100th follower

A Gathering of Angels - Iris Mandala by Karen

Karen Casey-Smith became my 100th follower. I've been watching to see who it would be. Thanks, Karen, for visiting my blog. She is a fine art photographer who creates floral mandalas. I am amazed by her work. Make sure to check out her Etsy shop called karencaseysmith.

More Photos

Tomorrow will be 2 weeks since my surgery. I'm very slowly getting better. I have to remind myself that I had the tumor for over 10 years, so it will take time to recover. Pray for patience:) Here are the last of the Florida photos. It is cold and cloudy in Kansas and I have been having fun looking at the beach and surf.







Warren took this sunset photo the evening of my surgery. I wasn't feeling up to being a photographer but my eye wanted the shot. He is such a sweet husband and took lots of photos for me to choose from.

Florida

Honeymoon Island

Last week, we flew into Tampa, Florida two days before my surgery so we could be tourists. We stayed by the beach and had fun checking out the area. The colors were amazing. We have never seen water look so beautiful.


Honeymoon Island State Park


Sand Key


Sand Key Beach


Tampa

This was the view from my hospital bed at Tampa General Hospital. We arrived before sunrise and were so surprised to see the bay when we looked out the window. I was glad that Warren brought his sketchbook and paints. I convinced him to give this sketch to Dr. Norman as our way of saying thanks.

We will definitely be flying back someday with hopes of traveling down the coast. My wish list includes kayaking and parasailing! Here's to better days ahead.

Happy Dance!!

Sand Key, Florida

I just got back to Kansas City a few hours ago. Before I crash, I wanted to tell you the great news. I did have a benign parathyroid tumor!! It was 10 to 12 years old. Surgery to remove it was a success. My life will be soooo much better in a few weeks. I can't wait! Thank you for all of your prayers and concern. I am so touched by reading your comments.

Many thanks go to Dr. James Norman, Dr. Douglas Politz, Dr. Arnold Goodman, and their staff for giving me my life back. Words cannot express my gratitude. Thank you , thank you , thank you!

Here is their website regarding parathyroid disease. Check it out if you have it or know of someone who does. http://parathyroid.com/

I will post more Florida photos later. Now off to rest.

Surgery

I will be having outpatient surgery on January 14th in Tampa, Florida. I have a 90-95% chance of having a rare benign parathyroid tumor. I have struggled with health issues for years and this might be the cause. I am hoping that this is the answer. If not, then we will keep searching. The surgery is a delicate one that few doctors know how to do. Thankfully, we found a specialist in Florida. It is snowing in Kansas City with up to 6 more inches predicted today. An arctic front comes in tonight with wind chills of -20 to -30 by Friday. I might not want to come back after the surgery! I won't have a computer handy, so I'll give you an update when I return.
Thanks...Cat

A snowy winter

chickadee

Kansas City keeps getting lots of snow. I've been having fun taking photos, making snowmen, and helping my husband shovel. To be honest, he does most of the shoveling and I'm having most of the fun:)