So much sweetness and
kindness today.….
Meeting my doctor and being
examined by him last Friday was round #1, and that went very well. Both Guy and
I are very impressed with him. He is so
friendly, shows much concern and compassion.
Someone, somewhere taught him great bedside manners – a rarity, I’ve
found. Or perhaps, he is just is a very
nice man. At any rate, I’ve “connected”
with him, and for that, I’m very thankful.
Round #2 was today. I had to be at the cancer center clinic by
8:30, so that meant going downtown KC through rush hour. We left shortly after 7, and except for this
short patch on the interstate that always seems to have a bumper-to-bumper
slow-down, we sailed through with no problem, getting there about 50 minutes
early. But they went ahead and took me
back for the pre anesthesia exam. I wasn’t
concerned about that. They asked me a ton of
questions, took an EKG, and drew blood.
The nurse put in a hep-lock, so the CT scan people would not have to
stick me again when they injected the dye.
That was awfully nice of her!
They used a large-bore needle, so that didn’t feel so good, but that was
the most uncomfortable part of the whole morning.
Once that was all done, we
just walked across the hall to the imaging department. We were an hour and 15 minutes early there,
but they took me right back. I have had
an MRI before, and I hate those. You
have to lay VERY still FOREVER in this very loud tube. All I knew about a CT scan was what I read. It said they give you this dye, and you might
momentarily get a metallic taste in your mouth and a warm sensation in your
body. The tech told me it will feel like
you have wet your pants. I think I had
heard Rick and Bubba talking about that one time, and even though they were
told about the sensation, Bubba was still just convinced that he had wet
his pants! I had to lie on my back with my
arms above my head and "hold my breath" when the machine told me to, and "breathe" when it told me to. The whole thing took about 5 minutes. Absolutely no big
deal. I was done way ahead of time.
However, all these ladies
that I saw told me I better check in with my doctor before I left because of
the drainage this “thing” on my head is having.
When I first saw the doctor, it was just oozing a tiny bit from one of
the stitches. The drainage has gradually
increased. This morning I woke up and the whole back side of my head just above my hairline was crusted with blood. Yuck!
And I just washed my hair yesterday.
So I cleaned it up the best I could, but all the way to the office,
while I was there, and on the way home, about every 30 minutes, I could feel it
trying to run down my neck, and I would have to blot it with a Kleenex. So after the CT scan, I went to the
registration desk of his office, and they said they would work me in. About an hour later I was taken to an exam
room. When he came in, he looked at it,
took my hand in his, chuckled and said, “It’s OK…we’re going to get this thing
off of there in a few days! Those ladies
just aren’t used to seeing something like this, and it kind of scared them.” He said not to do anything different than
what I was doing. But I can’t have this stuff
trying to run down my neck day and night, so on the way home, I stopped at
Walgreens and bought some 2x2 bandages and some paper tape. I can’t really tape into my hair, but I can
tape a bandage just below my hairline to at least catch it before it runs down
my neck and onto my clothes – and scares someone half to death if I’m out in
public and blood runs out from under my hair!
I didn’t realize how much all
the expressions one makes effects the muscles of your whole scalp. If I smile big, it makes this thing
hurt. If I raise my eye brows it hurts. Hmmmmm…….interesting.
I got home today, and guess
what was hiding behind the pillar on the front porch?
It’s that Colleen Davis - my
thoughtful sister again! She know what
my very favorite thing is and how to make me happy!! Lindor Truffles by
Lindt!!!! 25 dark chocolate (my favorite!!),
25 milk chocolate (LOVE), and 25 caramel. Can
you believe it??? I took a picture of it
with the water bottle beside it so you could see how tall the bag is.
She is something else. I don’t know anyone more generous than she
is!! I love her dearly!! And miss her a lot!!! She said since she couldn’t be here to give
me a hug, every time I ate one, that was her hugging me. Makes me smile.....
Then I received another
blessing today. When we first moved to
KS in August, I had to come to KC for about 3 weeks while Mark was away for
some training. While here, I got a look
in the mirror of this lump and noticed at that time, it was discolored in the
center. That concerned me, so I went to
this Urgent Care Center just down the road from Mark’s house. There, I was seen by Dr. Dawn Peterson. She was just the nicest lady, but this thing
stumped her, and she told me to see a dermatologist as soon as I got home. Then a couple weeks ago, I was back here in
KC for 3 days while Mark was gone again, and I felt like I was getting a sinus
infection. So I went back to see Dr.
Peterson. She remembered me, and was
very curious about this lump. I showed it to her, she said, “Oh! That has grown! And it looks very vascular!” I had the dermatology appointment scheduled in
Hutchinson for that Thursday as soon as I returned home, and she was very glad
about that. She treated me for a sinus infection and told me to be sure to let
her know the outcome of this thing on my head.
I sent her an email a couple days ago to let her know it had been
biopsied, about the pathology report, that I had seen a doctor here in KC, and
when the surgery was scheduled. Today, I
got the nicest email from her.
To my dearest patient,
Of course you will be in my
prayers. I hope everything goes well for you this week as the
angiosarcoma is investigated further. KUMC is where I received my medical
degree. You are in excellent hands!
I was concerned how vascular that
appeared on last visit. I am grateful you finally had the biopsy that was
desperately needed. My prayer will include a speedy recovery and
continued good health for you.
Please let me know what further
testing shows. I was in primary care for almost 20 years.
Transitioning to urgent care has been challenging as I frequently don’t hear
follow-up regarding patient care. If you are willing to share, I would be
so grateful. My prayers and support are heading your direction today and
for what God holds for you in your future.
In the short time we visited, I know you
have the strength and support you need to get through whatever lies
ahead. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to assist
further.
Blessings,
Dawn Peterson, MD
That
was so kind of her to take the time to respond to me!
So
my day today has been one of blessings.
So many kind and thoughtful people in my life. So many sending me encouraging notes,
thoughts and prayers.
I’m right where I need to be,
and I’m in His hands……
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