If I didn't know/believe that already, I certainly would after this morning*. M had her follow-up appointment with Dr. Z at 9:30 a.m. The computers were down at CDH, so they couldn't pull up her chart -- consequently the doctor didn't have the results from the lab work that had to be sent to California. However he is pretty sure from the lab results that he does have that M's colon infection was caused by something she ate or perhaps trauma resulting from exertion and dehydration. He feels it is highly unlikely she has a chronic condition such as Crohn's or irritable bowel syndrome. He did say that she had an extremely serious infection and that he normally only sees 2-3 people per year who are infected to such a degree. Not something I would want to have as my claim to fame and I'm sure M would have been thrilled to have had a normal, run of the mill infection rather than a spectacular one, but we don't get to choose.
Dr. Z did have the pathology on the polyp that he removed and he said that he was surprised by the result. M's polyp was pre-cancerous. Apparently it's not as bad as it sounds, and while it's not common in someone her age, it's not unheard of. Although from what he said it sounded like most of the people he's seen with "early" pre-cancerous polyps have been in their 30s instead of just barely 20. Bottom line (no pun intended) M will need to have a colonoscopy again in three years and appropriate follow-up depending on the results of that procedure. If her next scope is polyp-free, she can probably go five years before she will need another one. Dr. Z strongly suggested that K and E also have colonoscopies since a close blood relative had a pre-cancerous polyp at such a young age. E has an appointment coming up with her doctor and she said she would discuss it with him and see what he thought. K will probably ignore it altogether.
Even before today I could see how the past two and a half months have been preparing us for M's diagnosis. If the gall bladder attack I had on April 21 had been pretty much like all the ones that I'd had before, I would never have gone to the ER. If my iron count hadn't been so low when they drew blood in the ER, the ER doctor and my surgeon wouldn't have insisted that I see a primary care physician. If Dr. M hadn't insisted that I have a colonoscopy before he would clear me for surgery, I wouldn't have met Dr. Z. If I hadn't seen Dr. Z, I wouldn't have known who to ask for when the ER doctor said that M would need a scope. I'm sure that whoever the hospital would have called would have been fine, but it was really a blessing that someone I knew, liked, and trusted was available to take care of M. It helped that I personally knew what the procedure was like so I could reassure her that she would be okay. If M hadn't needed a scope, chances are the polyp would have gone undetected for who knows how long and quite probably would have become cancerous well before she would have had a baseline colonoscopy at age 50.
Nothing is wasted in God's economy; nothing happens by chance. If I had had my choice, I wouldn't have chosen to have gone through any of the challenges that I faced, but each one had a specific purpose that led up to the moment that we arrived at the ER with M. While I was complaining about the hoops I felt I was having to jump through just to have my gall bladder removed, God was using each challenge and "obstacle" to prepare us for the next step we would need to take. Thanks be to God!
*Actually yesterday (Tuesday) morning -- I'm a day behind in posting this. : /
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