Friday, January 11, 2008

A Dawson scare

A little background first - About 3 weeks ago, Dawson started with a bad cough. We went to the pediatrician 2 weeks ago and he started Dawson on the nebulizer. During the visit, the doctor and I noticed the lymphnode under his left ear was swollen. Apparently, this is normal when people are sick. The doctor measured it and told me to notify him if it got larger.

I have been watching the lymphnode and didn't notice a change, but did notice it was not going away. Well, we were eating lunch today and the thing looked huge. It was protuding out of his neck and I knew it couldn't be normal. I called the doctor's office and got an appointment for this afternoon. The doctor measured it again and it had doubled in size. He told me to go for a blood test to check for tuberculosis and to also check his white blood cell count. These tests were to rule out TB and the possibility of lymphoma - that's right, cancer! The doctor ordered the tests STAT and told me he would call me tonight with the results. If something came up he didn't like, he said Dawson would be seen this weekend for further testing.

Fortunately, it didn't take TOO long for the phone call that his levels were normal. That poor boy is being squeezed a lot tonight! We still need to figure out what is wrong - could be an infection or a cyst. We will go for an ultrasound next week.

Honestly, I was having some words with God. Why???? Why is this even coming into the mix of our lives right now? Why put us through this again? One more thing? We are so thankful that there isn't an immediate concern. We are also emotionally zapped.

David went to Pop and Gam's tonight for a sleepover and before he left, I told him what was going on with Dawson. I told him we didn't know if Dawson was sick or not and we were waiting on the doctor's phone call. He said, "As soon as you know, you call Pop and Gam's and ask to speak with me. I want to know what the doctor says." I called him there and told him the good news. I also told him they still have to take pictures of the inside of Dawson's bump. He breathed a sigh of relief, as did we all. These children change my life everyday.

2 comments:

Robyn said...

Oh, Barb! I'm so sorry that you guys are having to go through all this, but am so glad to hear that the tests so far have come back normal. We will continue to be praying for you guys. I know this has been a roller coaster for you. Lots of love!

Robyn

Unknown said...

You are all in our daily prayers. Glad to hear that the tests were normal. Keep us posted!