Things that keep your mind off waiting for the I-171H

I have nothing bad to say about the Chicago USCIS office. Every time I have called, they have returned my call. Sure, it is taking what seems like forever to get my I-171H, but at least I can get in touch with the orphan officer. Since I don't want the USCIS to start hating me for being a pest, I call once per month to check on the status of our application. The Chicago USCIS office moved recently and their phone number changed. It is now (312) 239-5673 for those who need it. You can still only call Tuesday and Thursday between 7:30AM-1PM (I think) and leave a message with your name and phone number. You WILL get a call back in the same day!

I haven't had to think about our USCIS application all that much this week. I have been attending a conference for work since Wednesday. It is nice to be out of the office even though I find myself more tired at the end of the day. I am learning tons and hope to bring this back to my company and utilize! Boy do I sound chipper about a conference! LOL!

Lefty has been keeping me busy also. I first want to thank EVERYONE for their support and kind words. It means a lot to me. I did (well, actually T) got in touch with the surgeon. I have no phone access during the conference so T was calling the office and got an appt for me yesterday morning at the crack of dawn. I saw a different surgeon in the same practice. We will call him Dr. Not as Hottie (Dr. NAH). He looked, he felt, he saw. The appt. lasted about 1 1/2 hours believe it or not between talking with me and calling my OBGYN to confirm, etc. The bottom line....I am scheduled for surgery to remove both the original mass (which they still think is benign) and this abscess/cyst thingy on Wednesday, Sept. 20. This is now some concern that the abscess/cyst has a possibility of being cancer. I could go into all the reasons Dr. NAH told me why the possibility of cancer exists, but the main one is that the growth of the abscess/cyst has been very quick and doesn't feel like just fluid. Also, it is very rare to get these things unless you are nursing. There you have it...the possibility of cancer. I am not freaking out too much. In my heart (or I am in denial) I don't think it is cancer.

Dr. Hottie and Dr. NAH will remove both "masses" and have them tested. If no cancer is found, we are done and hope this never happens again. If a local form of cancer is found, I will have "breast conservation" surgery to remove more breast tissue, possibly some areola, and nipple area. They can reconstruct at the same time using fat from my stomach. Lord knows there is enough of it! LOL! Then I would have radiation.

If cancer is found and it is not a local form of it, I will have a mastectomy followed by radiation and chemo. Then I would be put on Tomaxafin (sp) for 5 years.

I asked about IBC again because I have about 6 of the 10 symptoms listed for it (stupid internet full of information - LOL). Dr. NAH said there is a very slim chance it is IBC. I am missing the biggest and most classic symptom - orange tinged skin. I won't even discuss what he told me treatment was for it because it is awful and the prognosis is just not good.

I am holding onto the fact I am in a low risk group for cancer based on my age, family history, and the fact I have had a child - all these things put me in the lowest risk group.

There you have it. My mind has very much been elsewhere this week. I am happy I haven't been running to the mailbox or wondering when the USCIS will send our I-171H. I can pretty much guess I won't be thinking about it for another week, too! And hey....maybe by then, I will have it!

Not the greatest way to distract the mind, but a distraction nonetheless.