Monday, June 17, 2013

Small Blessings


If you follow my blog, you may have noticed that I have been struggling to maintain my usual weekly schedule of blog hops and posts in recent months.  I am sorry friends.  I have been experiencing some difficulty lately with my thyroid and endocrine system.  I am preparing for treatment to shrink tumors in my thyroid, and if that fails, surgery to remove it.

I hope to be on the mend soon.  Until then however, please accept my apologies as I do not have my usual stamina and will not be blogging as much as I like to do until I feel better.  I do plan to keep sharing Farmgirl Friday with Deb, Dolly and the rest of the farmgirls in the blogiverse.  It's one of my favorite pick me ups.  I will try to keep everyone posted about my farm babies, how much they're growing, and life on our little farm.  I cherish the farmgirl and homesteading online community.  I am inspired by so many of you.  Thank you.

Today I put fingers to keyboard to share how thankful I am for some small blessings.

My family is well.  Our kids even came for a visit for Father's Day and we got to spend some time with our grandson too.  That's always nice.  Together the boys moved a few rocks in our little river trying to widen a small pool area for a swimming hole.

Joyful Hearts LilyoftheValley and my terrifying guard dogs in the background...
My new little milk goat Lily, a nigerian dwarf first freshener, gave me 3 cups of wonderful milk and cream this morning.  Her milk tastes divine.  She's now giving me more than enough milk for my two nigie kids and enough for me to enjoy in coffee and cereal too.  Woohoo!


My garden keeps plugging along in spite of a few really smart and tricky gophers that have been evading my traps and stealing whole plants down their holes.  I am harvesting lots of yummy zucchini and cucumbers daily now, and my tomatoes are starting to ripen a few more each day working toward a big harvest and canning time.

I am also very thankful for the friendship and comraderie of many great friends both near and far.  Some of whom bless me with good conversation and comedy relief whenever I need it.

I hope this post finds you in good health, and in the company of those you love.  It's always a good time to count your blessings.

Heidi

14 comments:

  1. Dear Heidi,
    I'm so glad you wrote this post, I almost emailed you over the weekend to ask if you were feeling okay, but we were on the run and I didn't get to it. I'm sorry to hear of your struggles wiht your thyroid. I've dealt with that as well and it's no fun at all, especially for us busy farmgirls!
    In the mean time, take it easy and thank you for sharing your BEAUTIFUL DAHLIAS!!! I'm so happy to see yours as mine are just showing green leaves at the moment!
    sending love and hugs!
    Deb

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  2. Thank you Deb for your kind words and encouragement. I will be better soon, I just need to learn to be patient. That's tough when there are so many FUN things I want to do.

    Love and hugs back at ya!

    Heidi

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  3. Sending prayers for your quick recovery. My dad had to have his destroyed and I also take meds for it. You will hopefully feel so much better once you are stabilized I know I felt like I was at least 90 yrs old and had absolutely no energy. I take levoxyl, my former college roomie also has the same issue but takes the medicine armour, from pigs. It's all she can tolerate but her doctor says it's better for you than my synthetic type. My co-worker had to have hers removed and is on 100% thyroid medication and feels great. Take it easy, don't overdo! Looking forward to your posts on how you are feeling and all the farm goings on.

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    1. Thanks for your experienced insight. This is all new to me. I know who to write for advice now. Lol.

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  4. I hope you feel better soon. I've been on thyroid meds for 10 years and will be on them for life. I will pray that surgery isn't necessary. Thanks for sharing! Donna

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    1. Thanks Donna. It's interesting to find out just how many folks I know have experience with thyroid issues. I am so glad you are doing well on your meds.

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  5. Glad you are doing okay, and that you posted this. I enjoyed reading it, and know how busy us farmgirls can get this time of year. Heal up and take care.

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    1. Thanks Kristina.
      Will do. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great summer ahead.

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  6. Heidi,
    You are in my thoughts and prayers! I know you hate it but you will soon be back to your old self and look out world! Love you just know we all do.

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    1. Thanks Dolly,
      I love you too woman! I feel so blessed to have so many friends to lean on.

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  7. There are a couple bloggers who have researched it a lot too http://inhaughtpursuit.blogspot.com/ and http://www.commonsensehome.com/tag/thyroid/ but if you are on medication don't do anything without telling your doctor. He will likely test you every 6 months to check on your levels and see how it is affecting other organs. If still not satisfied with how you feel make sure to have the deep dive tests- they will probably do the general test but you can get more extensive tests run that will sometimes show something the general test does not.

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  8. I have had problems with my thyroid for some 20+ years! First I thought I had a large lymph node in my neck - turned out it was hyperthyroidism. Never actually found out why. It wasn't really goiter size, instead it was a hard knot somewhat like a marble. I went to this specialist and that, and tried several medications including one called PTU. Anyway, through this whole mess my thyroid levels were always still within normal range - high normal, but nonetheless normal. I had a needle biopsy - ouch. Showed nothing. Finally about 2 years ago my NEW endocrinologist said that a simple solution was to just shrink and pretty much kill the thyroid with Radioactive Iodine, which we did. Now all I have to do is take one pill a day. No more heart palpitations, no more diarrhea, no more night sweats! The only problem now is just remembering to take that stinking pill because you have to take it on an empty stomach at least 30 minutes before eating. I rarely have an empty stomach ;) Good luck with all this!

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    1. Thanks Vickie for sharing your experience with thyroid dysfunction. Every story helps me to recognize just how common thyroid problems are. Somehow making this whole mystery a little less scary.

      The surgeon wants to shrink it with radiated iodine. Just waiting for the endocrinologist to finally see me and get on board with the plan. There are five endocrin specialists within a few hours from my home, and 4 of them are not accepting my insurance or taking new clients so I have been waiting for a while to get to see the one guy who will see me. Soon I hope.

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  9. I hope you get this taken care of soon and get back to feeling 100%! We are all thinking of you sweetie! {{HUGS}}

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My email address is whitewolfsummitfarmgirl@gmail.com.