Bring it on, I am ready!

Last Tuesday, I went to see my endocrinologist for a regular check up since I am a diabetic and have been feeling "under the weather" for quite a while. As part of the check up, he performed an ultrasound exam of my thyroid gland. I was impressed at his thoroughness and happily complied. The exam was painless and short. He took a few pictures and then sat down to write stuff on my file. I asked him what was the "verdict" and he told me, "you have two masses in your thyroid". Gulp! That was a totally unexpected answer. He proceeded to tell me that I need to have a biopsy done and scheduled me for this Thursday morning. Therefore, tomorrow morning I'll have to get up earlier than usual and my son will give me a ride to my biopsy. I will get the results next Thursday. I am not too worried because even if it turns out that the tumors are cancerous, I read in the Internet in one of the medical sites that thyroid cancer is one of the most curable ones.

Cancer has been quite predominant in my family. Most of my relatives on my mother's side died of one form of cancer or another. Moreover, cancer had the audacity to take my mom from me almost twenty years ago. In her case, it was breast cancer. It was discovered too late at stage IV and even though she had a mastectomy, she died about four years after the surgery. Now, cancer wants to have a piece of me! Besides the tumors in my thyroid, I discovered a couple of weeks ago that I have a lump in one of my breasts. Therefore, yesterday I had a diagnostic bilateral mammogram. I 'll find out the "verdict" next week or later.

In fact, I am kind of relieved. My health has been deteriorating for a few years and I have had to change doctors more times than I can remember because my previous doctors refused to give me referrals to specialists and/or perform the necessary tests to discard cancer. Their focus was on my diabetes and attributed all my symptoms to it. My new doctor actually took the time to sit down with me and listen to my symptoms and history. He agreed with me that I should be checked by specialists and referred me to a cardiologist, endocrinologist, neurologist, GI, ophthalmologist, and pulmunologist; after my complete blood count results came back.

At least for me, the most annoying part of feeling sick is not knowing what is causing the symptoms. I need to know my enemy to fight it well! Otherwise, I feel like I have my eyes covered and I am just swinging a sword blindly against an evasive but treacherous adversary. I've been so depressed feeling powerless and like just another number for my insurance and previous doctors, feeling ignored and unheard that I've had to take anti-depressants. After all, it's my body! I've lived with it all my life! I believe I know it better than anyone else.

I knew that my fatigue, fluctuation in weight, dizziness, migraine-like headaches, weakness, and the increasing intensity of widespread pain were not due to just the diabetes acting up because even when my sugar levels were OK, I still felt so very sick. I knew that something was quite wrong but, my previous doctors kept treating me as if I was an idiot or hypochondriac. I think that even my son began to doubt I was so sick and only believed me when it was obvious on my face. After all, if I was so sick, wouldn't the doctors refer me to specialists and prescribe me the right medicine? Well, no if you don't have the "right" type of insurance.

Anyway, all that is in the past now. I finally found a doctor who, so far, seems to care enough to listen and refer me to the right specialists to check me up. If he wouldn't have referred me to my endocrinologist, I would have never known (until, perhaps, it was too late) that I was walking around with two tumors in my neck! Now, I am ready for battle! It really makes a great difference when you are validated by a diagnosis and there is a name for the symptoms you have. Nevertheless, I am pretty sure that all my lumps will turn out benign but if they don't, I am ready! I am a survivor and will not go out without a good fight!
To be continued . . .

At The Grand Canyon

It is hard to deny the existence of a superior being/intelligence when one beholds the beauty and wonder of a natural creation like the Grand Canyon. It is no wonder that people from all over the world make it a favorite destination to visit while in the USA. Unfortunately, it seems to be human nature to take such wonders for granted when we live nearby.

My son and I have been living in AZ for many years and, although we always wanted to visit the Grand Canyon, we had never gotten around to do it. Fortunately, as Obama fans, when we heard that he was coming to the GC with his family for the weekend, we decided to take this opportunity to fulfill our dreams: visiting the GC and meeting the Obama family in person. We were not able to accomplish the latter since they were nowhere to be found when we were there but the wondrous beauty of the Grand Canyon and my own experience with that awesome squirrel more than made up for it.

Despite reading about the Grand  Canyon and seeing movies and pictures, we had never really grasped the enormity of the place. It's huge! Indeed, nothing beats seeing such places in person. The park itself is amazing. There are several lodging cabins and RV parks for people to comfortably stay for long periods of time and have the chance to experience the whole of it. In fact, it's like a wild west town with shops, theater, and many activities that take you back to pioneers' time when such comforts did not exist. We did not get to go on the mule rides down the canyon or the 6-7 day boat exploration down the Colorado river. However, just visiting the museum which is right next to the canyon's rails made feel as if I were experiencing along the pioneers this amazing marvel!



Moreover, I was surprised to find out that Arizona certainly has plenty of beauty and greenery up North. The road trip to the Grand Canyon was like being in a dream. Miles of green forests and colorful rock mountains greeted us as we drove along the road from the Grand Canyon  to beautiful Sedona. Sedona is well-known for its mysticism but the view left me in awe! I truly did not expect it to be so beautiful and enchanting. It is a quaint little town with freshness and mysticism in the air. My son and I decided to have dinner at a restaurant downtown and since it was still daylight, we sat outside contemplating the majestic and colorful rock mountains surrounding the town. I really did not want to leave. It must be awesome to wake up to such beauty everyday! The town itself is full of character and specially suited for those that seek to discover the mysteries of the universe and even their own fortune. It is definitely on my list of places to move to when the time is right for me to do so.



Anyway, I am sharing some pictures we took on the way and a couple we took in the town. Unfortunately, my battery in the BB was exhausted during the visit to the Grand Canyon so I was not able to take as many pictures as I wanted in town and surrounding areas. I'll do so next time and share them here with hope. In the meantime, I hope the ones I am posting today will be inspirational to you and your art.

Ms. Squirrel and Me at the Grand Canyon

At six o'clock in the morning on a beautiful summer day, my son Nick woke me up and rushed me to get ready. He announced with a big smile on his face, "we are going to the Grand Canyon, mom! Hopefully, we'll run into the first family!" I jumped in the shower still half asleep, washed my hair and quickly got dressed. Grabbed my cup of coffee (espresso) and checked to make sure that my doggies and kitties had enough food and water. Put my shoes on and away we went!

My son drove while I got to relax and listen to our favorite group, Disturbed. As we left the cemented and dusty roads of the city to encounter the greenery of the new landscape, I felt my spirit lifted. Nature and rural landscapes have a magical effect on me. It had been a long, long time since my son and I had hit the road and taken a trip together. Even though this was a rather short trip, it was a welcomed break from our routine and busy lives; a time to catch up.

We drove through beautiful rural scenery where wild animals run free and domesticated ones have plenty of space to play and explore. This was quite a contrast from what my loving dogs get in our city dwelling. There were lots of land and properties for sale so my son and I fantasized of getting a nice rural cottage someday where we could flee from the hustle and bustle of the city every weekend with our pets. Although it was not one of the extremely hot days so common in Arizona, we started to get thirsty as we approached the Flagstaff. We decided to stop at a gas station by the side of the road. While my son filled the car with gas and got us some water, I sat outside to watch people come and go while I smoked a cigarrette and enjoyed the rural air. People in the area were so different than those in the city. Everyone seemed to know each other and greeted one another as they got off their respective vehicles. It was refreshing! We must have stayed for about an hour there before we hit the road again on our way to the Grand Canyon.

After some driving around and getting a bit lost, we finally got to the Grand Canyon. It was the last day that people could enter without having to pay a fee. I guess that fact and the President's visit had compelled quite a few of people like us to visit the park. After we were able to find a parking space, we began walking around and enjoying the view. My son, who is a bit of a daredevil, insisted on getting as close as safely possible to the edge of the cliffs to admire the view. I stayed back once I realized that I got dizzy everytime I went closer to the edge. While waiting for him to finish his daring excursion, I got to strike a conversation with other onlookers that had decided to play it safe rather than sorry. As we were comparing notes about our young adult and teen children's ability to keep us worrying about them with their risk-taking tendencies, we spotted a squirrel that was happily going around on the rocks near where we were standing. He was busy taking care of his own business and did not seem to mind all these humans standing around and being noisy. One of the people I was with decided to give him some water but the squirrel would not come up to us to drink. I tried to take a picture of him whenever he showed himself. I managed to take just one good picture. After a while, he decided he's had enough and went off to whereever his burrow was.

My son came back and, after saying farewell to my new friends, we began walking again and taking pictures. After a while, I grew tired and we decided to stop to let me rest for a few minutes. I sat on a bench made of dead tree trunk and, as I was drinking my water, this cute, adult squirrel jumped onto my lap! Unfortunately, my son was looking at the canyon and we lost the chance of a great picture. Nevertheless, the squirrel decided I was safe to hang out with and after getting off my lap onto the bench, she put her two front paws on my right leg and just held that position quitely. She looked quite comfortable, I might say. Anyway, I decided to offer her some water and she happily grabbed on to my bottle and began to drink. I was ecstatic! I couldn't believe that this wonderful wild creature could be next to me so calmed and happily interacting with me. She even let me pet her! She stayed with me for a while, long enough for my son to pay attention to what was going on as some passerbys kept saying, "Look! The squirrel is by her side drinking from her bottle!" It was a "WOW" moment for everybody but specially for me. My son took some pictures while I kept enjoying my little friend's company. After a while, we decided it was time to start walking again and my little friend left. We went back to the same area where she befriended me and, lo and behold, she was on the rocks. Other people were around looking at her but she was ignoring them. I went over to her and, what do you know? She recognized me! She came over to me and we spent a bit more time together while the other people could not believe their eyes. Of course, I gave her some more water and after a while, we parted ways. Needless to say, this experience was the highlight of my visit to the Grand Canyon.

Afterwards, my son and I went around, visited the museum by one of the cliffs, drove around a bit more and decided it was time to hit the road again. I wanted to stop at Sedona on our way back. No, we did not get to see the first family as we did not get to see all of the Grand Canyon and go on trails by the Colorado river and other fun adventures awaiting visitors there. The place is so huge that to see it all and participate in activities and tours, one has to stay for at least a week there. In fact, the Grand Canyon Park is like a small town with a wild west flair. There are nice log cottages, RV parks, Theaters, Shopping areas including groceries, and a train takes visitors from one end to another. It's quite an experience. My son and I decided we'll do it again next year but this time we'll stay for more than just a few hours.

My next post will be about our visit to beautiful Sedona and the pictures we took on the way. Hope you enjoyed this account of our Grand Canyon adventure.