Entry 1: Finding Out

For about 4-5 months, Aaron has had a "swollen" lymph node, and each time he went to the doctor about it, he was assured it was normal, that it would go away, and that he had nothing to worry about.  Around Christmas time, Aaron could not ignore his growing anxiety over the mass on his neck and so decided to seek further opinions. Our mom thought maybe the mass had something to do with an abscessed tooth, so he went to see his friend from church, an endodontist. The endodontist assured Aaron his teeth were fine and healthy, but strongly encouraged him to see an ear, nose, and throat doctor.  Aaron had trouble getting into see an ENT quickly, so he called our brother Chris, a doctor in Tallahassee, to see if he could help.  Chris was able to get him into see an ENT a couple days later on December 24th. The ENT stuck a scope down Aaron's nose and told him everything seemed to be fine, but ordered a CT Scan to cover all the bases. Aaron had to wait a couple weeks into January before the CT Scan could be performed. The CT Scan then led the doctor to order a biopsy of the mass on Aaron's neck last Thursday, January 24th. 

After Aaron got the biopsy, he went to lunch with our little sister Jessica before heading back to his home in Santa Rosa Beach as he waited to hear the results. Aaron asked that the radiology center call his doctor, as well as our brother Chris with the results.  They called Chris first.  We can't imagine how difficult it must have been for Chris to have to call his lifetime best friend & older brother by 11-months to tell him what the results showed: cancer cells. Aaron will never forget the moment he heard that word: cancer. It felt like being punched in the stomach and getting the wind knocked out of him (a sensation he had never felt before, because let's be honest...who could knock the wind out of Aaron? ;).  He thought of the wife and children he was currently driving home to see.  How was he going to tell Elizabeth?  He wanted to be strong for her and their children. Chris then set out to tell the rest of us: his siblings and our parents, while Aaron tried to wrap his head around what he had just heard from his younger brother, and prepared himself to share the news with his wife. That was not an easy night. 

Aaron and Chris circa 1988.