Chasing Spots

Thursday, January 19, 2012: I hope I didn't scare anyone by not posting yesterday after my visit with Dr. Grossmann. It was a busy day of work, running errands, and a church meeting last night, so I put myself to bed about 11:00 instead of blogging. Forgive me. No need to be worried (Mom, Aunt Barb, Aunt Mem, Colleen) and any who were thinking the worst. Nope. I'm still okay.

However...

Dr. Grossmann was happy to see the results of my endoscopies with Dr. Adler - that there was nothing to be concerned about - but he said that still does not answer his questions of just what that "hot spot" was on the last scan. He said he talked to the radiologist and they both agreed that it would be best for me to have ANOTHER PET scan, six weeks from my last one, which would be the middle of February. Arrgghh!! He asked if I was okay with that, and though I hesitated (more time spent on nothing, more money spent on nothing, more worry for nothing), I still consented. I am grateful that my doctors are so thorough, but (as cute Lindsey pointed out), being grateful does not have to mean you are happy about it. There is always the possibility that another weird spot will show up in the next scan and off we'll go, chasing that one down. So, there it is. I'm not happy about it, but I am grateful for a good team of doctors. I don't have a definite date yet for the scan, but I do have a follow-up appointment already set with Dr. G on February 8. The scan will probably be Feb. 6 or 7. Oh joy...

On a better note, Dr. G looked at my lab work that was done just before the appointment and said everything looks good. He even said that my (here's another vocab word for you!) "Hematocrit" was excellent, that most women test in the 30s, but mine was 46.4. He said that indicates that I have a "strong army of red blood cells" that are fighting the bad guys like crazy! That made me happy! I don't know which of my vitamins or supplements are helping to make that happen, but I'll continue to stay the course! Love news like that. I told him that my goal now is to eat healthier, lose weight, and exercise daily and he said those blood cells will help support that, too. Awesome.

I also learned that when I know I'm going to get my blood drawn, I need to drink lots of water and warm up my cold hands and arms. Seriously. The lab tech yesterday said the "good vein" in my right arm (in the crook of my elbow) shows signs of scar tissue and that's why when I get poked there, the vein "chases" off in another direction and goes to nothing. She tried to find a vein in my hands, but they were so cold, nothing popped up. I told her that when I had my endoscopy last week, the nurse (cute Jan!) had to wrap my hands and arms in a hot blanket for a few minutes before she could find a good vein between the knuckles of my left hand. She said, "Let's try that," got a blanket from the warming oven, and wrapped up my left hand. We talked while it was trying to warm up and I told her that I'll have to start wearing my gloves for an hour before I come to the doctor! (One of the reasons they've been so cold lately is because I've been working right before I head out the door to the doc and typing in my cold, little office freezes my poor hands and fingers. Besides that, it's winter, for heaven's sake...) Finally, that hand warmed up enough that she could find a vein and get enough to test for Dr. G. Geesh!

Many of you were sweet to email me about my last post in answer to my question about pictures. You really want to see pictures? Okay. I'll probably start out with one or two at a time, going from past to present (I tend not to have a lot of pictures of myself, so what you see is what you get!). The sweet picture on the left was taken on "Christmas Eve Grammy Day", December 2010. This was several months pre-diagnosis. Beautiful grand-girls (Ally with a pretzel tongue), my short hair, my pre-surgery neck. The one on the right is Janessa (and bear) and I around our fire pit on New Year's Eve 2010. I had no clue what was coming in just a few short weeks. Good thing. I think I might have run away, screaming.