Friends that actually read this, thank you for your positive thoughts and prayers. I heard from my ENT doctor at 7 pm the day before Thanksgiving (talk about a committed ENT doc!) and he said that after looking over the CT, it doesn't look very worrisome. (Again, we can't know for sure what's happening...but chances are it's just benign adenopathy that never went away after getting mono two years ago.) He said we could either 1) remove the nodes, or, 2) monitor them periodically to see if they get bigger or cause more pain. He said he's removed dozens of nodes that are similar and they've almost always turned out to be benign. So, I opted for the latter, and he assured me that that was a good decision.
It's amazing, how much better I feel now, having had the CT. And while a scan like a CT cannot show everything, it does show a lot. And knowing that they're not a size that I should worry about and that there are no other signs/symptoms of something serious, gives me soooo much relief. This may be something I monitor for the rest of my life, or maybe they'll go down in 20 years' time. Regardless, the fact that there was no bad news made for a very, very enjoyable and ecstatic Thanksgiving with Ben and his family. I felt this enormous pressure lifted from me. I am very, very thankful... for friends, for doctors, technology, and the blessings of being in the presence of loved ones that make it all so special around the holidays.
Peace and love until next post. :O)
