The First One is Always the Toughest.

This week ended up being very good. As the week progressed, I started going to work earlier each day and found that I was able to handle more and more. As thursday got closer, I thought my anxiety would increase in preparation of my first check-up MRI. Thursday morning came and I found that my mood was very good and I felt strong. I didn't notice any of the numbness I had been experiencing all day. Because my body didn't want me to get too excited, it decided to reward me with a nasty head cold which made me sneeze about 50 times at work on Thursday. I wondered how I would survive the MRI with my nose running, sneezing and coughing while I was supposed to remain still for 40 minutes or so. I was actually angry with my body much like I was in March after being diagnosed. How could my body after not having a single cold the entire winter allow this to happen now.

On our way to Sloan in Commack, we stopped at our church where father Chris prayed with us and anointed me. Leaving there, I felt even better about my being able to handle the MRI. Upon arriving at Sloan, I took some prescription medication to hep avoid any panic attacks in the MRI machine, but I'm pretty sure that I didn't even need it, because I came through with flying colors. Sue had informed me a day or so earlier that the people at sloan told her the test would take about an hour. I was really worried about that initially. When I met the technician, he told me it would only be about 40 minutes....big difference to me! The technician was great in keeping me informed of the progress during the test and before too long it was over...I had done it!

The next concern were the results of the test. Because we couldn't get an appointment with Dr. Nolan for the following week, we had to call on Friday to find out the results. Renee, Dr. Nolan's nurse finally called us around 4:30pm. She informed us that the MRI looked fine and that there was no change to the tumor. She said to monitor how I felt this week and they would decide if I needed to keep our appointment with the doctor.

On Friday, I decided to go to our family doctor to make sure that what I had wasn't any more than a cold. The nurse practitioner, Scott was glad I came. He said he thought it was just a cold, however he was still going to put me on strong anti-biotics because if it became an infection, it could be dangerous because of the short time since the surgery. I was very glad I went, and even more so on Saturday, when Maggie was diagnosed with an ear infection, possible strep throat and maybe even mono! I think these kids are trying to kill me! :)

At this point, I feel great..minus the cold. I feel ready to work a full week and maybe even start exercising more. Thanks for all of your prayers and concern. Have a great weekend.