left, you can kind of see an indent in there. I noticed it recently. It looks like I was scooped out, and I was. That's where the 2cm metastatic nodule was found, which necessitated the second surgery. Pretty weird! Someone was telling me that it will grow back and cells will regenerate or something, but I'm pretty sure that's not how it works. And that's okay with me.

9/14/13 • One year post-op. The incision looks pretty good! The original incision is fatter and less healed than the rest of it, but it doesn't really bother me.

Like I said, I will never be the same after cancer. And it's not even over yet, it's not even after. Before my cancer diagnosis, I know I was a pretty mindful person and I did try to approach life from a place of gratitude. And that's still there. After cancer, every little movement I make, I am reminded of what my body has endured and overcome. Every time I turn my neck while driving, I acknowledge and remember when I wasn't able to do that. When I wash my hair in the shower, and when I stand on my head. My family has really supported me in the last year, including my boyfriend. Some of my friends have stuck really close to me, whereas some I think did not know what to do. Shit, I don't know what to do. I also think I've kept a lot of people at a distance. That's been a struggle for me, deciding how much to open up. I'll write it all on the blog, but will I call you? No. I think one impulsive thing I did do was when I decided to forgo finishing college and instead pursue a career as a yoga instructor. I still think it's the right path for me, but I pretty much made the decision in like two days. Another thing that's different is that I almost never pass up a chance to leave town now. I'm wanting to travel all the time, whenever I can. Now obviously I am not touring Europe, but I'm trying to get to the ocean more, and to the mountains more. This experience has also shown me how beautiful and kind people are. My cousin Micah bought me a plane ticket to visit, and so I'll be flying to Seattle in two days. My friend Heather surprised me by buying me a 20 class pass to the yoga studio I've been going to. Little things like that. People are so generous. The funding page I set up to help pay for yoga teacher training got some donations, and I'm so grateful. My cup runneth over.