It gives you more lemons.

Generally, things are going as well as they can possibly go, which seems to be normal for Eli since diagnosis. We met with the surgeon last week and took baseline xrays so we can track post radiation growth patterns in his left leg and foot. If you recall, because most of the growth plates in that area were in area treated by radiation, the growth of that leg and foot are expected to be significantly affected.

We talked with the surgeon about future options, which aren’t as ideal as I had hoped. They pretty much consist of doing nothing and using shoe lifts and the like to adapt to a difference in leg length or surgery to stunt the growth of his good leg, expand the non growing leg, or a combination of the two. This has been the thing that is bothering Eli the most righ now.

Last weekend we went to the nearby Mini Maker Faire, where Eli and his siblings got to engage in a variety of activities including building with boxes, blowing bubbles, dismantling a car, stuffing dolls for a humanitarian project, and chalk art.

Tabitha and Elizabeth were featured in photos taken by a local newspaper of the event. If you look closely, you can see my arm, hand, or braid in several of the pictures. I was wearing blue.

This week was full of more doctors visits and pharmacy interactions (3 different doctors, 4 different family members-yes, I was able to combine two people in one visit, yay me for being efficient-3 different pharmacies). Yesterday was Eli’s brother Noah’s turn to have a few things looked at, which is where more lemons come in.

The most concerning thing that came out of Noah’s doctor visit was a referral to an ENT specialist for a “neck nodule”. Noah has had a small “Adam’s apple” type thing on the front of his neck for years. In June, I noticed it again and wondered if it was looking larger than usual. I took the wait and see approach because I’m really not a paranoid sort when it comes to medical stuff, even after all of this cancer stuff. Noah’s lump didn’t appear to change, so I wasn’t really worried. When I finally took him to the pediatrician for a couple other chronic issues, the doctor noticed the lump and referred us to the ENT. The earliest appointment is a little over a week away, so in the meantime, I get to fret over it, or not, depending on the day.

Not being one to sit by idly when I can get on Google and try and come up with some answers using my research superpowers. After a few different searches, I have come up with my best guess: Thyroglossal Duct Cyst. It is only cancerous in 1-3% of cases, depending on source. When it is found to be cancerous, the removal of the cyst is usually all that was needed to treat the cancer. The treatment of the cyst is surgery, so that may be in our future. Anyway, other more nefarious possibilities for the bump didn’t seem to fit as well, so I am not really concerned about those. But, as I told Noah, which was what I told Eli last month when he found a swollen lymph node, “it could be nothing”. Here’s hoping for nothing. However, a non-infected Thyroglossal Duct Cyst fits his symptoms perfectly, so we’ll see what someone who actually went to medical school says.