Lump! Etc.

Well, this was a first or very nearly so... After all the lumps and bumps on DOGS that I've had checked out, there's one on ME!  This might be TMI, but I promise to move on quickly... Back in February, after our trip to Philadelphia, I came home really quite sick.  I saw a doctor that Monday — even went so far as to switch my primary care physician in the process! — and he took one look at me and said, "you haven't been taking care of yourself!"  Welcome to being a mom with kids on vacation... He listened to my lungs, said I had pneumonia, gave me an antibiotic and some cough syrup and away I went.  Because of being so sick, the fact that my throat was uncomfortable was not a big deal.  Lymph nodes and such, right?

Except that when I wasn't sick anymore, there was still a lump that I could feel, especially when I stretched my neck upwards.  So I went back to the doctor who sent me to have a CT scan.  Huh.  There was something there.  And so he sent me straight to the best-of-the-best at MGH, who just happens to be the doctor who operated on a friend of mine.  That consult included an ultrasound where first the technician looked and took pictures.  And then she had a radiologist come and look.  And then he went and got "the big boss."  I was starting to feel downright special!

After a little research on "thyroglossal cysts" I was prepared for that to be what this was.  But the ultrasound people didn't think so because it's quite solid.  And so the fancy doctor said he would recommend a needle biopsy and how about NOW?  Well, we're here, why not.  OW, is why not, but it was done.  And two days later we knew it was NOT cancer, and we might be back to thinking about the cyst idea.  Regardless, let's just get it out of there, the doctor said.  Works for me!

So, on May 23rd I'll have this adventure and stay overnight until the next morning.  And in the meantime, the thing managed to get a zit on it or else that's just a reaction to the needle biopsy, so this is the picture I sent the doctor to make sure he didn't think it was infected.  I don't think so.  And that's just dry skin from the dried up whatever-it-was.

Um, yeah.  And then it had a zit on it.

MOVING ON.  Here's a cute picture of Jago taken the other day.  She is such a loving dog and so if you leave the vehicle and come back, she just HAS to greet you in the front seat.  I posted this picture to Facebook and someone said, "but I hear the insurance is terrible until they turn six" — I wrote back and reported, "ah, but she's 9 and 3/4!"

Miss Jago got her license (no, not really!)

This morning the dear girl had a bad stomach ache.  It was not calming down as fast as I would have liked, so I took her with me to work so I could keep an eye on her.  I posted this one as "take your dog to work because she has a stomach ache day!"  By the time of this photo, the second dose of pepto had kicked in and she was able to relax.  She had no breakfast and just rice with some decorative kibble for supper.  All appears to be well.

Miss Jago after her stomach ache subsided

The tulip bed is already past its prime, but I was able to snatch these pictures in the sunlight (before it rains for days and days)...

Red tulips in the sunlight

Amazing red tulips

Special daffodils

I have a few plant projects started... I added three more bee balm plants where I planted some last year... The balloon flowers that were there don't appear to have won the battle of the roots but that's okay if they don't sprout... I'm going for something that attracts hummingbirds.  I've planted some sunflower seeds here and there... Some have sprouted in the center of the tall sea grass where the sea grass has died away, so that could be really cool — giant sunflowers rising up out of the tall sea grass.  I supplemented the creeping phlox and so it's currently in a beautiful state — for some reason it needs fairly regular replacement or filling in of holes as dogs seem attracted to peeing on it, even the little they can get to, with a wire fence around/through it.  I planted alyssum in a couple of edging spots.  And three coleus plants in a pot that did well with them two years ago.  I bought a hydrangea through church so I'll need to find a home for yet another one of those.  And I'm hoping the landscape guys (or John, if I can motivate him) will move out a dead lilac and replace it with a red-twig dogwood that would like more sun and a good trimming.  Then I can look for some big hosta plants to put in the shady spots.  The garden club often has some excellent ones at their sale.

All for now.  Going to bed!