Medical Update

Update #1:Well, it's "Dad Time" again!

Dad is going to have his second heart stent procedure done this coming Monday. We need to have him in Springfield at 2 PM that day. They will do the procedure, and then keep him overnight. I will go back to Springfield on Tuesday to pick him up and bring him back to our house for a couple of days. So we will have a house guest again for a couple of days! Which is fine - - he's an easy guest to have around.

And Squeak will be so happy - - her "Grandpa" will be back!

Update #2: This time it's for me.

Back last November, I had a small mass show up on my right hand, just below the thumb. I checked with my Doctor, who said he thought it might be a ganglian cyst, which sometimes show up there, because they attach themselves to a tendon. We decided to wait until after the Holidays to pursue it, because you know how THAT time if year is . . . and since it was causing me no pain or discomfort, and was not impeding any hand motion, we decided to wait until after the New Year.

Well, when January hit, that is when all the stuff started with Dad. Every time I tried to schedule something for my hand, I had to cancel it because something else would come up for him. Finally - - FINALLY - - I was able to get back to my Doctor and have him check it again.

By this time, it had grown a little bit, but it still does not cause any pain or discomfort, nor does it impede any motion in any way. My Doctor referred me to a very good Doctor at The Hand Center. They took X-rays, and got me into a room to meet with Dr. S.

When I spoke with Dr. S, he agreed that it could be a ganglian, but the X-rays were pretty inconclusive, so he ordered an MRI for me. I got that done a couple of weeks ago, and yesterday went back to meet with him to discuss the findings. It seems it is NOT a cyst, but a soft tissue mass, similar to a fatty tumor, and he feels the best course of action is to excise it. As in cut into my hand and remove it.

SO - - I now have hand surgery scheduled. It will take place August 22nd. It's fairly minor, and an outpatient procedure. Dear Hubby has already scheduled that day off, and will be there with me the whole day. They will use the "Twilight" anesthesia, so a couple of hours after surgery they will send me home. Steve then plans to stay home in case I need anything (BLESS THAT DEAR MAN!)(I'm definitely keeping him!)

I thought I was handling it all very well, but . . . last night I couldn'd sleep; my blood pressure was pretty high. And today, I felt kinda light-headed and had trouble focusing all day. The boss finally sent me home at 3:00 this afternoon, and when I got home, I immediately laid down and took a short nap. Things are a bit better now, but I still don't feel 100%.

It's all nerves . . . and I realize that everything will be FINE. Really it will. But it's still nerve-wracking.

Why couldn't this be happening to my LEFT hand? I'm predominately right-handed, I make my living on a keyboard and mouse, and this damn thing is on my RIGHT HAND.

*sigh*

2008 has NOT been an easy year for the Jackson household . . .