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Thursday, February 26, 2009

The Princess and the Pea

A little over a year ago I found a lump in my daughter's neck. At the time it was about the size of a pea. I called her pediatrician and we went in for a visit. After discussing the possibilities, we ran a series of tests--none of which she enjoyed. It was stressful for her, and stressful for me.
The good news was that it appeared to only be a cyst; the bad news was that because of the location of the cyst, if it continued to grow it would be quite obvious to anyone looking at her, and if it became infected (which could happen over night) it could be quite the trial in removing it; furthermore, if it burst it could cause a whole new round of issues, including cancer.
The pediatrician referred us to a conservative ENT to discuss our options and he felt that either then or in the future we should have it removed--more as a preventive measure than anything else.
Knowing that she was so young (not even two), I just didn't feel comfortable going forward with the surgery and we decided to wait and see how we felt about it a little later. Maybe it was more fear of the unknown than anything.
Over the past year her cyst has continued to grow and now it's the size of a marble. It causes her discomfort in her neck already. We've lovingly named it 'the Bump' and she will tell me that her bump hurts. Because of this we finally felt it was time to have it removed.
Of course I'm nervous! They'll be putting her under anesthesia, slicing into her neck, and possibly discovering more than they are anticipating. I'm a worry wort by nature and pregnancy hormones don't help, so I try to be logical and realize that all of the risks are relatively small. But then I worry about how she will handle it when they take her away from me--for that matter, how will I? How will recovery go?
Her surgery has been scheduled for tomorrow. If anyone can spare some positive thoughts or prayers, I know they will be felt.
Wish us luck! And here is the princess herself.




10 comments:

Tammy said...

ohhh sweet thing!!! positive thoughts and prayers your way!! Good luck to all of you!! ((HUGS))

Marissa Vargason said...

oooh she is adorable!!! Prayers your way I hope recovery is fast for her.

Kelli Bramble said...

We'll be praying for you Princess!

Anonymous said...

Hugs and good thoughts your way....

Melanie Reyes said...

praying for the princess and her sweet Mama....

Windy said...

Our thoughts with all of you!

P.S. Love the new logo.

Hilllary Howland said...

Good luck Joanna! I will be thinking of you tomorrow. Be sure to post an update!! Your daughter is beautiful and that last picture is stunning.

laura s. said...

Things like this really put things in perspective don't they? Your family will be in my prayers.

Cami said...

Those pictures are absolutely gorgeous of her! We are praying so hard for her (and you too) today! We love you guys, we'll be anxious to hear how everything went.

PITT STOP said...

Think positively, all will go well. I love the pictures of your daughter. She is adorable.