Yesterday started out a little bit scary…I got a call around 5PM the night before from my doctor’s office, saying the mammogram had a difficult time with the “density” of my breast tissue and could I come in and have another scan done the next morning at 8AM.  I don’t know about you, but as soon as the nurse skates around a diagnosis like this, and sets a follow-up appointment so quickly, I start to panic.

As soon as I entered the suite for the mammogram, the technician asked exactly how my doctor had described the results of my first mammogram to me.  I told her about the “density” issue, and she said, I think they were trying not to worry you….Something in this mammogram result is clearly different from last year’s results…Now I’m thinking the worst and trying not to cry…She says they need to capture the image a different way and it will require more squeezing than normal…GREAT!!  I know we all hate to hear those words, since we already believe they do a good job of squeezing for a normal exam.  She took a few images and squeezed a lot more than normal, so holding my breath (as they always ask me to do) was not a problem, as I had a hard time breathing at all.

As soon as she was done with the mammogram, she said a doctor would immediately be reading the results.  She also said it happens more times than not, that the doctor will ask to have an ultrasound if there’s something he wants to see more clearly.  I know it’s standard language for them, but for me, it meant “I saw something wrong in the mammogram and am preparing you for the next steps,” even though she never said it.

They sent me to a waiting area and I waiting, and tried to be brave.  I didn’t have them talk to Rich, as I didn’t want him to worry any more than I was, and if nothing was wrong, he would be worrying for nothing.

I’m not sure how long I waited, when she came back, she said the doctor said it wasn’t anything, and I need to come back next year for my normal exam.  I was SO relieved, and thanked her profusely.  I’m sure she is relieved when she doesn’t have to give someone bad news, and can’t imagine how hard it must be for her when the news is bad.

I took Rich out for breakfast, then my girlfriend and I went shopping.  There’s not a lot to do in a small town in the winter, and she and I normally spend a lot more time together during garage sale season.  The town’s only department store is going out of business, so we spent some time there, and then went out to lunch.  It’s always nice to catch up with friends, and by the time I got home, I was ready to hit the craft room…

I made a couple of gnomes for my cousin…One that has stuffed animal stuffing inside rather than rice, and another traditional one.  I also had pieces of socks left over from my Christmas gnomes and basically gave her pieces to cover the body and hat of the gnome to make it a Valentine’s gnome.  I would have showed it in a video, but didn’t think I did a good enough job to share…I hope she can decipher my idea for the body and hat, and that she likes the idea.  She told me her friend was making different gnomes for each holiday and I wondered if you could use the same gnome and cover the body and hat with temporary holiday-inspired outerwear.  We’ll see what she does with the pieces and embellishments I sent her.  I hope she shares them on facebook so others can decide what they think of them.

I made a haul video with the peg stamps I just received and am thinking about what to do to for a collaboration video with the owner of Peg Stamps, Rebecca Walton.  I’m really looking forward to creating something fun.  Last year, she and I made a rabbit card for Easter using a stencil for the rabbit outline and using her stamps for inside the stencil.  I loved how different each of our cards turned out, and hope this year my card isn’t a disappointment.  Her new stamp sets are awesome….There’s a Hummingbird Patio set that’s really fun…It looks like this. 

I love how she included two hummingbirds, one pointing left, and the other pointing right, but each a little different looking from the other…I also liked the “flowers” she included in the set, as they are basically little dots that you can stamp randomly around the branches to give the impression of flowers….Such a smart idea.

I’ll make sure Rich puts at least one video up in the next day or so, as it’s been too long since I’ve uploaded anything.  I’m really behind with my projects, and I’m sorry that I’ve been so distracted.

 

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