Sally Cronin revisiting some worthy health information in her Health Series. Today’s post is about Heart Health, where Sally has featured my story.
Women’s Health Week Revisited – Heart Health – Connecting the Dots by D.G. Kaye
Welcome to the women’s health week revisited and I am so pleased that author D.G. Kaye accepted my invitation to guest post last year. She shared her story about a health issue that could have gone unnoticed at great risk to her life. Thankfully she is now fully recovered and definitely firing on all cylinders.
I became fascinated by a tiny red dot on my right forearm. Months had gone by and I was puzzled as to why it was still there, so I kept mental note of it every time I glanced it. I just found it strange that this tiny red, transparent speck had taken up residence on my arm and wouldn’t go away. It never hurt, nor itched; it was just there.
I followed my intuition and decided to take action. Ironically, this wasn’t the first call to action. I had previously shown it to my husband’s Dermatologist two months prior, and he offered to burn it off. He was a very old gentleman, and I had mentioned to my husband that I thought this doctor was ready for retirement, as he didn’t see very well. He never used a microscope and seemed always too eager to burn things off. I didn’t feel at peace with the issue so I wanted to seek a second opinion.
I made an appointment with a new Dermatologist who came highly recommended in August 2005. I had to wait until January of the following year to see him. When January rolled around, I went to the appointment and I was told that the doctor I was to see was off sick and that I would be passed over to one of his associates; Dr. Allen (name changed.)
When I met Dr. Allen, I sensed her compassion immediately. She made me feel comfortable with her warm smile and her soft-spoken manner. She informed me that she was going to cut out the dot and send it to pathology; her standard procedure. Dr. Allen stated that she didn’t believe it was anything serious, but as a precaution she wanted to have it analyzed. I was satisfied that I had somebody competent now looking after me. Dr. Allen informed me the results would take about two weeks. Two weeks later . . .Continue Reading
DGKayewriter.com 
What a terrifying prospect, that such a deadly condition is asymptomatic – indeed you are blessed that everything fell into place for you to be diagnosed.
I lost a good friend (aged only 42) to an undiagnosed heart condition a few years ago, and that event made me re-evaluate life completely. This event must have had a profound effect on you, being the one involved, and not the onlooker.
Glad you’re still with us!
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Thanks so much Deb. Good to be alive! Yes, it was a petrifying situation, and had I not chased a harmless pin dot through 2 doctors within 8 months, like the surgeon told me, I would have died within the year and it would have been called ‘natural causes’. These tumors are rare and asymptomatic until they fall off and embolize in the lung. Frightening indeed.:)
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