Life Changer

Tuesday, September 10: Describe a distinct moment when your life took a turn.

Is your life taking a turn the same as your life changing?  For today's post I'm going to say yes.

-Deepak Chopra {Via}

Let's travel back 4 years or so and I'll set the scene:

I'm 21 years old, have been sick off and on for five months, and now have found myself in a Doctor's office with lymph nodes the size of golf balls all through out my body.

As I sit on the exam table the doctor does a lot of examining and then excuses himself to the hallway.  He returns a few minutes later with a second doctor who examines me as well.  They both return to the hallway.  When my doctor returns he looks me straight in the eyes and says, "Well, we believe you have one of two things: Mono or Lymphoma."

I'm 21, sitting in a room with only a doctor being told there was the slightest chance I could soon be embarking on a fight for my life.  Those odds grew when you took into consideration that my Mono test four month before had come back negative.

I suppose you could say I'm one of the lucky 6% who have symptoms of Mono that reoccur or potentially don't go away since it can take months to recover from the virus.  When you are tested for Mono your blood is tested for the antibodies your immune system creates in order to fight the virus.  If your blood is tested too early, your body may not have produced antibodies to fight the virus yet.  This then gives a false negative test, so we can't be sure which exactly happened in my case.

Regardless, the two days I waited for all tests to come back with conclusive results seemed like the longest ever.  I remember calling one of my favorite people in the world with the good news like it was yesterday:

Me, "My test results are back.  Guess what?"

Them, "Don't say it. Please don't say it. Don't say the C word."

Me, "No, I'm going to be fine. It's not cancer."

And then we both broke out in the happiest of laughs. 

I've never really talked about this, even with the closest of friends, but Blogtember seems to have taken me outside of my comfort zone.  Perhaps it's a good thing. I don't want to be labeled as the girl who could have had cancer.  I didn't and I'd rather focus on dedicating time and energy to helping and supporting those who do.  

Regardless, this event was a life changer and a life turner for sure.