Thursday, November 5, 2009

Update: Great News!




My mammogram results are in, and I am fine. No worries. Hakuna Matata...
Was there any doubt? Well...
I did get a fright on Halloween. No, not a trick or treater dressed as a vampire, though that might've done it. I found a lump on my left frontsett. Breast. I found a lump on my left breast. I know. It would have been more honest of me to include that on yesterday's post, but it would have ruined the funny. The funny was important to me. I think being able to see the humor in situations that are difficult is a gift. Okay, I know, humor is not one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit listed in the Bible, but it has been a precious gift to me anyway.
Besides. By Sunday, I knew I was okay. Don't ask me how. I just knew. Yes. I know I could have emailed you, and you would have prayed for me. But I knew I was okay. I can't explain how I knew, but I did. I still went to the doctor, who felt the lump and decided I needed a mammogram and made an appointment for me that day. I wasn't surprised. I figured that since I had turned forty in September, it wasn't an overreaction, even though I had come to believe I was fine. Now, it is true that my personality is such that I would wait until September 2, 1:30 am to have the mammogram at forty if I could, or at the very least, last appointment on September 1. Sometimes I'm a letter of the law sort of gal. I have to watch that.
I had a moment of melancholy driving through the forest preserves to get to my appointment. I have always loved autumn leaves. As a child, my parents used to take me to the woods, and I'd pick them, press them, and seal them in a book. I was never an artistic child, but I loved drawing trees, any season actually. I wasn't good at drawing them, I think because I always wanted to make them symetrical, so they never looked right. I chalked it up to the truth in the poem by Joyce Kilmer....

Trees

I THINK that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the sweet earth's flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day, 5
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain. 10

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.


Anyways, I thought how sad it would be if I never saw another autumn, never enjoyed such beautiful color again...

And I heard God laugh. I do believe I did. Not a derisive sort, but the kindly laugh of a Father who is amused by his child's lack of imagination as He prepares wonderful things for her for when she comes home...
He promised me that if I thought these trees were beautiful, I'd be amazed one day at the trees in Heaven. And I had to laugh, too.



P.S. I am sorry if I caused any offense with "Go ahead, picture it" when joking about the brochure. I guess I got carried away. Forgive me?

13 comments:

Kristine McGuire said...

Congratulations on your outstanding news and thank you for sharing such beautiful pictures.

Janet Oberholtzer said...

Glad all is well!!

After my first mammo - my frontsett looked so good, they wanted more pictures :) At least, that's what I told myself when I was called back in for additional shots to double check one area. Thankfully all was well, also!

I love trees! No, I'm not a treehugger in the normal sense of the word, but I like trees. So I love the poem and pictures! Thanks for sharing.

Ginny (MAD21) said...

Praise God, Helen!

Sarah Salter said...

Helen, I'm so glad you're okay! And I love that poem, too!

Wendy said...

Glad to hear that you're just lumpy and not cancery. Can you hardly wait for next year's test now? :oÞ

And hey, lots of trees up here. Want to come visit?

Marni said...

Praise Him you are okay!!!!! Thanks for the update :-)

And thank you for the tree pics. We don't have trees here. Can I come with you to see the ones Wendy talked about?

Stephanie Wetzel said...

Glad to read good news!

Oh yeah. HEEHEE: You said frontset. And breast. And bosom.

Peter P said...

OK, I like the way you sneaked Breast into the beginning of the post but then putting in a poem just so you could use the word again...

That takes genius.

BTW that poem doesn't work so well if you replace breast with frontsett....

Kelli said...

Woohoo!! Helen, I've been praying for you! Thank you for sharing!

Also love the poem and pretty pictures.

Joanne Sher said...

SOOOO glad you're all right. Also read your post from yesterday - and I agree this warranted a different post. ;) I've been getting mammograms since I was 25, and as much as they are NOT my favorite thing, it's better to know than not!

Candy said...

Sooo happy your smashomammogram turned out ok and your frontsetts have been preserved. Praise God!

When "Autumn Leaves" around here, it means it's winter. Snuggie. Laptop foot warmer.

Oh yeah. Praise God.

Sherri Murphy said...

So glad your boobs are healthy!

And I remember that poem from childhood- third grade class- and the boys would snicker at the bosom line!

Healthy Ta-tas rock!

Beth said...

Helen! Long time no comment for me. I am so glad you are okay, though! And as usual...you make me giggle even with the serious stuff...it IS a gift. :)