Great video on health care reform

Gratefulness

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)

Lymph update

Thank you for your prayers, everyone. I've heard from my primary care doctor and she said that the scans look good! She said the neck scan shows some enlarged lymph nodes (obviously) but that they're "not that worrisome". The inguinal one does not exceed one cm in the short axis, which is the worrisome cut off for swollen lymph nodes...so, good news all around. I am still waiting to hear from my ENT doctor to give a more thorough examination of the neck CT. When I hear back from him I'll write again.

I'm so excited for spending Thanksgiving in California with Ben! Hope everyone's Thanksgiving is joyful. I know I have a LOT to be thankful for this year. Blessings and joy~

Prayers for healing

Ever since I contracted the Epstein-Barr virus (and therefore got mononucleosis) in December of 2006, the lymph nodes in my neck have been swollen. About a year ago I noticed enlarged inguinal (located in that lovely crease between your legs and your abdomen) nodes. About a month and a half ago I got an ultrasound of my neck, which showed a 1.9 cm node and others that weren't quite as big. Doctors start to worry at 2 cm. I went on Prednisone (an oral steroid) for a week and a half, to see if that would reduce the adenopathy. Nothing happened. So my ENT (ear, nose and throat) doctor suggested I get a CT. After two years of worrying about this and talking to doctors about it, I am finally going in tomorrow for a CT of my neck and abdomen. This is both scary and reassuring. It will (hopefully) provide some answers about what is happening inside my body. My appointment is at 10:45 am. Hopefully I won't pee my pants on the way to the imaging place, or, even worse, pee inside the scanner. (I have the pleasure of drinking a half gallon of water an hour beforehand :) I'm thankful that i have a 'buddy' to accompany me on this grand adventure - my friend Melissa from Westminster will be sitting in as the buddy. Thank God for buddies. More info in a few days.