Monday, June 30, 2008

MRI Results

I was able to see a doctor at Resurgens Orthopaedics on Friday, June 20, 2008. They looked at it, took an X-Ray, and said they needed to do an MRI with contrast.

The MRI got set up for Monday, June 30 at a private imaging center (as they could get me in sooner than Resurgens). Though I didn't see the advantage at the time, it turns out that since this was a private facility, I got to take home my MRI Images the day of my MRI. (They then fax the Radiology report to my doctor "within 24 hours".) But my followup appointment with the doctor was scheduled for 3 weeks later (July 21). And that was all fine with me since I was OK (or so I thought).

After getting home, I couldn't help but look at the films and was shocked with what I saw. Though I'm not a doctor, it seemed quite clear that there was a serious problem. Here are some of those films:




For the first time, I was actually nervous that I had something bad. I was convinced it was some sort of tumor; I just had no idea if it was benign or malignant. But this thing is huge: about 7.5 x 4 x 2 inches in length, width, and depth – elliptically shaped. Googling the subject revealed a few possible diagnoses, all of which were bad. I was getting more nervous.

I called my doctor's office who promised to share with me the Radiology report over the phone the next day. Now we wait . . . .

Friday, June 13, 2008

No, Dave, that's not a "big muscle"

I took the family to visit my folks over the weekend of June 13 - 15, 2008. While I was up there, I was showing my sister Barbara (an oncology nurse) the "big muscle" (or so I thought) on my left thigh. (You see, my left thigh bulges out, which I thought was “cool”.) Barb looked at it and said “Dave, that’s just not right. You need to see a doctor about that.” Mom too insisted that I see a doctor. Both Barb and Tom (brother-in-law) later commented that it didn’t feel like muscle to them.

I had noticed that there for at least 7 months and perhaps even as long as 12 months or more but never really thought much about it. It caused me no pain or discomfort. I simply assumed that my left thigh was bigger and/or stronger than my right thigh. I also often sit oddly in a chair where I put my right foot under my left thigh and I figured that my years of doing that perhaps somehow deformed or twisted my thigh muscle. (If you sit in a chair that way, you too will notice your thigh muscle “bulge”.) Unfortunately, I was wrong with all of my assumptions.