Lymph Node follow - up

Well it's been a while....but this is the bruising I was left with 10 days after the IV. The guy that did the IV is ingrained in my head and he will never touch my arms again! He put the IV in my bicep instead of the crook of the elbow!

This is the CT scanner I went in....conclusion was that it was Lymph and not salivary.
Next I received orders that I had to go in for a FNA biopsy...which is with a fine needle. Except that when I arrived the doctors decided that it was too hard and fixed to get a needle in to so they were going to have to actually "nick" me and go in with a biopsy gun.

If you haven't had the pleasure - this is similar to the biopsy gun they used. AND it has a very loud click almost like an ear piercing gun. They put that in to the neck and it takes a tube of whatever they are biopsying out.

As you can see somewhat - my neck was completely swollen and I'm sure the needles didn't help. As of now - October 6th - they still do not know what is wrong or what was wrong. I go in month for check ups. They tested for TB, Cat Scratch, Fungal infection, Lymphoma cancer and three other cancers. Well 3 of the 4 came back negative and we need to give an entire lymph node to check for Lymphoma. So I stayed on anti-biotics for about 6 weeks....now I'm due to go back to the doctor in 2 weeks for another check up.....


sssshhhhh.....I haven't told them that they started growing again...I'm going to just pretend they don't exist!

Infected Lymph Nodes

So with in a matter of a week my lymph nodes in the neck went from non-existent to over 3 inches long and hard as a rock. I've seen 4 doctors in 6 days and spent all of today at the ER. I went to a specialist this morning and he called the ER at Chesapeake to get me in. He talked to the doctor there and told him everything he wanted.

I didn't know I'd be poked all day and spend a day there.

In this picture - you can really see the swelling but the nodes are so swollen they've started bruising my skin around my neck. It reaches up behind my ear, over the jaw, and across my collar bone.


I have given more blood than ever the past few days. We also had to hook me up to the contrast on the CT scan. They were trying to figure out if it was salivary glands or lymph nodes. And if there was an abscess in any of them. If there was an abscess then I was being admitted and going in to surgery immediately. Let's just say it was a long day waiting........


Now I've seen lots of blood taken with miss Haven...but I've never seen blood go in to these glass jars. The doctors took every test possible to figure out what was wrong with me. These are special tests that will give the doctor information on the type of infection and how it started.

After about 6 hours and a day of needles I'm informed that I officially have 3 lymph nodes that are infected and one filled with fluid. BUT no abscess!!! YEAH!!! Still on a search to find out what is wrong with me and what caused the infection I had to get one more poke. So I got a TB test and will get that read on Friday. All other test results will be in on Friday. I can't even remember how many doctor appts I have next week with all this crap.

I am exhausted and plan to be in bed by 8pm. Thanks everyone for the well wishes.....I'm waiting for my antibiotics to arrive and then I'm knocking myself out!

Awesomeness

Whew hoooo....we had an awesome storm tonight! It started with small thunder and it was so hot and sunny and humid. Then I let the dog out and started getting sprinkled....before we could make it to the door we had a downpour! My dad called a minute later to tell me to look out the window and we had hail...and the hail kept getting bigger and bigger until it was chunks of ice!

The winds were insane! Let's just say my front garden I have worked so hard on all spring has been ripped out by the roots and flowers are laying on the sidewalk. The neighbors grill is laying flat in his back yard and trashcans are everywhere! Then the tornado sirens started going...so we were prepared to head to the basement bathroom. Biggest concern was the cars - ours were fine but my friend about a mile from me has hail damage.

The glass that used to be in that table was damaged from the last storm.

Then wha la....the sun was out - humid as ever and a beautiful rainbow! Awesome night. So glad I wasn't stuck on the freeway tonight.

Photos

My aunt and I have been scanning old photos - as she does this ancestry.com stuff. So I've been giving her photos.....my mom and dad had a few albums of some photos I didn't have. Sometimes they are hilarious just to look at!


Somewhere in Florida...me, my cousin behind me, my two sisters and then my brother....

Oh the 80's......middle school.....me and my friend Tina

You know those pictures you thought were cool that come back 20 years later and aren't cool at all.....well this is NOT one of those...this one is freaking cool!

Cheerleading.....what fun years.....I did football and wrestling

My baby cousin Erin....she was so sweet and innocent then...so cute


High school graduation

A picture of my sister and I on Santa's lap because my dad wouldn't stop whining for one.

The family.....this had to have been in 2000

My grandpa and I on a trip to Catalina Island

Me and my bro at my wedding - he loves me

Camping at Death Valley in January --- not recommended as it's freezing!

My mom and I somewhere in a desert.....not sure if it's Utah, Nevada, or Arizona.....

ending a debate

It has been 3 weeks of this debate!

The below IS my sister Dusty! Not Nikki! I put this up here so family can make it bigger and now we can end this one!


Bring on the next one in question!

Why? Why?

We had some awesome skies tonight....it went from about 95 degrees to 60 degrees in about an hour. Still no storm but lots of thunder and lightening. I really want a major spring/summer storm.


Love the purple pink orange colors. I just sat outside and watch the sky change


So I haven't really been able to do anything physical since my surgery last November. Then it took so long for the bones to heal back together that I had to wear a bone stimulator for 2 months at 10 hours a day. Finally my bones healed but now I have so much pressure on the small toes that I can barely bend them.

Almost 2 weeks ago I received my orthopedic inserts. THEY HURT! It feels like something is stabbing my foot at the arch. Not only that but now I'm allowed to work out so I started off slow and it's been almost two months and my foot goes completely numb after 30 minutes. I've tried to stay on my heels and that does not work.

So I went back in and talked to her about it.

Yes - my big toe did shrink. It is now smaller than the 2nd toe - due to the delay in the bone healing. Then because she cut the soft tissue between my toes the foot now goes numb due to more pressure falling on those toes. You can see the difference in the picture. The toe is definitely straight....but my little toes are crooked. I honestly feel like my 2nd toe is dislocated now. There is a dimple between the joint. But I can't get it back together.

So I will go back in on June 1st and get a shot between the toes to try to heal that. Uuuugggg....I'm so over my foot and the doctors asks me if I'm ready to do the left one!

NO THANKS!

Flowers.......

Well...I should probably take photos of the flowers before 8:30 PM......but when do I do it normal!

These were my Mother's Day gift....I'm not a flower in a vase girl...they just die! I love plants!

These are blooming amazingly after only having them in the ground for one day. Let's hope this strange cold weather and severe winds don't hurt them!


These are my Rhododendron.