Читать книгу Remembering my Miss Vicki - Thomas Crochetiere - Страница 5

Vicki had her last mammogram in 2008. She had her most recent annual checkup with a breast exam in July 2010. With the exception of her high cholesterol level and her only remaining kidney not being in perfect condition, she had received a good bill of health. Vicki had no signs or symptoms of anything being wrong, up to and including September 7, 2010.

On September 8^th, she awoke with a slight pain to her right breast and she then discovered a small lump in that breast. She called me at work, told me her Mastitis had come back and she would go to see the doctor that day. Vicki was not very concerned as she has had Mastitis before and the normal course of treatment was to take antibiotics and the Mastitis would go away within a week. The lump she discovered did not appear to be hard but squishy like she had before.

Vicki went to the doctor’s office that day and the Nurse Practitioner agreed with her that it appeared the Mastitis had returned and Vicki was given a prescription for antibiotics and sent on her way. Vicki had wanted to buy a new car for a couple of years but had held off until my work situation appeared to be stable. During her lunch break, she test drove a new Dodge Journey and loved it. She called me at work and asked that I stop by the dealership on my way home to take it for a test drive. She told me she wanted to purchase it that evening. Needless to say, she bought the car that evening and was extremely happy. It brought great joy for me to see her face as she had been very patient and had not bought a new car in several years.

As the week progressed, Vicki noticed the Mastitis was not going away as it normally did and that the lump was getting larger and starting to hurt more. When the antibiotics ran out, she went back to the doctor’s office on September 16^th and saw her doctor (Dr. Edith) this time.

Dr. Edith told her she did not think this lump was Mastitis and told Vicki she needed to go to the Comprehensive Breast Center right away for further exams. Her doctor had tried to get Vicki in that afternoon but they were booked solid and were not able to see Vicki until the next morning. Vicki went in the next morning on the 17^th and had several tests run including a mammogram and an ultrasound.

Vicki received a call from the Comprehensive Breast Center the next day advising her they found lumps in her right breast and in her right lymph nodes. They scheduled her to come back on the 22^nd for a biopsy. At this point, the main lump in Vicki’s right breast had doubled in size and was hurting even more.

I am sure you can well image all of the thoughts that were running through our minds at this time. Knowing that if lumps were found in her lymph nodes this is normally not a good sign. We were trying to remain positive and upbeat and we were not going to let this start to destroy us before even knowing exactly what this was. Vicki told me she did not want to tell anyone about this until we had more information and answers.

On the 22^nd, Vicki went into the Comprehensive Breast Center for the biopsy. I met her there after work and then followed her home. On our way we met and had dinner with our friends Darryl and Glenda, at which time I told them what was happening. Vicki later told me she did not want everyone to know until we got the results back from the tests.

Vicki and I spoke at length about the possibilities. My gut instinct told me this was cancer and I told her I was scared. She told me she wanted to let Jason and Rachel know, and she would tell her boss. She said her work needed to know because she might be taking a lot of time off for tests. I began to get tears in my eyes and we stopped talking about it.

From this point on, I kept a journal of everything that had to do with Vicki’s condition and how it affected our lives and those around us.