So, if you are following this story, you know I took a long ride down the Kaibab Plateau in the back of an ambulance, and then I went to Flagstaff to visit Dr. Wani, the cardiologist. We went back to Flagstaff this week to get the results of all the tests that Dr. Wani and his crew did. And the results are: I have no blockages, no leaky valves, no enlarged heart, no high cholesterol. Nothing. I am very happy to say I am a normal, healthy 58 year old woman who obviously had stress induced chest pains for no reason.
Except that I think I may have been too worried about FabGrandpa. But you see, he had oral cancer in 2001. Specifically, Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the tongue. So, any time he has a sore or an ulcer in his mouth, I freak out. I can’t help it. It is my way to worry about the man I love. So, when he showed me a place on his lower gum about a month ago, a place that looked like an exposed jawbone to us, I of course immediately thought it was a recurrence of his cancer. That is why we went to Prescott to the VA Medical Center two weeks ago. And they sent us to see the ENT Cancer Specialist in Phoenix on Monday of this week.
When we got to Phoenix, we were taken in to the ENT Cancer Specialist’s office for him to examine FabGrandpa’s gum. And when he did, he smiled and said, “I think it is a tooth!” And in fact, it WAS a piece of a tooth that was embedded in FabGrandpa’s gum from 10 years ago when he had all his teeth extracted. So, he was given a referral to the dentist on the other side of the hospital to have it removed.
We hurried over there, where they took him right in and took that piece of tooth right out of his head. They didn’t even have to do a biopsy, because when they removed the tooth, they didn’t see anything else there. What a relief! FabGrandpa and I were so relieved, in fact, that we were so silly and giddy and happy that we practically danced on the sidewalk for the rest of the day. Except that we had to be in Flagstaff the next day for my appointment with Dr. Wani. So giddy, that we actually went to Denny’s just for dessert after we got checked in to our motel in Flagstaff. DENNY’S. A place where FabGrandpa usually refuses to eat. And I was so happy that I ate some pie, gluten and all. On purpose.
The next day is when I went for my appointment with Dr. Wani. They did an ultrasound of my heart too, also known as a Echocardiogram. It was uncomfortable but did not actually hurt. I was very glad we had not checked out of the motel yet, because I had to go back there to take a shower after it was all over with. It seemed like they used an excessive amount of that gel. Ick! It was interesting to see the images of my beating heart, showing all the chambers, but I kept thinking, “How much is this going to cost???”
So, we are both fine. While getting all those heart tests is not my idea of fun, at least we know my ticker is working just fine. And we know for sure FabGrandpa is in his second childhood, as he is teething, hahahhaa! The only thing is, I am “heartbroken” because somewhere along the way, I lost my camera. The new one, the one I bought in November. So I can’t show you the picture of silly, giddy FabGrandpa. You’ll just have to take my word for it.
