I know I've been watching too many of Gareth's sci-fi movies when I liken getting this cyst removed to removing an alien parasite from my head. But honestly, once it was done my head felt lighter. I've had this sebaceous cyst on the side of my head, behind my left ear for over a year now. It would vary in size every now and again, but it wouldn't get bigger than a single peanut. I essentially ignored it after my doctor said it wasn't anything to worry about. However, in the last week it got so swollen and painful, stretching my scalp so much it hurt to raise my eyebrows. You know for Filipinos wiggling your eyebrows is the same as saying hello, so this was a problem.
I called the dermatologist my doctor suggested. No opening until February 2009. Are you kidding me? But oh, wait I could see the physician's assistant in December! Oh, so much better, thank you. Not. So I went to Urgent Care Thursday night since I thought, hmmm this is urgent. I need care. They were worthless. So worthless, I'm going to dispute the bill for the visit. They gave me a prescription for drugs that knocked me out. Nice, thank you. But when I woke up Friday morning the lump was bigger and hurt worse than a mofo. Yet I still went to work. High as kite on these awesome painkillers, but it was my last day before my vacation started. My coworkers probably thought my vacuous smile and absentmindedness were from short-timers syndrome not some mild narcotics.
I worked on a new list of dermatologists the Urgent Care staff had given me. So they weren't completely worthless. Still, I wasn't impressed. I got an apppointment for October. Woopti-friggin-do. My head's bout to explode and they want me to wait a month?I decided that I needed to go to ER after work and I mentioned this to one of my vanpool riders. She was dropping me off at home because I was relinquishing responsibility for it for the next two weeks. I described the growing lump and the spreading pain to her. She says, "Oh, my grandmother had one of those on the back of her neck. A carbuncle cyst. I hope that's not what you have. She died from it."Wow. Nice. Thanks. Just what I needed to hear.
Anyway, in a panic now I get a hold of the doctor on call at my family practice and ask her if I should go to the ER. She said the doctor who would be in on Saturday could probably "drain it" to alleviate the pain until my appointment in October. I was desperate for anything positive at this point and grasped on to this lifeline albeit a flimsy one.
So I popped a pain pill Friday night and slept from 7p til 7a the next morning. This morning. I was not in a good mood. I was a blubbering mess, having convinced myself somehow in my sleep that I had something fatal. (Stupid carbuncle story! I mean really!?) But G calms me down, plays the solicitous husband and gets me my coffee then hands me off to his mother. I understand this. I love my husband and I know he loves me, but these kind of things make him nervous and I end up getting nervous with him, and since I was already a mess of nerves, I was glad my MIL was going with me and not G. So long story short we did a lot of waiting since I was a walk in but I finally got to see a doctor who said, "We can take care of this today." Such relief on my part I could've kissed him.
The procedure hurt like hell even with all the local anesthesia he pumped into my scalp. Actually that was the part that hurt the most. The rest was just uncomfortable pressure. He was kind enough not to shave my hair off, not even a little. However, I can't wash it for a couple days. Yuck. But it's not a bad trade-off all things considered.
I ruined G's plans today for a family outing to the Puyallup Fair with my MIL and my SILs Phee n Rhyana and my brother and nephew. Felt so bad about that. I'll make it up to them somehow. Thanks to all who asked after me and shared their concern. I'm doing well and now alien parasite free. Okay, it was a lima bean sized cyst, but it's gone for now.
