So I have finally made it here after a long week at Landstuhl, Germany. It's pretty amazing to be able to read all the signs and hear English being spoken. It still is kind of shocking to go from desert, war zone and staying alert, to wearing civilian clothes and being able to understand everyone when they talk.
But anyway, tomorrow I will get checked up and get set up in the hospital. On Monday I should be able to see my doctor then and figure out what the heck is going on with my pancreas. Till then, I'm chilling out in my room and trying to get changed to another time zone.
Just thought I'd post a quick update and let everyone know I made it back to the US okay.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Could it really be....
So I had been having some stomach pains the last few weeks pretty bad. Off and on mostly, but it was pretty painful when it would happen. So much so I failed my first APFT after doing only 47 situps, because the pain was so bad. I have never failed an APFT. Let alone in situps!
I went to sick call friday morning, they asked a few questions then took some blood. They gave me some nice meds for the pain and I waited for the results to come back. Around 1500 (after laying on a bed since about 0930) they tell me the blood work came back and I needed to be MEDEVACed to 86th CASH hospital on the IZ.
I was strapped to a litter and away I was flown that evening. I got to the trauma center at the IZ and they did an ultra sound, then a CT. I talk to a doc that next morning and they tell me they found a 3.2cm "mass" on the head of my pancreas in one of the ducts, I have to be MEDEVACed to Landstuhl Germany for farther testing, and probably to Walter Reed from there.
I'm in Landstuhl as I write this...It was a pretty big shock to hear this. I spoke with a doctor this morning and he said they have nothing here to help me and that I must return to the states ASAP to really see if this is cancer or if its just a benign mass.
If it is pre cancerous or cancer, then the surgery will be a pretty big one...Very major, he said and a long recovery. But if it's benign, then I should be okay and might return to Iraq with my unit.
It's been a long weekend and I hope to have answers soon...But I'll see what happens, I guess.
This isn't something I'd expect to hear at 19 year old.
I am young and strong...I'll get through this.
I went to sick call friday morning, they asked a few questions then took some blood. They gave me some nice meds for the pain and I waited for the results to come back. Around 1500 (after laying on a bed since about 0930) they tell me the blood work came back and I needed to be MEDEVACed to 86th CASH hospital on the IZ.
I was strapped to a litter and away I was flown that evening. I got to the trauma center at the IZ and they did an ultra sound, then a CT. I talk to a doc that next morning and they tell me they found a 3.2cm "mass" on the head of my pancreas in one of the ducts, I have to be MEDEVACed to Landstuhl Germany for farther testing, and probably to Walter Reed from there.
I'm in Landstuhl as I write this...It was a pretty big shock to hear this. I spoke with a doctor this morning and he said they have nothing here to help me and that I must return to the states ASAP to really see if this is cancer or if its just a benign mass.
If it is pre cancerous or cancer, then the surgery will be a pretty big one...Very major, he said and a long recovery. But if it's benign, then I should be okay and might return to Iraq with my unit.
It's been a long weekend and I hope to have answers soon...But I'll see what happens, I guess.
This isn't something I'd expect to hear at 19 year old.
I am young and strong...I'll get through this.
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