Toe Update

My appointment was yesterday. The dermatologist looked at the architecture of the mole under a microscope and suggested the following: Take a picture of it every 3-4 month and observe any change in size/shape or remove it. The picture option seemed like a long and inefficient process. Although he estimated the likelihood of the mole being malign to 3% only, I chose the other option. Mr. Doc said it was no big deal. He said I could go jogging the next day.

Right, whatevah!!!

I nearly fainted when he froze my toe (and this is coming from a girl who had two general anesthetics and was hospitalized for a total of three weeks in a 6-month period). He removed the mole and stitched up the hole. R was there, holding my hand through the whole thing, as always. I don’t know what I would do without him.

I’ve been on Tylenol 2 since yesterday. I can’t walk, I am certainly not going jogging today!!! I have to go back next week to remove the stitches. The piece of skin (that’s it, I am fainting again) is being sent to the lab and I’ll know within 3 to 5 days if there is anything to worry about.

The infamous toe

The American Health Care System Rocks

And I don’t care what Michael Moore says. I haven’t seen Sicko yet, but I can just imagine his usual socialist propaganda and his blatant idealization of foreign health care systems.

We’ve all been touched by Sarah’s story. As I read Sarah’s blog, I became more aware of my own skin… And that brown spot on my toe. I’ve had it for years, but it seems to have gotten bigger recently.

I chose a family doctor and booked an appointment with him the following week. He examined the spot and decided he needed a second opinion. Without an appointment, I had a dermatologist (Stanford graduate) examine me within 10 minutes. The dermatologist seemed slightly concerned. I have a follow-up appointment with him next week. He’ll look at the spot with a microscope and maybe do a biopsy.

While I am (very) scared, it sure makes me feel better to know how efficient the American health care system is.