A Funny day! Supposedly my US Naturalization oath ceremony but a stomach pain and some doubts about dual citizenship led me to leave the Newark Cort house still an Italian Immigrant.
Went home to share that peculiar story with my very dear friend Alexandra who was expecting her second child just days away. I helped her with last minute baby clothing washing and moved around normally. A constant , but not out of control, stomach pain was making me a bit apprehensive but I had secured a GI appointment for the next day.
Around 8 pm my stomach began to cramp and another dear friend and neighbor suggested I visited the ER. My husband stayed home with our 3 year old son while i headed to Hackensack University Medical Hospital and after a short wait I was seen by a lovely doctor who was beginning to take my information.
The truth is that i had an array of symptoms, just wasn't aware of them. I had a stomach pain that was right under my chest and a chest pain that some people said might me "gas" ( not a fancy world for a girl like me! )
After lots of initial tests and everyone still thinking that it was some sort of nervous gastritis, ulcers etc , my original diagnosis was Pancreatitis . Not sure about most of you but the last time I had heard the word Pancreas I was in 5th Grade Anatomy class. The large majority of Pancreatitis are due to heavy drinking and as my husband will say: I am a cheap date!
As per my "gas" pain, the doctor taught it was a good idea to have a chest X-Ray, .. in retrospect... my life really changed with that X-Ray ...
From the X-Ray, it was a CAT scan, and MRI and so on... by 6 am , I had 4 doctors around me, in particular a lovely Pulmonologist by the name of Dr. Leon Ting, and they broke the news that a LARGE mass had been found pressing on my right lung and that test were going to decided weather it was lung cancer or something like it. The words Lung and Cancer hit me like a brick wall... Lung because I am a non smoker , 4 time / week work out, 34 year really healthy woman and Cancer because I am convinced that you are never ready for the C word.
My husband Carsten joined me after he brought Leonardo to preschool and i got admitted to the hospital.... the journey begins!
Went home to share that peculiar story with my very dear friend Alexandra who was expecting her second child just days away. I helped her with last minute baby clothing washing and moved around normally. A constant , but not out of control, stomach pain was making me a bit apprehensive but I had secured a GI appointment for the next day.
Around 8 pm my stomach began to cramp and another dear friend and neighbor suggested I visited the ER. My husband stayed home with our 3 year old son while i headed to Hackensack University Medical Hospital and after a short wait I was seen by a lovely doctor who was beginning to take my information.
The truth is that i had an array of symptoms, just wasn't aware of them. I had a stomach pain that was right under my chest and a chest pain that some people said might me "gas" ( not a fancy world for a girl like me! )
After lots of initial tests and everyone still thinking that it was some sort of nervous gastritis, ulcers etc , my original diagnosis was Pancreatitis . Not sure about most of you but the last time I had heard the word Pancreas I was in 5th Grade Anatomy class. The large majority of Pancreatitis are due to heavy drinking and as my husband will say: I am a cheap date!
As per my "gas" pain, the doctor taught it was a good idea to have a chest X-Ray, .. in retrospect... my life really changed with that X-Ray ...
From the X-Ray, it was a CAT scan, and MRI and so on... by 6 am , I had 4 doctors around me, in particular a lovely Pulmonologist by the name of Dr. Leon Ting, and they broke the news that a LARGE mass had been found pressing on my right lung and that test were going to decided weather it was lung cancer or something like it. The words Lung and Cancer hit me like a brick wall... Lung because I am a non smoker , 4 time / week work out, 34 year really healthy woman and Cancer because I am convinced that you are never ready for the C word.
My husband Carsten joined me after he brought Leonardo to preschool and i got admitted to the hospital.... the journey begins!
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