June 2006 - The uphill journey begins

I pulled into the driveway at home with a few minutes to spare before we had to leave for the appointment with her doctor. We talked and Robin said she thought she had sinus cancer. How? She'd been surfing the Internet. There were sticky notes on the edge of the computer monitor. Things were still matter-of-fact. The doctor would help. We would find out What Was Going On.

I recall the nurse who brought us to an exam room. As we walked down the hall and into the room, Robin explained her symptoms and said she thought she might have cancer. The nurse waived the comment off and said with a smile "no, you've got a sinus infection". We didn't believe her. Once she'd left the room we said as much to each other. After a lifetime of sometimes stunted communication with one another, we would never again hesitate to share what we were thinking as we navigated the healthcare labyrinth.

Then the doctor came in. I thought she was a better listener. She thought it best to start with antibiotics and a CT scan. She seemed to think it was likely a sinus infection, but we'd do some tests to see. Robin got a prescription for antibiotics and an order for a CT scan. The test would be done the following Thursday.

Well, we felt concerned, but we also felt that this was a reasonable approach. No need to keep the alarm level up. We'd get that test next week, then we would find out What Was Going On.

For the time being we would maintain a healthy skepticism. We would question what was going on, but we were also going with the flow. This attitude would last sixteen days, until July 2nd, 2006. That's when things would ratchet into high gear for us. The doctors would eventually catch up to us a few weeks after that.