Radio Active Iodine Treatment!

After my surgery (November 2012), the biopsy result says I have a Follicular Thyroid Cancer on the right side of my thyroid, so I have to undergo Radio Active Iodine Treatment to kill all the bad cancer cells left in my neck. So I went back to the hospital again and stayed there Thursday afternoon January 10,2013 (alone, no visitors allowed). The doctors and nurses talked to me via phone and in the intercom only. They are not allowed to get near my room because it has radiation. Even the guy who's delivering food doesn't come in. I had this chair outside my room where he puts my food. 

This was my hospital bed. At the upper part of my bed, was where the intercom is located and on my right side was a table where the telephone is located. 

This was the door in my hospital room. Notice the second picture, you will see another wood right next to my door. Is that how perilous radiation is? 

Staying alone in a hospital room for five nights and four days was quite too boring to me. The tv doesn't give me much entertainment anymore. I'm glad I had this Manila view at my window. I stayed at the seventh floor of the hospital building. 

Taking that radio active capsule makes me really sick. I had this terrible pain I felt in my right arm the whole night  when I took that nuclear medicine. Plus an unbearable stomach pain for two days. I got out of the hospital Tuesday afternoon January 15,2012. I'm glad it was over. I will be having my body scan again this September 2013. I hope the medicine works really well and killed all the bad cells because I don't wanna do it again!

Total Thyroidectomy

April 2012, my friends noticed that my neck starts swelling. But I just let it that way because I don't have money, but that made my night sleepless for 3 months. August 2012, a really good friend (my super hero) starts helping me with everything I needed. The first thing I did is I went to an ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat) doctor, and she suggested that I should have a biopsy and so I did. The result was benign. Still not convinced of what is really the problem, I went to another doctor called Endocrinologist (thyroid, goiter, diabetes) specialist. She suggested some more test, like CBC, TSH, neck ultra sound, etc., so I did it again. The ultra sound shows that multiple nodules on both sides of my thyroid is growing so she suggested for a total thyroidectomy, meaning she needs to cut out all my thyroid glands. I went to some other hospitals and talked to several doctors and they all suggests the same, a surgery. I even went to Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok (with the help of my friend) and the doctor there still tells the same, that I need a surgery.  

So, here we go, surgery time. 

Manila Doctors Hospital, admission day November 23,2012. 
Surgery day, November 24, 2012 (11 am).

My hospital watch!

Smiling, but I was actually nervous about the surgery the next morning. :( 

Smile no more :( This was after my surgery when I returned in my hospital room. 

My surgeon and his assistant was trying to squeezed the liquids (blood) out of  my neck the day after my surgery. All I can say is OMG, ouch!!! Few hours after that squeezing happened, I had a high fever. :'(

Despite of what was happening in me, there's these people that you can always count on. My sister (in black) from my sorority and brother (in blue) from my fraternity) visited me and stayed for a day and night to help my sister from taking care of my needs. A good friend Maria (in blue) who visited me in the hospital and brought me mamon and fruits. My older sister (in pink) who flew from our province, Bohol, just to take care of me while I am in the hospital. Thank you so much to this kind person who paid for her ticket (back and forth). Raquel, my another friend (who took care of the paper works) and Ate Jho (my land lady that time) and her bf who brought me goodies. Thank you so much guys. 

After that terrible pain I felt when my surgeon squeezed my neck, he went back to my room again to take that plastic tube out of my neck. I'm glad there's no more squeezing.

Finally, hospitalization is over. It's time to go home and continue resting in the house. 

I would like to say thank you so much to this very kind person who made all of this possible. Without you, everything would be impossible for me. Thank you for taking care of me like no else did. I will be forever grateful for all the good things you did. You are truly my hero. 

Thailand

This was my very first visit to Thailand and also my very first travel outside the Philippines on October 2012.

According to Wikipedia, Thailand is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Burma. Its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India in the Andaman Sea to the southwest. Their capital and largest city is Bangkok and their official language is Thai. Their calling code is +66. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thailand

Here are some of the places I visited in Pattaya, Chonburi, Thailand in 2012.

The Big Buddha Temple (Wat Phra Yai)

Central Festival, Pattaya, Chonburi, Thailand

After visiting the Big Buddha Temple, we had a hot pot lunch here at one of Central Festival's hot pot restaurant. Central Festival is a big mall in Pattaya City where you can shop, dine or even if you want to see  a nice sea view, this mall would be a good place to see one. 

Koh Larn Beach

Since we've been already to an amazing Big Buddha Temple, we were thinking of another place to visit while we were in Thailand. Since it was summer season when we we're there, we all agreed to go to the beach. So we went to this nice Koh Larn Beach Resort. From the condo where we stayed, we hired a taxi who will take us to the  Bali Hai Pier for 200 Baht. From that pier we took a ferry boat to get us to Naban port for 30 Baht (each person). When we get to Naban port, we looked for a Thai jeepney that will take us to Koh Larn Beach.

Bangkok

We also went to Bangkok to buy few things (souvenirs / pasalubong). This pic was taken at a train station. 

So if  you guys are planning to have a vacation, I would suggest you try to visit Thailand. The food is really great, you'll find every cuisine from around the world  there and it's affordable. You can have a full meal at 50 Baht. You will also find a lot of stuffs you'll surely love. Clothes, shoes, bags, hats, souvenirs  and more. You'll see people from any other races around the world enjoying their time in Thailand. Americans, Europeans, Asians, in all ages (lovers,friends and families). Visiting Thailand was really fun. I definitely love to go back there again, if there's a chance.