Hugs All Around

Do you ever have days where you feel like you could stay in the shower until the lake runs dry? Today was that day for me. My alarm went off and I hit the snooze button, which I very rarely do. It feels like I didn't even sleep 10 minutes. I laid there for about 10 seconds and it dawned on me ‘You have to get up, you have to go to work Dummy.’ So I bolted up and gathered my clothes for the day before jumping in the shower. Usually I'm in and out, it doesn't take me very long to shower, but today I just wanted to stand under the water and let it run. I started thinking about this blog post, today's the day you all get to meet Dr. Athanassaki and Alli.

We were at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston meeting Cheyenne's endocrinologist for the first time. We were here because doctors had found a nodule on Cheyenne's thyroid after a softball injury to her neck and the subsequent testing required due diligence and a full work up. Earlier in the morning Cheyenne had undergone a fine needle aspiration, she had cells removed from her thyroid to be read by the pathologist. Now we were heading for the Clinical Care Center, floor 11.

On the way there, we ran into a huge cow standing in the lobby of the elevator and stood in amazement. "Wow, that's so cool," Chey exclaimed!

I had to agree, it resembled a Cow Parade collectible -only it was life size! It was beautiful, so colorful and it just made you smile which was welcome in the face of what my daughter would soon be going through.

We loaded into an elevator with a number of other people. There were people everywhere, doctors, nurses, patients; it was unreal compared to our little country hospital for sure! We finally arrived at our destination and neither of us seemed to want to get off the elevator. I could see the trepidation on my child's face and my own heart was pounding. I reached down and took her hand in mine and out we marched.

Each area at this hospital has a sign on a stand giving you instructions to wait at a certain point several feet from the reception desk until you are called. (It's like waiting to be seated in a restaurant.) Yes, HIPPA that's exactly the reason behind it. We stood in line quietly waiting our turn and we both took in the scene before us. The waiting area was enormous and it very kid friendly. The area behind the receptionist was like a tree house that the kids could climb on. There were display cases with models of ships, bead mazes, books and movies playing on TV screens. These people obviously were all about the kids, that was for certain!

One of the receptionists called us forward and I realized Chey was still holding onto my hand, or I was, either way we walked hand in hand up to her desk and went through the process of signing in. After the paperwork was completed and I had my insurance card in hand, (I have a bad habit of leaving my belongings all over creation) we were directed to take a seat and wait for the nurse to call us back. We sat side-by-side and Chey commented on the children in the lobby. Many were being transported in wagons and several in strollers. There was a little girl that appeared to be maybe two. She had a tube in her nose and an IV with one little tuft of hair sticking up on the side of her head - she was absolutely beautiful. Cheyenne watched her for a bit and then excused herself to go to the restroom. When she came back, her eyes were red rimmed and I knew she had slipped off to cry for this sweet child. She sat down next to me and laid her head on my shoulder and whispered, "I love you Momma." God had to be sitting there with us because I was able to just pat her leg and hold back my own tears that were attempting to flow. Luckily, that was when we were called to the back.

Like most offices, we were taken into a room for Cheyenne's vital signs, weight and height to be taken before we were moved to an exam room. The room was average with an exam table, a couple of chairs and a computer on a desk. There were also educational posters on the wall showing the anatomy of the thyroid and endocrine system. We waited a very short time and a young woman entered and introduced herself as a doctor doing a fellowship. I think her name was Amy and she explained that she was going to be a fertility specialist (reproductive endocrinologist) and was doing a rotation here. She explained that she would take Chey's history and then Dr. Athanassaki would be in after. She did so, left and shortly she returned with Dr. Ioanna Athanassaki MD (Dr. A) who introduced herself and shook our hands. Dr. A is Greek. She has a very light voice with a very pleasant accent that is also light. She is a small woman with an affectionate smile and dancing eyes. You just can't help but like her immediately. She sat down on her stool and began to review what she had been told by her understudy, when there was a soft knock at the door and a smiling young woman with dark hair walked in with a chart in her arms. She immediately apologized for being delayed and started to introduce herself. There was no need, from her first word I recognized this was Alli and I practically jumped out of my seat in my haste to hug her. I had warned her previously that we are huggy people so she wasn't completely taken back. I croaked out her name and the tears started at this point with smiles at the same time. I actually think this exchange made us all much more comfortable and we just sat down and talked.

Dr. A informed us that she was aware we had more knowledge than most of her new patients.

She said, "We don't usually recommend our patients visit the Internet, but your situation is a little more unique."

Obviously, Alli had told her about my friend Dr. Google but it was alright.

She went on, "In your case, it makes it easier because you both have a good understanding of the possibilities so we don't have to necessarily spend time on those explanations ."

I told her we tell our patients the same thing, "Don't talk to Dr. Google" but it's just not in my DNA. They all laughed and she asked how the procedure went earlier.

Cheyenne spoke up and said, "I have it, they didn't make extra passes they didn't need to because they had enough cells to tell."

For about half a heartbeat I was afraid how they would react but Dr. A simply leaned in toward my child and said, "It is very indicative of Papillary Thyroid Cancer (PTC), yes, but we really have to wait until the pathology report is given. Right now I would like to examine you if that's alright."

Cheyenne said "Of course, sure."

She stood up and moved to the exam table, stepped up and sat down. Dr. Athanassaki donned gloves and told Chey that she would be gentle. She tried to feel the nodule but couldn't, she said Chey had been very lucky to have had the accident and that they call this an "incidentaloma." She said it is when a tumor is found by coincidence and with out symptoms. When Dr. A finished the exam, she motioned Chey back to her seat and sat down herself.

"Well, as it does appear to be PTC, let us discuss what would happen next," she sais as she rolled her stool closer and leaned over toward us. "We have a group of doctors that meet on Wednesdays to discuss the cases. There are surgeons, ENT's, oncologists, endocrinologists and radiologists present. We will go over the results of the fine needle aspiration, as well as all the other data. Then we decide what the best course is. Usually with papillary thyroid cancer (she can really roll that off her tongue by the way) the recommendation is to remove the entire thyroid."

I interjected, "But, we have to be careful about the parathyroids right?" (The parathyroid glands control calcium levels in our bodies. They are situated behind the thyroid gland and can be damaged during surgery.)

She sat straight up, put her hands on her knees and smiled broadly, "Yes we do, you really have done your research."
Chey said, "She doesn't know any other way, that's how she deals with things." I guess my daughter knows me pretty well too.

Dr. A continued speaking to Cheyenne, "We will do more lab work and possibly another ultrasound before setting you up an appointment with surgery. Right now, we will wait and see."

She asked if we had any other questions and Chey only said, "How long for the result?"

Dr. A answered and said, "Hopefully very soon."

We all gave hugs all around, to multiple giggles. We thanked them over and over again before they asked us to hold on and Alli would get us notes for school and work.

We sat down and Chey said, "I really like her, she knows what she is doing and I feel safe."

I agreed and shortly Alli reappeared, all smiles, she gave us notes and directed us to the lab. "Dr. Athanassaki decided to go ahead and get these done today. Don't worry and we will be in touch soon."

She wrapped us in a group hug and led us out into the hall. The fear was still there but now it was veiled by the feeling of hope, glorious hope. We both walked out of that office like we were wearing wings, it was such an uplifting feeling and I knew we were in the right place.

Quick note before I leave you, with summer around the corner posts will likely start coming out every other week! Enjoy the sun and thanks for reading!

Next time: Test Results

XXOO Make Everyday Count,
Bonnie