A Startling Diagnosis: ‘You have cancer’
Before the cancer diagnosis I was a healthy woman. (Just about as healthy as someone who sits in an office chair staring at a computer screen for eight hours a day, 5 days a week, can be.) I ate lots of sad, desk salads with kale sprinkled in them and drank nothing but water. I had a membership at my local gym and had just started working out regularly again. In fact, before the diagnosis I just assumed I had injured myself at the gym.
I was on my way to work out when I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my left knee. I wrote it off as the side effects of not stretching before I went full speed on the elliptical the previous day.
Fast-forward a week and I was still limping along with leg pain. I hobbled into urgent care after work one day. The doctor felt my knee area and said it was likely sprained. He prescribed R.I.C.E. — rest, ice, compression and elevation. After a week, my leg started to feel a bit better, but the limp still lingered.
The following week, I went to a physician for my annual physical exam. Again a doctor felt my leg, asked a few questions and said to continue with the R.I.C.E. A few days after my physical I noticed my leg pain started getting worse. I notified my doctor and she referred me to an orthopedic specialist right away.
The orthopedist ordered an x-ray and said he’d pull it up so we could look at it together. But he was staring at my bone so intensely on the screen I couldn’t see past him. He said he’s not one to beat around the bush and that a big gray area we were seeing looked like a tumor in my femur bone. An MRI confirmed his suspicions. He then referred me to an orthopedic oncologist for further diagnosis.
The oncologist/orthopedist ordered a bunch more tests and prescribed crutches to keep me from walking on my weak leg. I spent a whole day sliding in and out of noisy machines I’ve only seen before on Grey’s Anatomy. Cat scans and MRIs confirmed the tumor was isolated to just one area, but I’d need a biopsy to know what exactly was growing on my femur bone.
My family is very prayerful, so despite the dubious odds, we all had a benign tumor in mind. Then one day the pain became so intense I thought I may have actually broken my leg at some point without realizing. We went to see the doctor, and he said my bone was becoming so thin that he wanted to admit me to the hospital while we awaited the biopsy results in order to avoid a fracture. I checked in to the hospital on a Monday, expecting biopsy results to come on a Wednesday, but they came a day early.
My orthopedist came into my hospital room bright and early the next morning flanked by his team. He said matter-of-factly that I have cancer and he’d need to do surgery right away to remove the tumor. I would be getting a metal rod in my leg to replace the bone lost to the tumor, followed by chemo treatments to make sure all the remaining cancer is gone. Still barely awake, I didn’t know how to respond. I just cried and nodded. Then I called my mom.
I was too shaken up to say anything more than I’d received some news to tell her. She said she would leave work early and come see me although I tried to convince her to continue working a full day. She asked me if I was alone, and I said there was a nurse in the room with me. Through my tears, all I could see was a figure standing next to me in a blue hospital uniform.
But when I hung up the phone I realized the person standing over me was actually a favorite cousin I hadn’t seen in years who just so happens to work at this same hospital. I gave him a big sloppy hug, and he stayed with me until my mom arrived.
I consider his presence a sign from God. I could have been left alone grappling with my diagnosis, but instead God sent my cousin, a sort of angel on earth, to console me. He has been great to have around at the hospital. I’m never at a loss for visitors, even throughout the day. I always have someone in my corner when I need them.
As difficult as hearing the osteosarcoma diagnosis was, it wasn’t even my lowest point. Little did I know, this situation was just about to take an unexpected turn for the worst. More on that in the next post.
Like what you read? Click the ❤️ below. Have questions or feedback? Comment below or email me at WiggleToeBlog@gmail.com.
