I didn’t glow in the dark😕
All along I knew that I would have to have radioactive Iodine therapy. One of the side effects of all these procedures is that you become very well versed in things you really wish you didn’t have to know about. The short version is that the thyroid absorbs Iodine. After removing a cancerous thyroid there is the possibility that some tissue might remain or have spread and allow the cancer to regrow. So, for ten days one goes on a Iodine free diet. This is harder then it sounds as it seems that Iodine is in just about everything that tastes good. After that you get a highly radioactive dose of Iodine. This is so potent that the staff does not touch it and after receiving it you leave the hospital by a special door that avoids everyone and you have to go home to isolation. The first two days I had to stay 12 feet away from everyone. After that for three more days it was reduced to just 6 feet. during that time anything I touched was considered contaminated and had to be specially cleaned. After that life could return to normal. Or as normal as it can be without a thyroid.
The good part was that the day after receiving the pill I could go back to a normal diet. While not being the type to take advantage of the situation and play on sympathy for special treatment, I did have my taste buds set for some special treats. Unfortunately, when I first arrived home I was following the nurse’s directions and sucking on a piece of sour candy they had given me. It stuck onto the side of a tooth and when I pushed it off, the crown came off. There was no pain, but there was no way I could eat all the things I had planned because I did not want to damage to root of the tooth. And since I was extremely radioactive, I had to wait to go to the dentist to get it repaired. Talk about a different experience, try calling your dentist to report your crown has come off. Then when they offer to fit you in immediately tell them you can’t because you are in isolation because you are highly radioactive. There will be silence on the other end of the phone until you tell them in four days you will be fine and can come in. They do want an explanation and assurances.
Other then the eating limitations which I survived, the hardest part was the isolation from Karen. I lived in our bedroom and she had the rest of the house. She would warn me she was bringing a meal and drop it off at my door. Afterwards I would callout that I was bringing my dishes out to the kitchen where I had to do the washing up. We survived. It was hard but we benefitted by the reminder of how precious it is just to be in one another’s presence.