Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Dr.'s Appointments for All!!

What a fun filled day we had!!


Today was little mans checkup for his hernia surgery. His super sticky waterproof band aid finally came off in the bath this morning. Yay! When we went in, he was in his super play mode that he usually goes into right before nap time. Our appointment wasn't until 1:20, and that's usually when he is getting ready to go down. Being out during this time is particularly difficult, because he just wants to get into everything, and tends to "rage" as the hubbs and I call it.  Thankfully John used some vacation time today, and was able to go with us. Without his help, I would have been one tired momma!! 


When we got back to the exam room, he tried to push every chair, stool, and even the exam table at one point. He wanted to get to the faucet so bad to play in the water. The boy loves him some water! The physicians assistant, and nurse finally came in to check him over, took one look at the incision, and told us he was A-OK!! John even asked her if they put something in him to make him more hyper!! Seriously, since 6:30pm the day of his surgery, he has been go go go non stop. The boy hardly rests. He has bounced back quicker and stronger than I ever would have thought. I am so relieved that everything went fantastically.


Now on to my trip. I have had a swollen lymph node behind my right ear for about 3 or 4 weeks now. I went to the urgent care clinic on November 4th. After checking me over, and taking some blood, they started me on some antibiotics, gave me something for the pain, and sent me on my way. They even called a couple of days later to tell me that my blood tests had come back normal, so the antibiotics should cure what ever local infection, somewhere inside me that is causing the lymph node to swell. 


I took all 21 of the pills, regularly and on schedule. John even set the 3:45am alarm on his phone, to wake me so I could keep with the cycle. Well, I never saw a change in the size or tenderness of the lump. Nothing. If anything, it's a bit bigger and it hurts worse. The only way I can describe it is, it feels like someone kicked me in the back of my head. It just freaking hurts. I decided after waiting it out for a couple of days, to finally call the clinic where I had been seen. After talking to the doctor again, he refereed me to an E.N.T. specialist. He was concerned that the swelling didn't go down with the medicine, which means whatever is causing it to swell didn't go away. I called and was quickly told to "come in as soon as possible, so we can see if a biopsy needs to be done."  Biopsy. One word I defiantly didn't want to hear. My grandma (Fathers Mother) passed away because of Lymphoma. So when they said biopsy, her situation came to mind. 


I headed in at 4pm, and was quickly registered, and taken back to an exam room. I have to give the Doctors office credit, they were super efficient, and really nice. That's always comforting. After waiting a few minutes in the exam room, Dr. Tamez  came in. He checked my ears, nose and throat, and didn't find any problems. Nothing wrong with my tonsils, or sinuses. No scalp abrasions(commonly found with swollen lymph nodes), or rashes. Nothing. So what's causing the swelling? He doesn't know just yet, but after a thorough examination he is confident that a round of super strong antibiotics, a steroid called prednisone, and Loritab for the pain, will get results. I sure hope so. This is just not the time for me to be sick. With the up coming holidays, and the travel plans we have, I don't want to feel like poo for all of it!! 


So I am going to give it a shot. Hopefully this will work, and I can get back to normal, and plan an awesome Thanksgiving and Christmas for my family!!