Update for James

This blog posting is being written by a sub writer (Lee). I just got back from the hospital and the "mass" as the doctors call it is still there but the good news is, that after the CT scan and another blood test there is no change is diagnosis. The lymph node is just infected. Now the the doctors are going to play some antibiotics bingo to try and figure out which one is going to make the most impact on the infection. Of course it could have been caused by a virus in which case (we were told and confirm by the excellent web resource WEBMD) that the mass would go away over time. James and mom are going to stay overnight at the hospital and come home tomorrow but the fact that the diagnosis is the same a extremely good and I feel I can breathe a little easier now.

I have to say I have not been at the doctors 1/4 as much as my wife and son but I am already annoyed by the various doctors asking the same questions. Why can't one of them write it down and make it available to every department and doctor? It seems that the doctors from various floors are in their own unions and need to try to figure out the puzzle on their own or their union membership will be revoked. It's pretty interesting though as I have done a lot of research on-line so all the questions tie back to causes of why lymph nodes may become infected. One doctor asked if we had recently had someone stay with use that had recently been released from prison. She explained that she was checking for exposure to tuberculosis so that sounds like plausible question and given the city that we live in maybe not such a crazy question. I will say that the hospital staff has been great. Every person that I have had interaction with seems very qualified. I can see why this hospital is arguably the best in the USA.

I am sure that the normal writer will be back for the next post.