Tom Tom and Bert

Answering questions left in comments:

Tom Tom does not include time for restroom breaks or, most importantly, FOOD, Angie! However, I think he'll easily restart. because we all know I am not a girl who misses meals!

It was Frances who thought up Bert for a name. Realistically, no one knows a Bert in person except Shane, and the Bert he knew was a jealous fella. Other than Bert on Sesame Street that is. So, can we call this THING Bert, or is that just wrong? I kind of already think of it as Bert. Since it is part of my body at the moment, I am kind of not wishing a whole lot of ill upon it. Come on, picture Bert... you know you want to...Now isn't that a much nicer image than a scary old tumor?

I must, however refrain from calling it Bert in front of the general public and any healthcare professionals. Just in case anyone gets any funny ideas about my sanity.

The cat is completely unprepared for our trip tomorrow, but... all her stuff is ready to go. I wonder if she wonders why her litter box is by the door? She was completely able to find it, in fact, she gave me a bit of a funny look, like "What, too lazy to bring it all the way back in after you clean it?"

Since I don't seem to be able to sleep now, do you think that means I will be able to drive and drive and drive....?
a

Howdy!

I decided at 4:37 in the morning that it was foolish to stay up all night to get ready to drive all day, so I decided to leave tomorrow morning. What a relief! Olive sent me a wonderful email about stress and it included setting priorities and also modifying them. This is a modification moment.

Packing is so much more fun when you have enough time. :) I have a cooler, snacks, and lots more to do, but I am relaxed and not stressed. Mac dropped me off a Tom Tom, which tells me I will be there 34 hours after I leave. I need a snack, then I am off to finish cleaning out the truck (good opportunity to vacuum it! And then put the stuff in, ready to go in the morning.

Yay! A good day!
a

The THING

For anyone new to the topic, I have a THING. I promise to go back and fill in all the nitty gritty details, including all the interesting bits, but for now you get a brief recap and an update.

I had a body scan as part of a firefighter physical, and a mass was seen medial to the right kidney. A second, more detailed CT confirmed a baseball sized tumor (we prefer "mass") medial to the kidney, touching the duodenum and with slight mass effect on the inferior vena cava. Without the medical speak: Thingy in there. :)

My doc sent me to an oncologist - more on that later. Since I was unable to get an appointment, my doc sent me for an MRI. It was called in as a contrast CT - more on that later too. :) I managed to get a copy of the radiologist report (before my doc did, as usual) and....

THING has attached to the musculature near the spine. Not attached to the kidney or adrenal gland though! No adenopathy, no jacked up lymph nodes. (What!? The radiologist really said that! Ok, maybe not...) Considerations include schwanoma, paraganglioma, and sarcoma. We hate option 3, by the way, but the other two are nothing to pray for either. :)

So. if I were staying here, my doc would send me to a neurosurgeon to get that thing taken out. In fact, he said he would send me to one of the "Big Boys" at UT Southwestern in Dallas. I assume his use of the word "Big Boys" was not intended to infer that there are no adequate female neurosurgeons. *sigh*

I am happy about the neurosurgery thought because it seems to not involve an oncologist and therefore not involve the word "biopsy". We hate that word. (Unless otherwise specified, "we" refers to the cat and I. She generally has the same opinion as I do, whether it is because I feed her or because she genuinely agrees, I am not sure.)

We'll see what the docs in Canada think! I leave in the morning, pre-supposing of course, that I stop doing this and go pack. Might need clothes. Talk soon!
a