Thursday, July 27, 2006

something is coming but I don't know what

God is doing amazing things...crazy things. I don't know what else to say except it is weird and cool and beautiful and its all I can do to keep up...

"Look at the nations and watch - and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told." Habakkuk 1:5

I keep telling mom I'm not going crazy.

But truthfully I am delerious with wonder most of the time.

Monday, July 24, 2006

good...night....i hope.

"She lay in bed all night watching the colors change
She lay in bed all night watching the morning change
She lay in bed all night watching the morning change into green and gold
The doctor told her years ago that she was ill
The doctor told her years ago to take a pill"
-belle and sebastian


for some reason this was hilarious to me considering that right now adjusting to my thyroid medicine is really affecting my sleeping schedule and/or routine. : )
thats all.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

free at last

i have been let out of my room!
i still have to be careful until i get scanned tomorrow about washing my hands, staying away from people, etc. but starting tomorrow i can rejoin society :)
(which means dad can stop running around singing "danger! she's radioactive!..." and mom can stop refering to me as her "little glow-worm")



and, hopefully in about 3 weeks (after i start my thyroid medicine and it adjusts), i will be normal aly once again.



my time in seclusion was very....spiritually...enlightening ?....i would say.
i went into it with the expectant attitude of hearing from God, and he certainly did not fail to show up (which, when we slow down enough to actually listen to him and be quiet...he can reveal some really cool things).
these past 3 days, i have done a LOT of reading....the Word, books, my journals, sermon notes......from the past year or so of my life...listening to music...and praying and listening for God to bring me purpose and understanding from this past year and for my life now that I am hopefully getting better.
which he did.
i threw out a lot of lies and insecurities and confusion that i wrote and believed about others...and God...and myself. they went into that little radioactive trashcan and are probably already burned up along with everything else i touched :) it was fabulously... freeing.


so....my spirit and body are healing together i guess.

my mom and i recently talked about the fact that i haven't been normal, non-medicated, not-sick ...Aly... in about a year.
a year.
that is a long long time to be gone. i have struggled this year in sorting out what is really my personality and what is a medicated strange version of myself.

*i have extremely loving close friends (both new and old) and family that have loved me and suffered alongside this big year of changes for me. i love you all for your prayers and understanding and patience through the tiredness, the tears, and the medicine. you know who you are and i want you to know i love you.*

but i know it has taken everything this past year to rip off some much needed layers of....well....crap...to be honest. i don't question anything that has happened to me because God has shown me numerous times this year how these hard things have been really....GOOD.
and God has blessed me INCREDIBLY by providing these insane experiences to teach me some very good things about Him, about others, and about myself....and my time of intense solitude provided me time with to reflect on these things. i don't regret them.

in about 3 weeks i'll be back. some of you that i have met recently have never even known the real Aly.
i miss her.
but she's coming back and "better than ever" haha.
i can't wait. :)

Sunday, July 16, 2006

my big plastic paradise

i'm out!
well sort of.
out of the hospital. but i'm still secluded in my room at home, which no one can come into really for a few more days. i can open the door and talk to people, but pretty much i'm still pretty isolated.

my time in the hospital officially started when i got dropped off in my plastic room. momma laughed and so did i. (see pictures). the room was sort of like a really clean...big...plastic...prison of sorts. except no sketchy cell mate. and pretty much i was told to avoid touching anything that was not covered in saran wrap looking plastic.

after she dropped me off, i put on my gown and then the doctor came in and had a big, radioactive box, pulled out a pill in a glass vial with a pair of tongs, and told me to swallow the pill but to only touch the glass vial while doing it.
i followed instructions and then she threw the glass vial back in the box, measured me with a gun....
thing...
which reminded me of that little box they used on ghostbusters. then she shut the two sets of doors and left.
and no one came in for a loooong time.

to my dismay, i didn't glow in the dark...or anything remotely interesting (no ninja turtle skills). i really feel no different except for a really bad sore throat (which my doctor told me was normal).

they gave me food by a little system. they would announce that my [breakfast, lunch, etc.] was there and to make sure i was away from the outermost door. then they would come in the outside door, drop off the food in the little hallway area, tap on the innermost door to let me know, and leave. then i could go out into this little enclosed inbetween area and get my food, and then go back inside the innermost door. (does that make sense?) i couldn't ever open the outside door b/c i would leak out...or something.

when my doctor came to check on me to let me out, she scanned me, told me it would be a few more hours, and then came back and checked me again, had me signed some paperwork, and that was it. no one could come in my room until it was detoxed by some physicist after i left. and i had to walk way far away from everyone and momma drove me home and shut me up in my room. so here i am.

my time in the hospital (and now at home) was not bad.
strangely, it was almost ...nice.
i slept. i had no IV, no nurses taking my blood, and they brought me food (which momma is still currently having to do). i had/am having some much needed quality time with God (more details on this perhaps another day), listening to music, doing some things for myself for once (meaning arts/crafts) and taking.........lets call it ...a sabbatical.


here are some pictures that will provide not only proof for this bizarre experience, but hopefully some laughs. :)


doorway to my room!

yep. that's for my trash and linens.

my big plastic covered room!

lazyboy anyone?

my phone and remote (these proved my biggest difficulty during my stay. i couldn't hear anyone on the phone and i had a really hard time reading the buttons on the remote. so after about an hour or so, i just didn't watch tv) :)

now, does this look like the face of someone who is radioactive? apparently it is.

my sink. yep. even the light switches and doorhandles were covered in plastic. :)

overall, this was and is continuing to be a funny/weird experience. i'm pretty sure this is real...but still i wonder, is this really my life?

Thursday, July 13, 2006

aren't you glad i didn't email this one?

some days i have the weirdest life.

so i went in on monday to the doctor and got some pretty great news as a result of the trial radiation dose and scan that i had last week! last week they gave me a pill and a few days later i got strapped down like a mummy in a machine to scan me for 30-45 min ....it had little lasers to detect just how close it could get to me without actually touching me. it got REAL close. and despite the fake clouds that they had carefully painted on the ceiling, the doctor suggested that i close my eyes. good idea.

on monday they told me the cancer hasn't really spread beyond my throat and they think one strong dose of radiation should take care of what is left. YAY.
i was supposed to get a pill, have to go home for the weekend and avoid people and then be done with it.
sounded simple enough to me, and despite some changes (see below), i feel extremely blessed that cancer is not eating me up from the inside out.
i realize that this is a result of MUCH prayer on YOUR parts. God has been so so so faithful to me through all of this and I cannot begin to express how much i have seen His love and hand through each and every one of you. your prayers and wisdom and words of encouragement amaze me.
so thank you. :) i love you.


well in my consult today things got a little bit ....more ....complicated...weird...funny..?


i started out in the cancer/radiation waiting room of the hospital which on a serious note, is a very sad place. everyone is burned in different places (most radiation does this to you...mine will not) and has little to no hair. mainly the hair loss is due to radiation/chemo (and no my hair will not fall out again thank goodness). but some of this is because they are all over 60 years old and have no hair anyway.
it reminded me a lot of my grandfather (who lost the battle to his thyroid cancer on Good Friday of this year, just a few days after I had my own thyroid tumor taken out). and how much loneliness and pain he must have felt sitting in a very similar waiting room like that every day for many many months. these people i looked at today had that same weariness in their faces. and it made me miss him.
i am reminded how blessed i am to only have to do this just one time when these people have to do it every day.

when they figured out that i was a patient too and was there for the same reason they were, i did get to make friends with some people over some hot chocolate and we exchanged stories about going bald. which made all of us laugh.
then i went in to see my new doctor (this makes #6 if you are keeping count haha)...she's great and i love her.
however, she determined that:

1. i am so hypothyroid i'm now off the chart and beyond the "high" number range haha (if you are a medical person you will understand this lol)

2. i now will be admitted to the hospital tomorrow (SURPRISE!) to get my radiation and have to stay in the hospital for 1-2 days in complete seclusion. i will be in a "wrapped" room (..."kind of like bubble boy" is how my doctor explained it) where literally everything is wrapped in plastic...stuff. they have to detox it when i leave ... strange.

since i will be a little human chernobyl for a day or two, i will have NO human contact (no nurses, no visitors, nada)....except for about 10 min. total or so where my doctor (who will be dressed in a special suit of some sort) will come in and scan my radioactivity level. ( i guess they slide my food through a little door maybe? haha...i will let you know how this works).
i can bring the clothes i have on, some books, toothbrush/etc. and my ipod (i had to beg for that).
thats it.
no cell phone, no computer. they are letting me use the hospital phone and the hospital tv. and apparently those are plastic coated as well.



then when i am let out, for the next 5-7 days i will be staying at mom and dad's house so i can have my own bathroom, dishes, etc. (which sadly destroys me and lindsey's original plan of having me walk the perimeter of the new house while i'm radioactive to kill off all the giant bugs...dang it.)
i have brought every art supply i own over to the house and i will have a week to paint, glue, scrapbook, scribble, organize and create in general.
i'm excited.
i even packed my painting pants. i know i'm weird.

RULES AND REGULATIONS:

*i CAN have visitors, but if you are going to be near me for more than a few minutes then you have to be about 4 or 5 feet away.
*i'm really supposed to mainly try and avoid pregnant people, children and/or midgets, and animals.
and sadly, no i'm not kidding. :) so if one of those categories applies to you, i'll see you in a week or so.
*i can go out in public, but my doctor suggest that i really limit this as much as i can.
*every day i'll be less and less radioactive, so if you are super paranoid and fear for your life....visit me at the end of the week......JUST KIDDING...i think?


5-7 days after my dose, i'll get scanned and hopefully get the go ahead by around next weekend sometime to start my medicine!!!!! then i'll get scanned again in 6-12 months to make sure no cancer has come back. but they are planning on knocking this whole thing out in one strong dose which i am very grateful for. so in a few weeks hopefully i will be adjusted to my new medicine and can once again resume normal social activity, energy level, and body temperature!!!!!


so.
i plan on using my major alone time in the hospital to have some much needed "father daughter" time (as deb calls it) with my jesus. if God had your undivided attention for 1-2 days with no distractions, think about how much he could teach you! i'm kind of excited. i am ready to hear his voice.

also i am curious to see if i will glow in the dark. just a thought.


also, depending on just how secluded i am (i'm checking for cameras), i may become a little living ipod advertisement and have a little dance party in my big plastic room with my music. after all, nobody can bust up in there on me because i might ....i don't know...mutate them ...or something... haha.

**side note: the best comment i have heard so far regarding all this radioactivity comes from bill who suggested:
"well, maybe if you touch a turtle or something you'll mutate and be like the ninja turtles with cool powers and skills! "

one can only hope. :)

God is teaching me not only about trust and being flexible (aka not in control), but also about hearing his voice. i read something today that said, "often what i consider interruptions are divine distractions designed to reveal His plans for me."
although as of this morning, none of this was supposed to happen, i have faith that this unplanned solitude will bring about great things.

i'll let ya'll know how it goes. i'm charging up my ipod, packing up my books, and enjoying the sights and sounds of the night. see you on the outside people.

Sunday, July 09, 2006

would you change?

If you knew that you would die today,
Saw the face of God and love,
Would you change?Would you change?

If you knew that love can break your heart
When you're down so low you cannot fall
Would you change?
Would you change?

How bad, how good does it need to get?
How many losses? How much regret?
What chain reaction would cause an effect?
Makes you turn around,
Makes you try to explain,
Makes you forgive and forget,
Makes you change? Makes you change?

If you knew that you would be alone,
Knowing right, being wrong,
Would you change? Would you change?

If you knew that you would find a truth
That brings up pain that can't be soothed
Would you change? Would you change?
How bad, how good does it need to get?
How many losses? How much regret?
What chain reaction would cause an effect?
Makes you turn around,Makes you try to explain,
Makes you forgive and forget,
Makes you change?Makes you change?

Are you so upright you can't be bent?
If it comes to blows
are you so sure you won't be crawling?
If not for the good, why risk falling? Why risk falling?

If everything you think you know, Makes your life unbearable,
Would you change?Would you change?
If you'd broken every rule and vow, And hard times come to bring you down,
Would you change? Would you change?

If you knew that you would die today,
If you saw the face of God and love,
Would you change?

-tracy chapman


its interesting to me the many ways that God gets our attention.....and just what does it take for us to really make a change in how we live and how we love other people......



i have a ....potentially.... life changing day tomorrow.

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

happy new year!

thats right...i said happy new year.
nope, i don't have my holidays confused and they haven't rearranged the calendar...at least not just yet.

but today is a new year. i decided i am starting over. its the start of a new life. (for me and anyone else who wants to join)
why today you ask? many various and sundry reasons which would take too long to discuss.
but i do have them. reasons i mean.



(random side note: i particularly enjoy the word sundry. in both noun and adjective form.
definition: sundry:
(adj) consisting of a haphazard assortment of different kinds (even to the point of incongruity); "assorted sizes"; "miscellaneous accessories"; "a mixed program of baroque and contemporary music"; "a motley crew";
(noun): odds and ends, miscellaneous unspecified objects
not only do i think sundry would be a cool name for a band, but for some reason it reminds me of the oregon trail game we played when we were little....
and the little screen would remind you to get your 'sundries' at the general store before you embarked out west to cross rivers and change broken wheel axles and eventually die of cholera or a rattlesnake bite.
don't even try to hide the fact that really we all played to shoot the deer and the little prarie dogs. but really, how awesome was oregon trail day at school...'sigh'....)


okay. i'm back.

in starting my new life and my yellow brick road to recovery from all this cancer mess,
i got my first trial round of radiation treatment today.
at about 8 something this morning, they took me into a room labeled the 'hot lab,' sat me down in a special chair in a room full of weird instruments and needles and gave me.....a pill. and then some guy watched me take the pill and drink a big glass of water, stared at me for a minute or two (was he waiting to see if i started glowing or something?) and then said..."okay, you can go."
very anticlimactic no?
but hey, i'm not complaining :)
i am scheduled to go in on friday and get scanned for 30 min-hour or so and the radioactive stuff in the pill will show up on the scan and hopefully show them more of where the cancer is...which they will discuss with me the beginning of next week.


also on my new years day, i made a trip to the...healthy whole world earth vegan organic food fare grocery store...whatever...to try and embrace my new life of healthy eating.
i wandered around for about an hour and made several pleasing discoveries regarding this new change in diet:
1. organic earth eater people actually do eat chocolate. (yay). they just eat it mixed with healthier organic-y stuff like fruit and granola and other all natural ...stuff. i tried some. it was good.

2. they have a wall with every sort of dried fruit, seeds, beans, nuts, flake, fiber, candy, oats, mix and granola you could imagine. i made my own trail mix from this wall and you can put it in these little bags and take them home and mix them together. its kind of like making up your own cereal with whatever you want in it. WHATEVER you want. this wall-o-magic has the potential to amaze me for hours.

3. they have a whole pet food/accessory aisle. so not only can you go organic, but so can your dog, cat, fish, bird, rat, guinea pig, hamster, hermit crab and ant farm. just in case you were curious.

4. AND they had a paula deen cooking magazine in the checkout aisle. not only does this prove that if paula deen is in the organic grocery store, it shows that her cooking can't be all that unhealthy for you, this also upped the overall coolness factor of the grocery store in my eyes.

going all earth mother-y sometimes will not be so horrible after all.




so i say, why not today?
july 4th and new years eve are not all that different. both have lots of fireworks. both are holidays celebrated mostly at night marking independence and new beginnings. see my point?
and i am in the midst of making some new years resolution-type changes in my life.
so i say HAPPY NEW YEAR! to you on this 5th of july, 2006.