London Interrupted

Long story short- if you didn't know already- I am back in Indianapolis.

So here's the story from the recent beginning.

I went to London for my study abroad (if you haven't read about that, you can at kavanwyk.blogspot.com).  I got a cough and went to see a doctor about it after 3 weeks. The doctor I saw listened to my breathing and my explanation of events (a cough off and on since January, "cured" at the end of August with steroids) and decided that I had hay fever.  London has notoriously bad air quality and a lot of foreign pollen so it kinda made sense, except that the cough sounded awful. He prescribed a nasal spray, antihistamine and inhaler and wanted to see me again in two weeks. Over the course of the two weeks the cough got better slowly but surely. I went back to the doctor's office and met with a different doctor. She listened to my breathing and suggested a chest x-ray. We did two x-rays and the doctor noticed an infection in my lung and decided I should go to hospital.

I checked into Bupa Cromwell hospital that Friday (October 14). It was a very nice hospital, private so I had my own room. Mieke, a wonderful, lovely woman from my study abroad program (IES) met me at the hospital and was with me from the time I checked in until later that night when all my tests were finished. Friday evening I had a neck ultrasound, lymph node biopsy, ct scan of my neck, chest and abdomen and blood tests. 

Saturday morning saw another blood test but most of the weekend I spent hanging out in my room. Elaine, another woman from my program, came by on Saturday and spent time with me.

Over the course of the weekend and what became the week, I had a nice stream of visitors. Mieke was back Sunday and everyday during the week. Elaine came back and Hilary, also from IES, came a few times as well. I cannot speak more highly of the support I received from IES while in hospital and upon leaving hospital and returning home. They were also amazingly supportive of my mom and aunt, emotionally and administratively as we got results from doctors, phone calls from insurance and any number of things.

Back to my lovely list of visitors.  On Sunday, Juuso, my aunt and uncle's past exchange student, came by for a visit. Heather and Michelle, friends from my program, came to visit during the week as well.  I also received a visit from the English coworker of Tom Creveling (a good friend at home), she came with lots of snack food and reading material. My mom and Aunt Becky showed up on Wednesday.

Wednesday morning I had a brain scan. That was fun... Wednesday night I had surgery to remove a lymph node from the area under my right arm. The surgery went well and I came out of the anesthesia well, except for some nausea. That night the doctors began to prepare me (my body anyway) to fly back to Indianapolis for further tests and treatment.

Thursday, Mom, Aunt Becky and I went out for lunch. It was a really yummy burger joint. That night we were given the preliminary diagnosis of lymphoma, yes you read that correctly.  

Friday (now October 21) I went to my dorm and packed everything up, ate at My Old Dutch and used up some groceries for dinner- I made tacos. I had the chance to share the news with most of my new friends in London and was able to give away some of the stuff I had acquired- pillows, sheets, food etc.- that didn't need to fly home. We returned to the hospital for a final prep before the flight. 

We flew out of Heathrow early Saturday morning. Because of my lungs and not being able to walk distances, I had a wheelchair at each airport which expedited security and customs. The flight from London to Chicago was long but without incident. I was able to sit with Mom even though we had gotten last minute seats and our assigned seats weren't together. I walked a few laps around the economy section of the plane to keep the blood flowing every hour and to break up some of the monotony of the flight. We made a quick trip through O'Hare with my wheelchair- I don't think we would have made our connection without the wheelchair and the official pushing me. We did have time for a wonderful McDonald's snack before the flight. For the flight from O'Hare to Indianapolis, I was upgraded to first class thanks to another friend, Belinda Mulhern using her frequent flyer miles. It was a very nice flight and quick though it was the most difficult emotionally. I thought that I was okay with returning home and such but having it happen, I realized how sad I really was to not be in London anymore and how unromantic Indianapolis is.

Since being home, Mom, Dad and I met with Doctor Cripe from IU Health on Sunday to hand off the reports from London and the removed lymph node. On Monday night, Doctor Cripe confirmed the diagnosis of lymphoma and that it looked like Hodgkins. On Thursday we went back to IU Health and met with Doctor Azar. He spoke with us about Hodgkins lymphoma and the treatment I would be going through. It was also decided to have a second surgery to remove another lymph node to try to find a more definitive diagnosis. We arranged for my first chemotherapy treatment- Wednesday November 2.  Friday morning Mom, Dad and I went back to IU Cancer Center for surgery. From my understanding, everything went very well with the surgery and 3 nodes were removed. I am currently recovering well, just a bit of pain and tiredness. 

Also, tomorrow, Halloween, October 31 is my 21st birthday!!!! November 1 is my grandfather's birthday!!!! And November 2 I start my chemo treatment (exclamation points no being used here for obvious reasons).

On the positive side of things, on November 8 I will be dying my hair purple at a local salon. Kim and my cousin Emily are getting purple strands to show support. Miss Becky (from church) and Family have already used temporary colored hair spray for a supportive purple look. If you are interested in more info about the hair dying, email my mom at juli@iquest.net. 

Now you are up to date. It isn't fun news to share but life isn't always fun. I have decided that I won't be private about this disease and what happens as I go through it. This will be a place for me to tell my side of the story and how I feel about it. Mom and Dad might put together another page but this is from me.