news to share!

I have some exciting news to share! Some of you may know... some may only know bits and pieces.. but here's the whole story.

A year ago, I began seeing a new doctor upon arriving here in Alabama. Upon going through my medical chart I brought from Aviano, he discovered some shocking results. I had tests results, one after another, that revealed abnormal results. That was all I was ever told. I was told they were abnormal, but nothing to be concerned about and nothing needed done. The doctor said every test was more abnormal than the one before. He wanted to run some tests himself and see what my current status was. Since my doctor of three years made it sound like no big deal, I shrugged it off. This all started in August. By the first week of December, I received a call from my doctor's nurse, asking me to come in for a consult the next day. She said my test came back abnormal. Big shocker *insert sarcasm*.

 But then she dropped the bomb. She said I needed surgery. Puzzled, I asked her why. She informed me that my test wasn't just abnormal, but rather I had tested to have precancerous cells. A large amount of precancerous cells. In 4 years, the cells had really progressed. 2 weeks later, I was in surgery. He removed all of the cells in hopes that healthy new cells would return in their place.

Fast forward to 3 weeks ago. I went back to get re-tested. While talking with the doctor, I asked what would happen next. He said he had high hopes that all healthy cells would have replaced the precancerous cells. If that was the case, in 6 months I would just have to come back and get re-tested. He said if they came back abnormal again, it would be a different story. He said in most cases that come back abnormal a second time, he can perform the surgery again. Most come back normal after the 2nd surgery. He said in my case, it was so severe and he had to remove too much tissue that a second surgery would not be an option this soon. He said in my case, he got clear margins and the test from the surgery proved that he got it all. If it came back abnormal again, it was cause for concern because that meant that precancerous cells were coming back and weren't just ones that were missed from the surgery. He then informed me that in the case of it coming back abnormal, I would have to go to an oncologist. How does a healthy 27 year old comprehend the word oncologist? I could not wrap my brain around it.

Fast forward to today. I came home from work, utterly exhausted. I worked later than normal and had to get groceries afterward. As I come into the house, Kevin says he has something to tell me. When I walk upstairs ready to collapse of exhaustion, he hands me a letter. A letter stating my test came back NORMAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Precancerous cells are gone!!!! A year we have dealt with this. I'm so ready for our lives to get back to normal and not spend weekly/biweekly/monthly visits at the doctor! I'm pretty sure I should own part of Trinity Hospital in the amount of money Tricare has invested in me and the amount of money I've paid for that dang parking garage!