Well I am finding my life has taken a turn that was truly unexpected. I am using words on a regular basis that I never would have thought I would ever use, CAT scan, Biopsy, lymph glands, and more.
I went into the hospital in AZ when He and I went down theah this last holiday season. They found a blood clot in my neck. The problem with the whole thing was while they were all mystified with the rarity of the place of the clot they totally disregarded the swollen lymph glands. They put me on Coumidon, a blood thinner for those that don't know, and sent me home with a promise to see my own physician when I got home.
I did that as soon as I possibility could and went on with my life taking the meds as I was told... well I did run out of the 'C' Coumidin while I made out my med tray the forth week back. I filled out the prescription as soon as I was able to but forgot to fill in the missed pockets of the tray... in a way it turned into a god send because the swelling in my neck increased the day before I was to have my second visit with my doc after returning from AZ. I went to my doc the following day and showed her the swelling in my neck and also noted my left hand and arm were a bit darker, duskier then the right one. She sent me to a local hospital knowing in her mind that they would keep me and check things out further.
Mike and I both thought the same thing. It was not what happened though... a good thing as well though because after that we realized it would be that hospital that I would be in instead of this one. I was there for 7 hours. The hospital was slammed and the ER doors, well they should have been revolving doors for all the people that kept showing up.
During the time I was there they had come in and given me a dose of 'C' and had a ultra sound done on my neck, and put an IV line in as though they were going to keep me. The doc that was attending tome came in for a short time but got a call while he was talking to us and left. He was gone for almost a half and hour. He returned and again started talking to us and an emergency came in and had to leave again. Mike went home, again thinking that I was going to be admitted, and took the dog out and once I was admitted he was going to just go to bed and come to the hospital in the morning. Finally the doc returned only to tell me that he was going to send me home after giving me one more dose of 'C' and removing the IV line. I called Mike and reached him to tell him to come back for me just as he was walking through the door.
Anyway that was a Monday night. The following Sunday I stepped into the bathroom and checked the mirror, stopping for a sec to check my neck I noticed that the swelling had grown again and now all the veins in my chest were prominent. I was frightened and showed Mike. We decided that I should call my doc's office and talk to the doc on call and see what we should do. When she called back and I told her what was up she asked me if I was alone and upon finding Mike was there with me asked me to tell him to be sure to know if I had any chest pains or became short of breath he should drop everything and call 911. She then told me to get ready to go to the hospital and sit and wait quietly while Mike got ready to go. I was already frightened and was now practically trembling with fear.
Mike drove me to the hospital all the while listening to me prattle on about almost nothing nervously because it kept me from freaking out. When we got to the ER they put me in a room just behind the ER desk with a window for them to be able to keep a close eye on me.
That was Sunday afternoon. It is now Thursday, only a few minutes to Friday. I have had several tests done. An Ultra sound of the left side of my neck and arm. They did a short scan of the right side but learned the swelling at that time was on my left neck, shoulder, upper arm, and upper left chest. It was determined I was to have a biopsy of the swelling and was admitted to the hospital. I have since had an ultra sound of both of my legs to be sure that there were no clots in the legs. An Oncologist was called in and looked at the ultra sound and decided I needed to have a biopsy of the lymph glands in my neck. Then he pretty much knew I had Cancer but was trying to see if it was Lymphoma, which it was not, thank you Goddess. I have had other tests to find the source of the Cancer which was discovered to be "Squamous Cell Cancer". So far the source has not been found but there are other tests yet to be done.
Through it all I have found a source of strength and courage from Mike, my close friends here in Washington, (these are my west coast family people, part of the extended family I have discovered and talked about in the blog entry "My Two Homes") and my family back east.
It will be a long hard road but I refuse to lay down and let this insidious beast take me from my friends and family. I have grand children to watch grow, family/ friends to keep company when they might come to need me in the future.
I close for now to settle down for the night, with hopes that I might be able to go home tomorrow after the last test to be given in the hospital.
Please anyone that reads this keep me in your minds and hearts, say your prayers to those entities you follow for my recovery; for anyone else that might also need help in their fight against Cancer.
Patti/Mom/tayled
