My Day at NIH ..

Still no answers . And I suspected as much , as this was just the day they gathered all the critical information . I have been accepted in the protocol . Their main objective at this time is to see if the last adrenal gland tumor I had - was indeed cancerous. So .. I am on a mission , I have to go to the hospital that did the surgery and get my slides and my tissue samples . I then have to get my other CT scans from years past ... my Dads autopsy report .. and back to NIH in a month .. OMG I do not think I can wait a month . I met Doctor Kahn and Dr. Stratakis .. Dr . S is the lead researcher . They seem to think that the tumor will have to come out .. as it is 6 cm .. but want to see if it is secreting hormones .. OH .. and I have to do a 24 hour urine culture once next week and the other one the following week . Then once all this info has been gathered .. I go back for them to decide what to do for me .. so... in the mean time .. Alan says .. " Sit still and enjoy our lives .. " And that is what I am trying to do ... I am bored not working ..... but know that this is more important than a job right now .. I am out on sick leave and geting paid .. so ... there ya go .. I guess it was a good day .. I see where they are taking this and I just pray it is not cancer .. and I pray that the doctors from 1999 really did discover cancer .. if they did not .. well .. shame on them .. Love you all .. Tink

Best of luck to you Tink and your in my prayers, Be strong and live each day as if its the last, thats what I do since my dads death and surgery,because we never know. You and Allan live life to thr fullest. And pray for the best and stay positive. Hugs...

Hey Tink! Glad to hear that the ball is rolling! Gathering records can be a bit rough...I'm sure it may feel like you are working a full time job at points. Hope all goes well with ya! Good luck and see ya this weekend! Christine

Tink, Progress is slow, but it is progress. You're further along on the process than you were yesterday. Alan seems to be giving good advice, so just sit back and enjoy each moment. Jan

Jan is right! You are one day closer than you were yesterday! You are in good hands; they will be able to take care of all of your issues. (Well, maybe not the mental ones!) You sounded a little down this afternoon--THAT IS NOT ALLOWED! You are such a wonderful person, and you do so much to support others. You know we're here for you to lean on when you need to. I love you, girly!! JoAnn

Hang in there Natalie. Somehow my gut feelings are that all this will work out okay and you will be just fine. I don't know why I feel that way..I just do. You are such a fighter I think you will settle for no less. My heart goes out to you. I imagine you and yours are walking on pins and needles right now. Just want you to know that I am thinking about you. Can't wait to see ya again this weekend !!! Big Hugs, Dana

Thanks for the update! We're lovin' ya and prayin' for ya here in Richmond... miss ya too! Tammy

Hey Nat, You took the first of many steps in your latest journey to health. Hopefully after all the info is gathered, you can get some good positive results! I'm thinking of you Wendy

G'morning Natalie - You're IN THE DOOR and that in of itself is a HUGE step! Especially with a program as raved about as theirs seems to be. I know it's hard to just "sit still and wait" especially since you have the "take charge" kinda personality, like I do. But I think Alan absolutely NAILED it, sit still and enjoy your lives together - life is great! See you on Saturday, gorgeous. It seems like it's been FOREVER, not just two short weeks ago, huh? Love - Lei

Nat, we are all routing for you and have you in our thoughts and prayers - you could do with a break here!! A month seems a long time but they have a lot of information to analyze and cover for you in order to make the correct diagnosos. Hang in there! Jackie