There will be NO pictures in today's blog...for a very good reason which will become evident.
The Tres Amigo's do Europe 2011 crew decided to make today a rest day, prior to Mr. P heading home to Scottsdale and Mr. N and I heading to Stuttgart so we wanted to visit the most famous water spa in Germany.
It's called Therme Erding and if you want to Google it go ahead - and dial it in on the English feed.
It's about five times bigger than the West Edmonton Mall's waterpark. It's complete with about a dozen huge water slides - an amazing main pool area with special 'jets' (more on this later) - sixteen sauna's - several other mini pools - a steam room - food kiosks - swim up bars - indoor/outdoor swim pools - and the ah, 'special rooms.'
We paid about $25 Euro for the full pass and were told that there were special rooms where the cost was 'extra.' When you check out you find out - like about a ten minute steam costs another $11 Euro.
You're given a key, and a wrist bracelet with an electronic insert that you hold up to get past the security entrances to the extra rooms.
Well we change in to our bathing suits and immediately hit the big pool - and this thing 'lights it up.'
There are hundreds and hundreds of jets throughout the pool that go off in sequence...some from the walls - some from the roof (cave) - some from the floor - and all extremely high powered. It's the most relaxing sensation you can imagine as the water is set about 34c.
Oh, and the roof to the pool can be 'opened ' for prime weather conditions too.
By the way, there is virtually NO English either spoken or on signs so our challenge was formidable as we walked around trying to figure out what each room was all about.
After about a half hour in the main pool Mr. N and I check into the 'clothing optional' section of the complex thinking that 'optional' means just that...by choice - so we weren't too afraid of what would happen when we walked into the area.
Well we quickly found out that 'optional' means NUDE. Very NUDE. All NUDE. Everybody but us NUDE.
Well Europeans have no qualms whatsoever about walking around totally in the buff - but obviously North Americans don't share that confidence. After a quick swim, and walk through, we headed over to the water slides to grab Mr. P to tell him about hour little 'wander into nudism' trek.
A few runs down the slide - and Mr. P is now in tow wanting to see himself.
That's when we got 'busted.'
A nice young employee wanders over to us - again with 'barely' any English - and politely explains to us that we are now in the 'all nude' area and we should either a) doff the gear or b) leave the area.
We took option b) - well at least Mr. N and I did but Mr. P, with his Italian heritage, dropped the trunks and headed for the danger zone.
It was quite the experience and even though we were thousands of miles from home; away from any potential family or friends, clients or associates Mr. Happy was kept hidden in the Fruit of the Looms where he remained quite pleased. (Honest Kim)
So - very simply I think you'll understand that - there are 'no pictures' in the blog today!
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Monday, October 3, 2011
Switzerland
Another beautiful day of riding through western Europe.
It appears we’ve hit a ‘record’ weather week with clear skies, little wind, and perfect road conditions although today is a holiday so the highways were a tad busy.
(By the way Mayor Mandell - in the four riding days so far in mountain countries we’ve seen ‘nary’ a pothole so it CAN be done!)
We road from Northern France this morning back through a section of the Black Forest, ending up in Switzerland.
We stopped for some ‘authentic’ Black Forest cake in Germany and some of the guys grabbed some Black Mountain Ham - which has the most beautiful aroma you can imagine when you walk in to the little cafe on the mountain.
Today my mind was on inspiration and in studying our other riders all who have come from very different scenarios.
The prime motivator is Jack Cartright from southern California. Jack is 76 years old and travels all over the world ‘riding’ motorcycles by himself. He reminds me of Jack Palance - a good sized man - rugged - and totally ‘in shape’ as he rides his bicycle ‘at least 100 miles a week.‘ His sense of humour is immense and can tell stories til the cows come home.
Then there’s Ray and Teresa Silva, the only Harley Riders in the group, and they’ve taken a fair amount of ‘fun’ heat about that fact but he’s a hell of a rider and keeps up with the BMW’s easily.
On the back of Ray’s jacket you can see his inspiration - a cancer survivor.
The two “Johns” are Dentists and it’s their first trip over to Europe. Both are as wide eyed at the rest of us about the stunning topography; the amazing ‘new’ foods; and the head clearing two wheel feeling you get on a ride like this.
Patricia and Stan Hickle from Hanna, Alberta have had the toughest time as they have had a few ‘spills’ due to the fact that they are both self described ‘big people’ and are riding a much smaller bike in the BMW 1200 than what they are used to on their Honda Gold Wing. They too have property in Arizona.
Every time Patricia ‘falls over’ she gets up with a laugh and hops right back on the bike. Today they bumped into Jenn (our guides) while making a turn and both bikes hit the tarmac. Little damage and as Jenn says “shit happens.”
Another ‘almost’ bad accident happened when one of the kids from Taiwan was waiting by the roadside. A car came past him and ‘clipped’ the side of his bike sheering the turn signal clear off - then the car kept on going. The kid was fine but again both incidents remind you of how vulnerable you are out there on the road.
I’d have to guess the ratio of motorcycles to cars is close to 50% over here - so cars and trucks are quite used to bikes on the road, mostly giving us lots of space, but there have been a few times when we’ve had to be ‘very’ aware of traffic conditions on the motorcycles.
Today I decided ‘not’ to use the term “Bucket List” anymore - simply because it has a finality to it.
I’m going to call it the “Dream List” because this surely is a dream that I’ve had for many many years - and when you sit here at the end of the day ‘bagged’ from riding and look out at the beautiful homes, churches, castles, and buildings it’s just such a positive feeling that you get rushing through your head.
Many people say I’m lucky - and for that I concur - but by having a list of things you really desire as a basis to ‘getting it done’ truly is a blessing and I’m allready thinking about the next place in the world I’d like to visit.
Even though language is an issue the people who have all helped, or served us, along the way have truly been great and congenial.
Sometimes it’s just fun pointing at something on a menu and saying ‘lets go for it’ - to discover yet another delight from this part of the world.
The other aspect that is forefront all the time for me is the fact that my late step father Mike Sheehy lost his leg in the Second World War fighting for our freedom. I wish he was alive now so I could ‘truly’ thank him for his sacrifice for I ‘most likely’ would not appreciate the gift of travel like I do.
Plus - if indeed we all are reincarnated in the future - I promise to pay attention in school the next time around because there is ‘so much’ to learn from the past.
This has been ‘great’ - with more to come.
The Tres Amigos do Europe 2011 tour hits Lietchenstein and Austria tomorrow.
It appears we’ve hit a ‘record’ weather week with clear skies, little wind, and perfect road conditions although today is a holiday so the highways were a tad busy.
(By the way Mayor Mandell - in the four riding days so far in mountain countries we’ve seen ‘nary’ a pothole so it CAN be done!)
We road from Northern France this morning back through a section of the Black Forest, ending up in Switzerland.
We stopped for some ‘authentic’ Black Forest cake in Germany and some of the guys grabbed some Black Mountain Ham - which has the most beautiful aroma you can imagine when you walk in to the little cafe on the mountain.
Today my mind was on inspiration and in studying our other riders all who have come from very different scenarios.
The prime motivator is Jack Cartright from southern California. Jack is 76 years old and travels all over the world ‘riding’ motorcycles by himself. He reminds me of Jack Palance - a good sized man - rugged - and totally ‘in shape’ as he rides his bicycle ‘at least 100 miles a week.‘ His sense of humour is immense and can tell stories til the cows come home.
Then there’s Ray and Teresa Silva, the only Harley Riders in the group, and they’ve taken a fair amount of ‘fun’ heat about that fact but he’s a hell of a rider and keeps up with the BMW’s easily.
On the back of Ray’s jacket you can see his inspiration - a cancer survivor.
The two “Johns” are Dentists and it’s their first trip over to Europe. Both are as wide eyed at the rest of us about the stunning topography; the amazing ‘new’ foods; and the head clearing two wheel feeling you get on a ride like this.
Patricia and Stan Hickle from Hanna, Alberta have had the toughest time as they have had a few ‘spills’ due to the fact that they are both self described ‘big people’ and are riding a much smaller bike in the BMW 1200 than what they are used to on their Honda Gold Wing. They too have property in Arizona.
Every time Patricia ‘falls over’ she gets up with a laugh and hops right back on the bike. Today they bumped into Jenn (our guides) while making a turn and both bikes hit the tarmac. Little damage and as Jenn says “shit happens.”
Another ‘almost’ bad accident happened when one of the kids from Taiwan was waiting by the roadside. A car came past him and ‘clipped’ the side of his bike sheering the turn signal clear off - then the car kept on going. The kid was fine but again both incidents remind you of how vulnerable you are out there on the road.
I’d have to guess the ratio of motorcycles to cars is close to 50% over here - so cars and trucks are quite used to bikes on the road, mostly giving us lots of space, but there have been a few times when we’ve had to be ‘very’ aware of traffic conditions on the motorcycles.
Today I decided ‘not’ to use the term “Bucket List” anymore - simply because it has a finality to it.
I’m going to call it the “Dream List” because this surely is a dream that I’ve had for many many years - and when you sit here at the end of the day ‘bagged’ from riding and look out at the beautiful homes, churches, castles, and buildings it’s just such a positive feeling that you get rushing through your head.
Many people say I’m lucky - and for that I concur - but by having a list of things you really desire as a basis to ‘getting it done’ truly is a blessing and I’m allready thinking about the next place in the world I’d like to visit.
Even though language is an issue the people who have all helped, or served us, along the way have truly been great and congenial.
Sometimes it’s just fun pointing at something on a menu and saying ‘lets go for it’ - to discover yet another delight from this part of the world.
The other aspect that is forefront all the time for me is the fact that my late step father Mike Sheehy lost his leg in the Second World War fighting for our freedom. I wish he was alive now so I could ‘truly’ thank him for his sacrifice for I ‘most likely’ would not appreciate the gift of travel like I do.
Plus - if indeed we all are reincarnated in the future - I promise to pay attention in school the next time around because there is ‘so much’ to learn from the past.
This has been ‘great’ - with more to come.
The Tres Amigos do Europe 2011 tour hits Lietchenstein and Austria tomorrow.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Best of Europe bike trip continues
First off the weather has been spectacular and the riding the same. Yesterdays ride from Heidelberg (check this castle) through the Black Forest was simply amazing with more 'twistees' than I've ever been on before. 
We rode through about 50 different villages and I swear it was like being in a 'fairy tale' with the beautiful Bavarian homes. We also went past several vineyards - and farms growing feed corn as well as cabbage.
It was a real test of skill as you go around those curves fairly swiftly with the rest of your crew (about 21 other bikes) about 2 to 3 seconds behind you so 'no goofs.'
And at about the half way point we stop at a beautiful lake area for a quick rest. Our two guides are amazing. Jenns (pron: Yens) speaks 'at last' 4 different languages and will use all four throughout a conversation making sure that everybody knows what the heck is going on.
Then theres Sigg (Ziegfried) who we believe is "map challenged" - either that or he HAS to take a smoke break every 45 minutes so pulls over to check a map and lights up.
We are now in a small town in Northern France called Ribeauville, which is part of the Alsace district which wine lovers surely will recognize.
We've met some great people and I'll try to highlight a bit of info about each with these updates.
Bob and Donna Torche are from Washington - and in fact "the Pentagon" - and have some really interesting stories...They bike all over the world and Donna is a total character.
Language can become an issue when you're this far into the countryside - and the look on some of the peoples faces when we try to order something in English is hilarious as they shrug their shoulders and grin.....at which time the game of Canadian charades breaks out as we point at whatever we want.
At lunch the 'special' was something we had never heard of but Donna 'jumped at it' - so the entire crew ordered this....which 'was' spectacular.
Today is a rest day but most of the guys took off again across the country side for another ride while Brian and I rested our butts, literally, in town. The BMW's are great bikes but their saddles are as thin as wafers and a 7 hour ride can be a tad painful - but as you can see in this picture - we're taking it like grown up MEN.
Tomorrow we cut back through the Black Forest and stop where the 'real' cuckoo clocks are made and for a piece of authentic Black Forest Cake. We then ride through what Jens says is some 'spectacular' Alpine mountain riding and end up in Switzerland.
Boy what a guy won't do for his Edmonton Sun Publisher!
Cheers everybody - miss you Kim, Lauren, Rayanne and the mighty Duke.
We rode through about 50 different villages and I swear it was like being in a 'fairy tale' with the beautiful Bavarian homes. We also went past several vineyards - and farms growing feed corn as well as cabbage.
It was a real test of skill as you go around those curves fairly swiftly with the rest of your crew (about 21 other bikes) about 2 to 3 seconds behind you so 'no goofs.'
And at about the half way point we stop at a beautiful lake area for a quick rest. Our two guides are amazing. Jenns (pron: Yens) speaks 'at last' 4 different languages and will use all four throughout a conversation making sure that everybody knows what the heck is going on.
Then theres Sigg (Ziegfried) who we believe is "map challenged" - either that or he HAS to take a smoke break every 45 minutes so pulls over to check a map and lights up.
We are now in a small town in Northern France called Ribeauville, which is part of the Alsace district which wine lovers surely will recognize.
We've met some great people and I'll try to highlight a bit of info about each with these updates.
Bob and Donna Torche are from Washington - and in fact "the Pentagon" - and have some really interesting stories...They bike all over the world and Donna is a total character.
Language can become an issue when you're this far into the countryside - and the look on some of the peoples faces when we try to order something in English is hilarious as they shrug their shoulders and grin.....at which time the game of Canadian charades breaks out as we point at whatever we want.
At lunch the 'special' was something we had never heard of but Donna 'jumped at it' - so the entire crew ordered this....which 'was' spectacular.
Today is a rest day but most of the guys took off again across the country side for another ride while Brian and I rested our butts, literally, in town. The BMW's are great bikes but their saddles are as thin as wafers and a 7 hour ride can be a tad painful - but as you can see in this picture - we're taking it like grown up MEN.
Tomorrow we cut back through the Black Forest and stop where the 'real' cuckoo clocks are made and for a piece of authentic Black Forest Cake. We then ride through what Jens says is some 'spectacular' Alpine mountain riding and end up in Switzerland.
Boy what a guy won't do for his Edmonton Sun Publisher!
Cheers everybody - miss you Kim, Lauren, Rayanne and the mighty Duke.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Munich Oktoberfest
Day two in Europe was spent on a relaxing train trip from Frankfurt to Munich. Relaxing if you mean cruising the rails at up to 300 kph.
Arriving in Munich we check in to the hotel and hook up with our "Tres" Amigo Mr. Gary Peruzzini who has been here a few days and scouted out the city.
The biggest highlight - we're two blocks down from the biggest party in the world. Now I've been to Stampedes and Superbowls but his is "massive." Thousands upon thousands of people, mostly dressed up in their Bavarian costumes, with the men in their shorts and women in those wonderful outfits that put a nice accent on their best parts. (Remember - I'm married!)
There is a constant stream of people going both in to the event - and staggering OUT - with several of the guys being 'carried' on the shoulders of two pals who survived the marathon better than he did.
Police are 'everywhere' and armed to the teeth but pleasant as hell as they walk around the festivities. Many pose for pictures - others take pictures - and seem to be enjoying themselves.
As you walk around the grounds it's quite like Capital Ex or the Stampede with rides, cotton candy and other unique German treats and kids are everywhere almost oblivious to the rowdy drunks around them.
On the inside is where it is just insane. Beer guys are yelling and screaming to get out of the way as they deliver giant steins of beer - or Beer ladies with your food.
Food highlights seemed to be roast chicken, but the strangest looking bar b cue's were out front preparing a very blackened type fish that I'd guess was Mackeral.
There are about 20 giant beer halls, each with performers perched at the end. They have all their signature tunes - like roll out the barrels - and when certain keys are hit most of the patrons jump up on the tables - sing along - and dance with the neighboring tables. It's hot - loud and incredibly zany.
The funniest moment of the night was one very over served guy staggered beside us - and as we thought he was about to tip over - dropped trow and let Mr. Happy out - and started peeing on a tree right on the main road in to the Oktoberfest in front of everybody, again, children included. Mr. Norrie posted the pic on his Facebook and again all our pics are on Tres Amigos do Europe 2011.
It was great to hook up with Mr. P who is having a ball. His head start got him to Paris, London and Prague and he is in total holiday mode with nary a worry about returning home especially with the major highlight just ahead of us - the ride itself.
Mr. N continues to hand out our 'signature' pins to almost everybody we meet and this morning handed one to our cab driver who yelled out a racial slur to another cab driver who wouldn't move over for us. I won't print what he said but it did have the word 'camel' in it.
Mother Nature continues to be cruel to me and I'm still struggling with a bad head cold, sore throat and touch of flu. Plus the jet lag/time difference hasn't been easy as I'm now writing this at 3 am in Munich while my body continues to operate like it's the early evening back in Alberta.
Tomorrow off to Erding and meet our fellow bikers from Taiwan, Brazil, eastern US, and the one other couple from Canada - from Hannah. I'll be sure to tell them how the announcers here pronounce the name of their home town band "Nee-kl-Bock!"
Arriving in Munich we check in to the hotel and hook up with our "Tres" Amigo Mr. Gary Peruzzini who has been here a few days and scouted out the city.
The biggest highlight - we're two blocks down from the biggest party in the world. Now I've been to Stampedes and Superbowls but his is "massive." Thousands upon thousands of people, mostly dressed up in their Bavarian costumes, with the men in their shorts and women in those wonderful outfits that put a nice accent on their best parts. (Remember - I'm married!)
There is a constant stream of people going both in to the event - and staggering OUT - with several of the guys being 'carried' on the shoulders of two pals who survived the marathon better than he did.
Police are 'everywhere' and armed to the teeth but pleasant as hell as they walk around the festivities. Many pose for pictures - others take pictures - and seem to be enjoying themselves.
As you walk around the grounds it's quite like Capital Ex or the Stampede with rides, cotton candy and other unique German treats and kids are everywhere almost oblivious to the rowdy drunks around them.
On the inside is where it is just insane. Beer guys are yelling and screaming to get out of the way as they deliver giant steins of beer - or Beer ladies with your food.
Food highlights seemed to be roast chicken, but the strangest looking bar b cue's were out front preparing a very blackened type fish that I'd guess was Mackeral.
There are about 20 giant beer halls, each with performers perched at the end. They have all their signature tunes - like roll out the barrels - and when certain keys are hit most of the patrons jump up on the tables - sing along - and dance with the neighboring tables. It's hot - loud and incredibly zany.
The funniest moment of the night was one very over served guy staggered beside us - and as we thought he was about to tip over - dropped trow and let Mr. Happy out - and started peeing on a tree right on the main road in to the Oktoberfest in front of everybody, again, children included. Mr. Norrie posted the pic on his Facebook and again all our pics are on Tres Amigos do Europe 2011.
It was great to hook up with Mr. P who is having a ball. His head start got him to Paris, London and Prague and he is in total holiday mode with nary a worry about returning home especially with the major highlight just ahead of us - the ride itself.
Mr. N continues to hand out our 'signature' pins to almost everybody we meet and this morning handed one to our cab driver who yelled out a racial slur to another cab driver who wouldn't move over for us. I won't print what he said but it did have the word 'camel' in it.
Mother Nature continues to be cruel to me and I'm still struggling with a bad head cold, sore throat and touch of flu. Plus the jet lag/time difference hasn't been easy as I'm now writing this at 3 am in Munich while my body continues to operate like it's the early evening back in Alberta.
Tomorrow off to Erding and meet our fellow bikers from Taiwan, Brazil, eastern US, and the one other couple from Canada - from Hannah. I'll be sure to tell them how the announcers here pronounce the name of their home town band "Nee-kl-Bock!"
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Guest update from my tough kid...and you can't begin to imagine how proud I am of her!
"There are 3 things you cannot recover in life.
The moment after it's missed, the word after it's said & the time after it's wasted."
Someone wise once told me that when you are sick, you have two choices.
“You get bitter, or you get better.” If you’re like me... you choose to
get better…but like most things, it sounds easier said than done.
For those who know my story & have been following me throughout my ‘journey’;
you know I have something called “Graves Disease.” It has been almost a year
since I have been diagnosed.
I was listening to the radio the other day, when I heard the lyrics:
“I wouldn’t trade the pain for what I’ve learned” … So my friends, this is what I’ve learned:
For anyone’s whose been sick, and I mean life changing sick, you will
understand my words perfectly, but for those who…like myself until recently,
believed nothing bad could ever happen them- this will be a much more eye
opening read.
I received what doctors believed to be an ultimately lifesaving
surgery when they removed my thyroid to control my constant, dangerously high
heartbeat.
I feel like they didn’t just ‘take’ my thyroid. They took away what I
thought was a perfect world. They took my sense of adventure, they took my
dreams and they took my ability to believe anything was possible. The beautiful
trusting world I knew suddenly became cracked and dark looking.
People go about their lives trying to plan every detail about their future, but what
happens when you suddenly get sick and you have to quit your job, plan your day
around dozens of pill doses to keep your heart functioning normally and spend
your days in & out of hospitals?
Back in February, I was admitted to the hospital where I spent nearly a month in isolation
and in black & white terms- it could, and in some cases have been deadly.
I had 600 white blood cells trying to keep my body going when I should have had 6,000-12,000 per
micro/L.
If I caught any other sickness floating around in the hospital air, I would not have recovered.
I think that was about the time I really started to worry.
When you’re sick & you don’t know what is going to happen to you, and no one else knows either…
you go into protective mode to those around you.
They are anxiously and carefully trying to piece together exactly how to say things to you without upsetting you, and in my case….I, in return, tried to make other people laugh as much as I could to lighten up the mood. If we pretended we knew it would be ‘ok’, it would be… Right?
The most bittersweet moment of my stay was when my Dad told me he bought me tickets to Taylor Swift in August/2011.
Although it was some of the motivation I needed to get better & out of the hospital, I didn’t know for sure some days if I would get to go home. Several months& one daddy-daughter concert later…
I found out what I figured to be the worse was just a warm up of the never ending powerhouse of
medical problems called “Graves Disease.”
After surgery, my weekly or bi-weekly blood tests turned into monthly.
If you remove you’re thyroid, you have to take daily pills to supplement your TSH hormone level.
From July of 2010 to September of 2011, I had not had a normal blood thyroid level.
I found out the effects on your skin when you’re thyroid level isn’t right; my
face started looking like a 14 year old boy with the daily breakouts.
I was always either so tired it was hard to get out of bed or so awake I couldn’t
sleep… Depending on how high the dose of ‘Synthroid’ the doctors had given me
that month.
On September 7th of this year, I found out for the first time in over a year, it had finally levelled itself out to a safe number.
I am in the process of finding a nice frame for the piece of paper revealing the results. It’s amazing how such a little accomplishment can mean so much in the big picture of things.
There are two theories that doctor’s decisions are split on for treatment of
Graves. One is to melt away the thyroid with radioactive iodine; the other is to surgically remove it.
The reason being is that for certain patients, like me, the radioactive iodine
treatment can cause severe eye symptoms later on down the road to recovery.
My time was split under the care of two different doctors at two different hospitals who had very different believes on the appropriate treatment.
One doctor made me drink radioactive iodine on three separate occasions pre-surgery that my body is paying for now at one hospital before being transferred to another.
For me personally, this has been the worse part of this illness.
The pain I feel in my eyes is virtually indescribable to someone who hasn’t gone through it.
The feeling of having so much pressure from behind your eyes that it protrudes them forward is incredibly painful.
My vision is decreasing, I get double vision, I have severe sensitively
to light and worse of all, when I look in the mirror… the person I used to see
staring back at me is gone.
I wear long false eyelashes every day to try and balance out the size of my eyes now. The only way to fix this problem, as there is no ‘cure’, is to get a surgery to take out the eyeballs themselves, scrape out the extra tissue that is growing behind the eyes and put them back in.
This is the next surgery the doctor’s told me to prepare for.
None of the other surgery’s scared me until this one.
I don’t think an explanation is needed either; just the mental image of it resembles a
scene out of a gory horror movie.
The psychological part of having Graves has been equally hard to deal with.
After going from feeling like the world is yours for the taking- to just thanking the ‘big guy upstairs’ that you are here to see the sun rise in a matter of months; you’re brain starts playing tricks on you.
Always feeling a sense of 'loss'; I find myself calling or asking people obsessively
where they are going and when they will be back.
I keep things that had any meaning to me during hospital visits like the admitting bracelets or cards given to me.
I have never kept a card in my life except the ones from this year. I hate being alone
now and spend a lot of time at home as it is extremely hard for me to be out
around people my age who have never had to go through something like this in
their lives because I don’t feel like they can’t relate to me anymore.
This process aged me mentally 20+ years and the paranoia I feel daily that I will get
sicker and end up back in the hospital tortures me.
After being freed from the invisible prison bars of a hospital, you immediately feel
appreciation for absolutely anything & everything.
The appreciation gradually (but never fully) disappears& the uncertainty of the future overshadows the beauty of each day with the discovery a new health problem associated with Graves Disease.
I can’t tell you enough how grateful I am for the family I have. My sister always goes out of her way to put a smile on my face, my parents have been the shoulder I needed to cry on & they
have spent thousands of dollars on my pills in the last year alone.
Most recently, my Dad found out that the American Graves Disease Foundation holds a
conference every year for patients and top doctors studying Graves to get
together and learn from each other.
http://www.ngdf.org/
In November of this year I will be flying with my mom to Boston to try and learn what to expect will happen to me in 1 year, 5 years or 10 years from now. Never in my life did I think attending a medical conference all weekend for 10 hours a day would be exciting; but then
again I never thought ‘this’ would be MY life.
If there is anything I hope readers take from my blog is that if you are blessed with perfect health, listen & ponder the words of someone who has seen both sides of the fence;
If you feel like you are having a rough day, take a few seconds and think about all the
amazing things you have to be thankful for.
If you get to go home and sleep in your own bed, be thankful because I assure you there are family’s everywhere sleeping slumped over in lime green ‘pleather’ hospital chairs watching their loved ones battling far worse than I have dealt with to date.
If you are able to go home & give your parents, sisters, brothers a hug- embrace that moment because there will come a time that you don’t have that luxury anymore.
One of my favourite quotes is;
“Live your days as if they were numbered, because they are.”
I believe you should never regret something that once made you smile and that there
is beauty in every situation- you just have to choose to see it. Not every day is going to be sunny & wonderful, because if it were… we would not be able to appreciate the good
times when things don’t go our way.
I didn’t always make the best long term decisions and my life path lead me to this illness that I didn’t understand
until recently. What I lost in creating fun memories with friends over the year,
I gained in wisdom that I can hopefully share with someone else.
I found out that when times get rough, the people that love you will always be
there no matter what and you should remind them as much as you can just how much
that means to you.
So to my family; Marty, Kim, Lauren, Jeremy, my extended
family & the many friends who have been there to put a smile back on my face
during my darkest days…
This blog entry is to celebrate YOU & all you have done for me this year & beyond.
I would not have gotten this far without you.
I love you.
I will keep updating on my progress every few months.
Thank you for taking the time to see a glimpse into the world of
“Graves Disease”.
-Rayanne
***Final picture: That's Rayanne jumping out of a perfectly good airplane. She told her Dad "after" she did it so as not to worry me. I fully expect to see her at the top of Mount Everest one day with a big poster that says "Screw You Graves!"
Love you Punk - and the rest of my family - we are indeed very lucky people!
The moment after it's missed, the word after it's said & the time after it's wasted."
Someone wise once told me that when you are sick, you have two choices.
“You get bitter, or you get better.” If you’re like me... you choose to
get better…but like most things, it sounds easier said than done.
For those who know my story & have been following me throughout my ‘journey’;
you know I have something called “Graves Disease.” It has been almost a year
since I have been diagnosed.
I was listening to the radio the other day, when I heard the lyrics:
“I wouldn’t trade the pain for what I’ve learned” … So my friends, this is what I’ve learned:
For anyone’s whose been sick, and I mean life changing sick, you will
understand my words perfectly, but for those who…like myself until recently,
believed nothing bad could ever happen them- this will be a much more eye
opening read.
I received what doctors believed to be an ultimately lifesaving
surgery when they removed my thyroid to control my constant, dangerously high
heartbeat.
I feel like they didn’t just ‘take’ my thyroid. They took away what I
thought was a perfect world. They took my sense of adventure, they took my
dreams and they took my ability to believe anything was possible. The beautiful
trusting world I knew suddenly became cracked and dark looking.
People go about their lives trying to plan every detail about their future, but what
happens when you suddenly get sick and you have to quit your job, plan your day
around dozens of pill doses to keep your heart functioning normally and spend
your days in & out of hospitals?
Back in February, I was admitted to the hospital where I spent nearly a month in isolation
and in black & white terms- it could, and in some cases have been deadly.
I had 600 white blood cells trying to keep my body going when I should have had 6,000-12,000 per
micro/L.
If I caught any other sickness floating around in the hospital air, I would not have recovered.
I think that was about the time I really started to worry.
When you’re sick & you don’t know what is going to happen to you, and no one else knows either…
you go into protective mode to those around you.
They are anxiously and carefully trying to piece together exactly how to say things to you without upsetting you, and in my case….I, in return, tried to make other people laugh as much as I could to lighten up the mood. If we pretended we knew it would be ‘ok’, it would be… Right?
The most bittersweet moment of my stay was when my Dad told me he bought me tickets to Taylor Swift in August/2011.
Although it was some of the motivation I needed to get better & out of the hospital, I didn’t know for sure some days if I would get to go home. Several months& one daddy-daughter concert later…
I found out what I figured to be the worse was just a warm up of the never ending powerhouse of
medical problems called “Graves Disease.”
After surgery, my weekly or bi-weekly blood tests turned into monthly.
If you remove you’re thyroid, you have to take daily pills to supplement your TSH hormone level.
From July of 2010 to September of 2011, I had not had a normal blood thyroid level.
I found out the effects on your skin when you’re thyroid level isn’t right; my
face started looking like a 14 year old boy with the daily breakouts.
I was always either so tired it was hard to get out of bed or so awake I couldn’t
sleep… Depending on how high the dose of ‘Synthroid’ the doctors had given me
that month.
On September 7th of this year, I found out for the first time in over a year, it had finally levelled itself out to a safe number.
I am in the process of finding a nice frame for the piece of paper revealing the results. It’s amazing how such a little accomplishment can mean so much in the big picture of things.
There are two theories that doctor’s decisions are split on for treatment of
Graves. One is to melt away the thyroid with radioactive iodine; the other is to surgically remove it.
The reason being is that for certain patients, like me, the radioactive iodine
treatment can cause severe eye symptoms later on down the road to recovery.
My time was split under the care of two different doctors at two different hospitals who had very different believes on the appropriate treatment.
One doctor made me drink radioactive iodine on three separate occasions pre-surgery that my body is paying for now at one hospital before being transferred to another.
For me personally, this has been the worse part of this illness.
The pain I feel in my eyes is virtually indescribable to someone who hasn’t gone through it.
The feeling of having so much pressure from behind your eyes that it protrudes them forward is incredibly painful.
My vision is decreasing, I get double vision, I have severe sensitively
to light and worse of all, when I look in the mirror… the person I used to see
staring back at me is gone.
I wear long false eyelashes every day to try and balance out the size of my eyes now. The only way to fix this problem, as there is no ‘cure’, is to get a surgery to take out the eyeballs themselves, scrape out the extra tissue that is growing behind the eyes and put them back in.
This is the next surgery the doctor’s told me to prepare for.
None of the other surgery’s scared me until this one.
I don’t think an explanation is needed either; just the mental image of it resembles a
scene out of a gory horror movie.
The psychological part of having Graves has been equally hard to deal with.
After going from feeling like the world is yours for the taking- to just thanking the ‘big guy upstairs’ that you are here to see the sun rise in a matter of months; you’re brain starts playing tricks on you.
Always feeling a sense of 'loss'; I find myself calling or asking people obsessively
where they are going and when they will be back.
I keep things that had any meaning to me during hospital visits like the admitting bracelets or cards given to me.
I have never kept a card in my life except the ones from this year. I hate being alone
now and spend a lot of time at home as it is extremely hard for me to be out
around people my age who have never had to go through something like this in
their lives because I don’t feel like they can’t relate to me anymore.
This process aged me mentally 20+ years and the paranoia I feel daily that I will get
sicker and end up back in the hospital tortures me.
After being freed from the invisible prison bars of a hospital, you immediately feel
appreciation for absolutely anything & everything.
The appreciation gradually (but never fully) disappears& the uncertainty of the future overshadows the beauty of each day with the discovery a new health problem associated with Graves Disease.
I can’t tell you enough how grateful I am for the family I have. My sister always goes out of her way to put a smile on my face, my parents have been the shoulder I needed to cry on & they
have spent thousands of dollars on my pills in the last year alone.
Most recently, my Dad found out that the American Graves Disease Foundation holds a
conference every year for patients and top doctors studying Graves to get
together and learn from each other.
http://www.ngdf.org/
In November of this year I will be flying with my mom to Boston to try and learn what to expect will happen to me in 1 year, 5 years or 10 years from now. Never in my life did I think attending a medical conference all weekend for 10 hours a day would be exciting; but then
again I never thought ‘this’ would be MY life.
If there is anything I hope readers take from my blog is that if you are blessed with perfect health, listen & ponder the words of someone who has seen both sides of the fence;
If you feel like you are having a rough day, take a few seconds and think about all the
amazing things you have to be thankful for.
If you get to go home and sleep in your own bed, be thankful because I assure you there are family’s everywhere sleeping slumped over in lime green ‘pleather’ hospital chairs watching their loved ones battling far worse than I have dealt with to date.
If you are able to go home & give your parents, sisters, brothers a hug- embrace that moment because there will come a time that you don’t have that luxury anymore.
One of my favourite quotes is;
“Live your days as if they were numbered, because they are.”
I believe you should never regret something that once made you smile and that there
is beauty in every situation- you just have to choose to see it. Not every day is going to be sunny & wonderful, because if it were… we would not be able to appreciate the good
times when things don’t go our way.
I didn’t always make the best long term decisions and my life path lead me to this illness that I didn’t understand
until recently. What I lost in creating fun memories with friends over the year,
I gained in wisdom that I can hopefully share with someone else.
I found out that when times get rough, the people that love you will always be
there no matter what and you should remind them as much as you can just how much
that means to you.
So to my family; Marty, Kim, Lauren, Jeremy, my extended
family & the many friends who have been there to put a smile back on my face
during my darkest days…
This blog entry is to celebrate YOU & all you have done for me this year & beyond.
I would not have gotten this far without you.
I love you.
I will keep updating on my progress every few months.
Thank you for taking the time to see a glimpse into the world of
“Graves Disease”.
-Rayanne
***Final picture: That's Rayanne jumping out of a perfectly good airplane. She told her Dad "after" she did it so as not to worry me. I fully expect to see her at the top of Mount Everest one day with a big poster that says "Screw You Graves!"
Love you Punk - and the rest of my family - we are indeed very lucky people!
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