Here is the real BIG update!

 Oooof! It's hard to even know where to start! 

First, I just want to acknowledge that english is in fact my 3rd language and I have been studying in the medical field since in the US, so please just enjoy my spelling errors and weird sentence structures ;)

The journey goes as far back as to the beginning of September of 2021. I stopped taking birth control, which I had been taken for over 10 years. Ryan and I are extremely excited to become parents one day and we wanted to let my body have at least a year to heal and adjust before trying for a baby. Anyway, shortly after that, I started feeling nauseous and had little to no appetite. We thought it was just normal hormonal imbalance and it would just need some time to adjust, so we ignored it and I ate what I could. I am a person that LOVES food, but not at this time. I was only able to eat certain foods. Being in a doctorate program in physical therapy made it easy for me to push all this away and just tell myself "it will get better soon" and forget about it in the midst of a crazy busy semester. 

Time kept going on and nothing changed, so in end of October, I was convinced that I was pregnant! I had just talked to some friends about my symptoms and they had previously been pregnant and they were convinced too. So I "ran" home and took a pregnancy test. The test was negative. I figured I might have just taken the test too early or something (I had not had a consistent cycle yet after stopping birth control), so I took another test couple weeks later, which was also negative. 

I kept ignoring my symptoms and just tried to eat what I could and focused on school. Poor Ryan was sometimes cooking two different meals for us to make sure I would eat. The nausea and low appetite was usually 24/7, but it was noticeably worse in the afternoon and at night. This trend kept on for a while.

It wasn't until the weekend before finals (early December), when Ryan had just left for Europe to see his best friend, that I started having abdominal (stomach) pain. When I took a deep breath, I got a stinging pain under my ribs on the left side. First when I felt it, I was like "hmm that's a little odd" and kept on with my day. The next day, I had my first final in NeuroScience and I was feeling very sick with increased abdominal pain during the exam but I just pushed through. After the exam, I met up with my amazing study partners Elena and Bree and I just couldn't focus, I couldn't study and was feeling horrible. So they recommended that I would contact a doctor (they also knew I had been nauseous for few months). I am so thankful that they pushed me to see a doctor, because in my head, there was no time for that right now, in the middle of finals-week. 

I called the student health center at my University and got an appointment the next day right after my next final in pediatrics. The doctor was quick to tell me that my symptoms couldn't be from birth control hormonal imbalance (I would rather have the nausea symptoms if I started birth control or was pregnant). At this point I had also probably taken total of 6 pregnancy tests, that were, not surpisingly, all negative. The doctor asked me million questions and then palpated my stomach, where she found a lump on the upper left side of my stomach (the night before I had cleaned myself out completely to rule out any constipation). The lump worried her and so did the length of my symptoms, so she sent me straight to the hospital for blood testing and an X-ray of my stomach. This is when the ball started rolling REALLY fast.

Couple of hour later, the blood tests were back, showing some very high liver values as well as quite of few other values that were abnormal. The hospital called me that same day and wanted me to come for an abdominal CT scan the next day. Only couple of hours after that, I was diagnosed with enlarged spleen! Normal spleen is about 11cm (4.3 inches), but mine was measured at 22 cm (8.7 inches). The spleen normally under the ribs on the left hand side (seen in the picture), but mine is palatable all the way down to my belly bottom. The spleen is an organ that is a part of our immune system and functions as storage for our blood, filters it, and maintains normal fluid levels in our body. The next step for the doctors was now to figure out WHY in the world my spleen was so large. 

Next, I was referred to a hematology and oncology (blood and cancer) specialist, which in it self was extremely scary for me! Things started to seem more real and I just couldn't believe what was going on. All this had happen within only few days. 

Only six days after seeing the first doctor at the health center, I saw the specialist. This was the day I was supposed to fly to Norway and meet up with Ryan to spend the holidays with my family. However, we had changed my flight so I could see the specialist before leaving. The specialist ordered new blood tests as well as he ordered an abdominal ultrasound, chest CT (to look at lymph nodes and my lungs), and echocardiogram (to look at my heart). My case seemed very unique and it was therefore important to start ruling things out to figure out what direction to go with the diagnosis. During that week, I was very sick and actually ended up in the ER once from vomiting blood, but I got it all checked out and was able to go home the same day, I just had to make sure to keep seeing my specialist. My roommate Kylee was so sweet to take me there and help me! since Ryan was out of the country. Not having Ryan there was very hard and weird for me while I was going through all this, but it just did not make sense to have Ryan fly back for couple of days since I was still planning on flying to Norway few days later.

Five days later, I had my next appointment with the specialist. At this time my amazing friends from Canada, Alix and Charley had driven down to spend time with me and help me. I can't thank them enough!!! 

The specialist had looked at all my results and he was down to mainly three most likely things going on. Lowest on the list was some kind of infection. None of my blood values had indicated this and he thought it would be highly unlikely, but wanted to be able to rule it out fully and have me see a infectious specialist. Second on the list was some kinda of autoimmune disease, which he also though was unlikely, but wanted me to see a rheumatologist to rule that out. Third, and highest on the list was lymphoma! Yes you heard it right, it is cancer of the lymph nodes, but since they had not seen anything abnormal in any other lymph nodes, it would be the type of lymphoma that only goes on the spleen. That was probably the scariest thing I have ever heard!! and something I was not expecting at all! I didn't cry, but believe me, the moment I stepped out of the appointment, I cried A LOT! I was extremely scared and just couldn't believe it. I am very thankful that I was able to have the girls there with me and Ryan on FaceTime during the appointment, news like this is not easy to receive alone at age 28. (Again, I had not been diagnosed with lymphoma, it was just highest on his list and more testing was needed to prove anything). 

The specialist allowed me to go home to Norway for Christmas!! He thought it would be very important for me to go spend some time with family. I would just have to keep taking my medication (pain and nausea medication) and monitor my symptoms. And due to my spleen being this large, I had to be extremely careful because if it ruptures, it is a medical emergency. I decided to travel home, which I am very thankful for! The travel went better than expected, I was able to sleep on all 3 flights, with a little vomiting episode in Seattle airport. The plan was then to continue my "treatment" and testing when I came back to the US with my specialist I was already seeing 

- Seeing a infectious disease specialist

- Seeing a rheumatologist 

- Do a bone marrow biopsy (check for any kind of bone or blood disease)

The time at home was amazing! It was so nice to be around family, especially when I was feeling sick. I didn't get to do much, laid on the cough most of the time, but I was still able to enjoy being in everyones presence. 

On December 24th, I ended up in the ER in Norway due to increased abdominal pain. I was worried that my spleen had grown and possibly ruptured, so I went in. I spent about 8 hours in the hospital without any findings, but that my spleen was HUGE! The good thing though, was that it had not ruptured nor grown, and it was still measured at 22cm, which was reassuring. The increased pain was likely from the spleen pressing and irritating other organs around. I made it home just in time for Christmas dinner (we celebrate Christmas on the 24th). After this, we decided to stick with our plan and continue all my doctors visits and treatments in the US, since I was already in such good hands there with quick assistance and great support. 

From December 24th to the 28th, things had been up and down a little bit but nothing too concerning. December 28th was the day Ryan and I were flying back to the US. We were flying from Oslo-Iceland-Seattle-Portland. So it was going to be a long day of traveling. I was determined to get all the way home to continue the medical process there and hopefully get some real answers on what was going on with me. So far nothing had been confirmed, but that I have a HUGE spleen, and the cause is still unknown. Ryan and I took the train from Lillehammer, Norway to Oslo airport and I was in severe abdominal pain the whole time! I sat hunched over the whole time just trying to get through. At the airport, I ended up vomiting twice, but felt slightly better after that. The extreme abdominal pains came and went every few minutes and Ryan was worried I wasn't fit to fly. However, the stubborn me, I was GOING to make it home! I wanted to get home to our dogs and get medical answers as soon as possible. So we go on the first flight and I kid you not, it was the worst experience I could have ever asked for! I was severely sick the whole time, felt nauseous, had extreme abdominal pain and just felt overall very sick. The flight attendant offered me to come sit in the back with them where there was a little bit fresher air. It helped a little bit so I sat there until landing. When Ryan and I get to Iceland, I finally admitted it, there was no way I could board another flight that was in fact going to be 8 hours long. I just knew I couldn't do it. In the airport, Ryan  rolled me around so we could change our flights and then I took an ambulance form the airport to the hospital. 

The hospital we went to, wasn't an actual hospital, but still had an ER and it was absolute garbage! The doctor there was horrible! He talked down to me and after looking at couple of things and poke my stomach a little bit, he decided that I was just constipated and sent me home. I was so incredibly angry! I had now been to an ER in the US, in Norway, and now this one, without any answers. Anyway, Ryan and I figured we would just have to keep pushing through. The next available flight for us wasn't until January 5th, so we knew we would have to stay in Iceland for a little bit. Thankfully pretty much my whole family lives here and they were all willing to take care of us. During the first night in Iceland, I kept having very bad abdominal pain and they were so severe around 5am that I couldn't do it anymore. EVERYTHING hurt! I was unable to find a comfortable position, rolling around in bed was horribly painful, and even lifting my left leg hurt severely in my stomach. At this point I am pretty much crying of pain. So Ryan and my cousin that we were staying with took me to the hospital (a real one this time). 

Since then, I have been in the hospital! They have done numerous test and they are finding similar things to the doctors in the US, but again, also unable to make any diagnosis yet. I spent the first day and a half in the ER and I was then admitted and transported to a different hospital close by, where I am at their blood and cancer floor. Everyone here is EXTREMELY nice and they are taking such good care of me! I couldn't ask for anything better when it comes to care. Due to Covid however, there are very strict visiting rules, and no one is allowed to visit me at the hospital, with the exception of December 31st and January 1st (holidays and they don't want people to be alone), where one person was able to come visit for couple of hours. So Ryan came!! and WOW! Even only those few hours made such a difference!! So thankful for my amazing husband! 

Ryan brought me stuffed animals that "look" like Chloe and Sunny!

 I miss them so much!!

It's the weekend now and the holidays, so no more testing will be done until after the weekend, but the doctor came in yesterday and told me I will be doing testing all next week. The first thing they want to do is some more specific blood test and a bone marrow biopsy. Next, she talked possibly about doing a gastroscopy (looking at my stomach). That's kind of all I know for now. Things are kinda all in the air and the wait is scary, very scary! But I am trying to take it day by day and hoping to get some answers soon. 

There is a possibility that my spleen has to be removed, which is quite big! but they are trying to rule out everything else before having to do that. 

In the meantime, I am trying to make my day go by, by writing these blogs, watching netflix, talking to friends and family and monitoring my symptoms. The last two days, I have had less abdominal pain (yay), but I have been having some horrible nausea and very bad headaches. The staff here is amazing though and I am being taken good care of. 

Anyway, yes, this was extremely long and I am sorry if you got bored half-way through! I just figured I would explain the whole thing to limit confusion. 

I appreciate everyones love, support, prayers, and sweet messages! 

Feel free to comment below :) 

Have a wonderful day!♡

*** You can expect a new post early next week with the newest updates :)