Ever since I started grocery shopping on my own in
2010, I've used reusable bags. I started with just 2 bags. We were a
family of 2, newly married, with a very basic kitchen and didn't know
much about cooking. I couldn't carry more than 2 bags anyway as I had to
take the bus to the grocery store. This number eventually increased
when we bought a car and start to cook food that actually tasted like
food :)
There were times I forgot to take
the bags and had to use
the plastic bags provided by the store. When that happened, I felt a
"ding" every time the person at the counter reached for a new plastic
bag to pack my groceries. Its like a clock dinging when earth's life is
decreased by 100 years. I remember counting at least 15
plastic bags from a shopping trip one day. The lady behind the counter
put only 3 or 4 items in a single bag.
She was being generous with the bags but not doing good to the
environment.
All such grocery bags would be thrown away as trash or would end up in a
recycle bin. Recycling is good, but it is like treating the symptoms
without preventing the disease in the first place. Even after recycling,
plastic remains plastic. I
don't know if there's any cure for that.
However, I still kept forgetting my reusable bags once in a while. Then something happened that put an end to it.
One
day, I was pushing my cart to the car with reusable bags full of
groceries. A lady, who I thought in her 60s or 70s, approached and
stopped me by touching my hand. She said "Thank you for bringing
reusable bags. You are so thoughtful and care for the environment".
That's when I realized what I am doing really matters. She just gave me a
compliment on the environment's behalf. A compliment on everyone else's
behalf.
From that day onward, I too started giving
compliments, and encouraging who loves mother earth. It could be a small
comment on a photo album of organic gardening, composting, recycling.
It could be giving advice, plants or roots to someone who wants to start
a garden. It could be giving a thumbs up to someone reusing zip locks,
plastic bags, food containers from restaurants etc.. because I know if I could inspire only one person, it
would be a win. How do I know that?
Think about the number of
plastic bags I have avoided using for all these 9 years thanks to my
reusable shopping companions. Roughly, it is 4320 bags considering 10
bags per week on average. If I could get one other person to do the
same, it would double the impact. So at last, I want to say thank you
for being so thoughtful and love you <3 for the ones who already do
this, and ask others to do our mother earth a much-needed favor, by
starting to practice it. Don't let her clock ding. Mother earth will pay your children back, so
generously for that :):)
Thihagoda is the place I grew up as a teen and where I lived until I leave the country in 2009. My parents still live there and we visited few times since 2009.
Thihagoda has always been a nice place to live. Fara enough from the metropolitan area so that we can stay away from the polluted atmosphere in the city, but with enough amenities. Not too rural but still, it is a beautiful village.
My brother has made a video of Thihagoda from the shots he took from his drone and it made me nostalgic.
The meaning of the name "Thihagoda"means "30 islands". When you look from the sky, you can see many small island surrounded by paddy fields.
There
could be millions of people around the world with thyroid nodules at the
moment but only a fraction of them knows that. Some might be wondering
if they should remove the nodule or not, but for a few it is not a
choice.
My story begins 4 years ago at the 6 week checkup after delivering my son. Dr. Watters could feel a lump in my left thyroid and referred me to an ENT, Dr. Johnson.
He ordered an ultrasound followed by an FNA (Fine Needle Aspiration
test) because the size of the nodule (2.4cm) was non-negligible.
The
FNA was no fun. I had to patiently wait until someone poked my thyroid
nodule with a long thin needle 3 times. When the pathology report
arrived, it indicated the nodule was benign, so, no worries. Dr.
Johnson, however, ordered another ultrasound to be done a year later to
monitor any future growth.
After
a year, I got the second ultrasound done and the nodule had not changed
in size. The doctor was satisfied with the reports and I was told
there’s no need to worry about it anymore unless it becomes bothersome
in future. Apparently, the nodule has formed during the pregnancy, which
is common, as I was told, and is not growing now. I was happy hearing
this as it sounded like the end of an episode.
Then
I hardly noticed or felt my nodule and there were times I completely
forgot I had it. We had even moved to another state during this time and
had not been in touch with my ENT. After about 3 years I thought I feel
something in my neck and realized that’s where the nodule was.
So
we had to search for an ENT in the area and it was time for another
ultrasound. Getting all the old reports from my previous doctor was a
nightmare as they wanted release forms signed by me and we no longer
lived there. Fortunately, our friends over there helped with that. The
new ultrasound report showed that the nodule has been growing. It was
3.9 cm and this time the ENT recommendation was to remove the left
thyroid lobe.
The
ENT could do the surgery but we started searching for good endocrine
surgeons as we thought its better to get a second opinion as well. I was
concerned about having a thyroid surgery because for a few reasons.
Thyroid
Lobectomy is said be one of the safest and common surgeries but it is
still a surgery and I had not had any surgery before
It
would be hard for my husband to take care of our 4 year old and me with
his work during my recovery. We didn’t have family nearby either.
There would be a cut in my neck and I get a scar for the lifetime.
So my husband Saliya was searching for a surgeon and he found about this scarless thyroid surgery, which is available in John Hopkins hospital. Dr. Jonathon Russell
is the surgeon who performs this transoral thyroidectomy there and he
is the most experienced surgeon in USA on this robotic surgery.
It
is a 5hr drive from where we live to John Hopkins. However, we thought
to go for it considering Dr. Russell’s and the hospital’s reputation and
the scarless option as well. I was able to get an appointment in few
weeks.
After
meeting Dr. Russell I felt so relieved. He was willing to listen to all
our concerns and took time to explain the options available for me. He
told that I was a good candidate for the scarless surgery option as
well. This procedure is relatively new but Dr. Russell has performed
about 50 of them at the time. Considering many facts, we decided to go
with the scarless option.
Dr. Russell explaining the transoral thyrodectomy
I
was a bit nervous about the surgery anyway and we were trying to reach
someone who have had this before. Fortunately, we found Sheri Caine, who
had the same surgery but at University of Chicago Medicine. In fact,
she is the first patient there to have done this (read her story here).
Sheri was so helpful and shared her experience on what to expect after
the surgery. She even sent us a few pictures. That actually made most of
my worries go away and that’s what motivated to me to write my
experience as well.
Finally, it was the day of the surgery. We had rented an Airbnb place near
Baltimore to stay during my recovery. My brother-in-law, Jaliya, flew
all the way from Seattle to help us, which a huge relief for all of us.
Just a sample image
The
surgery went fine and it took about 1 1/2 hours. The whole team
including nurses and anesthesia team was nice and kind. When I wake up
in the recovery room, I had some tape around my neck and another bandage
around the jaw and head. The nurse said it was to support the swelling
in the neck. Dr. Russell talked to me and said the surgery went well. I
felt pain around my neck and my face was swollen. However, I didn’t have
much bruising around the chin.
I
was discharged the same day and they prescribed pain medication and
antibiotics. I could only take liquids that night. I was able to use
straws but was not able to chew anything as the area under the chin was
painful. I was nauseous for a day or two but that stopped when I started
taking Tylenol instead of the prescribed narcotic pain medication
(oxycodone). Moreover, I was a bit weak as I didn’t have any food since
the day before the surgery. Saliya
had to assist me for getting up from the bed and walking for the first
few days. I could eat some Jello, soup and mashed potato on the day
after the surgery and my apatite improved slowly.
I
removed the bandage supporting the jaw the next day. The tape around my
neck had to stay for another day. When it was removed, my neck didn’t
have any swelling but the face was still a bit swollen. I had to rinse
my mouth with salty water after every meal because of the stitched wound
behind the lower lip. That was comparatively less painful though.
Today,
after a week from the surgery, I feel mostly recovered. I am happy that
the surgery went so smooth. Dr. Russell and his team was amazing and I
would not hesitate to recommend him to someone else!
During
all this hectic time, there were many who went above and beyond their
means to help us. When we were struggling to find a doctor to get the
pre-op done, which happened during the Christmas holidays, our friend Dr. Shyama
kindly helped us. Also, our families and friends, constantly helped us
to stay strong. My brother-in-law who dropped everything and flew here
for us, our parents who went to temples and wished well for me even
during the surgery (it was mid night in Sri Lanka), our Sri Lankan
neighbors who made us food and supported in many ways, my brothers and
friends who always called and checked on me, and everyone else who
wished and prayed for us made all this a success and a smooth
experience. I’ll always remember it and keep this memory in a safe
corner in my heart.
We, a group of 4 families visited Glacier mountain national park and Yellowstone national park in June, 2017. I have posted the details in my travel blog.
We visited Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada in winter, 2015. It was our son's first air trip. Visited my friend Sandaruwini in Arizona too. The details are here.
