Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Results from Doctor Visit

I anxiously sat in the small doctor's office waiting room. It was 10 till 3 and my appointment was for 2:30. I know that appointments are rarely on time, but I was so ready to hear my iron count. Everything the doctor had told me the last visit was running through my head. She had said that my iron count was good, so she did not think that we needed to investigate my anemia any further. She told me to keep taking the iron pills as I had been. That would be 3 times a day, and that was 2 months ago. I had weened myself down to 2 pills and then 1 a day. I didn't know if that was okay or not. What if my iron count was low because I was only taking it once a day? If that was the case, then I still had a big problem, because I should not have to take 3 iron pills a day.

All of these thoughts were running through my mind, and then I heard someone behind the counter say, "She was supposed to be here at 2 and it's almost 3!" I was the only one sitting in the waiting room, so I figured maybe somebody forgot to show up for their appointment. Then, the receptionist looked at me and said, "Your appointment for the ultra sound was at 2 o'clock." I told her that nobody had told me that. I had even called Friday to make sure about the time to come in and they reassured me that I needed to come in at 2:30. The receptionist said to quickly run down to room 203 and they would try to squeeze me in. I jumped up and grabbed my stuff and went down to another doctor's office waiting room.

When I got up to their desk, the lady there was none too pleased with me for missing my appointment. She mumbled something about how they would have to try and fit me into their very busy schedule. (I think she may have been the voice I heard on the speaker phone behind the desk earlier.)

I sat down thinking, "Oh no! If I am late, what if the doctor cannot see me and I don't get my iron count?" I had heard someone say that my doctor's office closed at 4pm. They quickly called me to the back. When I got back there, the lady doing my ultra sound was so sweet that I just broke down in tears. (Isn't it crazy that you break down when someone is really nice to you?) I had not realized how anxious I was about this appointment. So many unanswered questions were to be known at this doctor visit. She asked me what was wrong. I wanted to say, "Do you know what it's like wondering if you may pass out at any minute? Always evaluating if you are anemic or just tired from you crazy, scheduled lifestyle?" Every little thing had sent me on a frantic worry over the last couple of months. One time, my feet were cold and Brock asked me if I thought I was anemic. I had heard that Brittany Murphy's official cause of death was anemia. Could that have been me? Was I close to death?

But I did not say any of that. Instead, I just said, "I just want to find out what is wrong with me." She continued with the ultra sound (they can give you those even if you are not pregnant) and said, "Everything looks good here!" I didn't really know what that meant. The last time, they didn't really tell me what was wrong. They just said there was a lot of blood in my ovaries or something. I was instructed to go back upstairs to my doctor's office.

As I sat in the waiting room for another half of an hour, I became more and more worried. I continued to cry silent tears. I could not stop them. I had waited 2 months to find out if I was okay or not, I could not wait any longer! It was like my psyche had had enough! I called Brock and asked him to come from the nearby coffee shop, where he was waiting for me to get done, into the doctor's office with me. He said that he was on his way.

At one point, one of the nurses had pity on my and told me to come back to a room. She probably figured that I could at least cry in private. I was just texting Brock when he came back into the room. I was so glad to see him. He was concerned at why I was so upset. I told him that I guess it had been building up for the last 2 months, or really 2 and a half months, since I had gone into the hospital. I felt much better when Brock was there. He had been my rock these last couple of months.

Finally, at a quarter till 4, my doctor came in to see me. She met Brock and spoke to us about a few things. Her sweetness put me at ease. I began to tell her how anxious I was to know my iron count. She took me out to another room and took my blood herself. While she was taking my blood, she told me that my last ultra sound showed that I had a small polyp in my ovary as well as blood. That's where the bleeding was coming from. This time, the polyp and the blood was gone. That means that the bleeding has stopped and I don't even need to have surgery to remove the polyp. My body got rid of it on its own. I did bleed in order to get it out which was a problem a few months ago, but it's all over with now.

She walked over to another counter doing whatever she did to see about my hemoglobin (iron count). My hemoglobin should be between 13 and 15. When I went into the hospital, it was at a 5. Then, the blood transfusion brought it up to a 10. When I went to see this doctor last time, I was at a 13.5 which was great! But I was worried that I may have dropped down again. That morning, I had prayed that it would be as high as a 14.7. Now, the doctor looked at me and said, "You are at 15! Your iron count it higher than mine."

An incredible relief filled my mind and then settled throughout my body. My shoulders relaxed and my head came down as I said a quiet "Thank you" to the Lord. We went back into the room and told Brock the good news. I think the doctor could tell how relieved we were because she looked at both of us and said, "What happened to you when you went to the hospital was very rare. It was traumatic for both of you, but you can rest assured that it will probably never, ever happen to you again." These words were so comforting. I had not realized how stressed I had been.

We went to the Cocoa Tree to celebrate that I was normal! It felt so good to be normal again. Last night, I was exhausted from the emotional day. I fell asleep on the couch before 10pm. Then, I climbed into bed at 11 and went back to sleep and slept like a baby for the first time in months.

Thank you all for the prayer and support. I want you to know that it's over with. This chapter of my life has been closed. I am healed!!!

6 comments:

Steph said...

praisin' the Lord for and w/ ya! so happy! so happy they found the source and that your body took care of it. whew! :) love you.

Unknown said...

That was a real blessing to have the answers that you needed! You probably also needed the emotional release. Enjoy your new "normal" status.

Anonymous said...

Praise the Lord! We don't know how good "normal" is until we are "abnormal!" I think that deserves a special trip to Barbara Jean's, don't you??? And for dessert, a big bowl of homemade ice cream from South Louisiana.
:-D

Love you

Gi

Haley said...

What a beautiful story of God's faithfulness and His healing!!! Praise Jesus! So glad you can relax and your mind can be at ease now. I bet that without this hanging around, you'll start sleeping better and will be feeling even better really soon. Love you!

Amber said...

PRAISE THE LORD for still working miracles in our lives that we can witness and be Amazed and Thankful!!!

Michawn said...

girl...i know you are so relieved. so very glad that you got answers and are healed. just went through the 'medical mystery' dilemma with cass. it's so hard when you just don't know, isn't it? thankful for answers.