Doctor, Diagnosis, and The Dirty Dash

I married a manly-man.
He is at his best when he's outside,
climbing some mountain at 50 mph,
sleeping in a tent,
wearing the same Columbia-brand t-shirt
that has a tattered neckband,
and his hiking boots are his go-to shoes.

He's pretty self-sufficient as he does his own laundry,
makes his own lunch for work--
using the same peice of saran-wrap
for as long as is possible.
He doesn't like to throw things away--
something he learned from growing up
in the very small town of Choteau, Montana.
It was too far to run into town for every stinkin' thing,
so you had to make do with what was on hand
alot of the time.

One thing he learned from his dad is not to complain
about being sick.
In fact, he barely acknowledges any illness.
So about a year ago,
when I noticed a little red blotch on the back of his calf,
he shrugged it off.
"Don't worry about it. It doesn't hurt."
Six months later,
it was still there,
he'd gone to the Doctor for something else,
n' while there he asked the doc to take a look at it--
a prescription was given for a steroid cream
and that was that.
The cream didn't really do a dang thing,
and he was just about to go back to the doctor
to appease my nagging,
when he got a really good sunburn last summer
and it looked like that little red blotch had been affected
by the sunburn.
I stopped whining about it.
Until.
Until two Saturdays ago--
I got a glimpse of his leg
and was shocked to see that red blotch was not only back,
but had grown in size and looked pretty bad.
Immediately, I went right to the phone
and called a friend of ours, whose a
Skin Cancer Dermatologist and even though the office was closed,
I left a detailed message and requested an appointment ASAP.

I then poked around our friend's professional website
and saw pictures of different kinds of skin maladies--
one of which is called, Basal Cell Carcinoma.
Afterwards,
I told Mr W that that's what was on his leg.
"You have Basal Cell Carcinoma, no doubt."

Mr. W grinned and said,
"I didn't know you'd gone to school for 12 years to become a doctor.
Thanks for the diagnosis." [his sarcasm is alive and well]
I told him I'd only charge him if I was right.
So, three days later, as Mr W was getting ready for his appointment,
I asked if I was invited to go with him.
He said, "I'm surprised you asked. I just figured you were going."
Of course I was coming. I was not going to miss that "neener-neener" moment.

So, we get into the treatment room with the nurse,
and give her a look at his red blotch.
Mr W mocks my diagnosis to her.
Then, our friend, the Doc comes in,
and Mr W says,
"Bret, I'm sorry you had to waste 12 years of schooling,
Dawn has already diagnosed me.  We're just here for a second opinion."
Bret laughed and took a glimpse at Mr W's leg--
"Wait. Put that up there [pointing to the treatment table]--
hmmm. Looks like the most common kind of skin cancer,
Basal Cell Carcinoma. Dawn, was that your diagnosis?"

I fist-pumped into the air:
"YES! YES! I WAS SO RIGHT!"
Probably not the "oh my heck" reaction I woulda had if I had not known
for a long time that something wasn't right.

Bret then asked, "SO you wanna cover for me tomorrow so I can take a vacation?"

I had to decline, unfortunately. I am only certified to diagnose and treat my own kin.
It comes with the territory of being a Mother. yo.

So the doc got out the tiny little melon-baller and scooped out the dead tissue and then used
a welding tool to cauterize it.  All the while, the nurse and Bret congratulated me on my talent and skills.
Next time, I may just have to borrow Bret's tools and make Mr W give me the $20 co-pay.

It was a Win-Win Day.

Tonight, Mr W and Joseph are going on a Scout camp-out in the mountains.
We got snow last night.
Supposed to get below Zero tonight.
My Mr W is holding onto his Man Card with both hands.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Okay so now something FUN:

The Dirty Dash! Ever hear of it??!!



It's coming to Colorado Springs, August 11, 2012.
I signed up to be a volunteer for the course.
The family is signed up to do the race.
I CANNOT WAIT!!!!

Have a Great Weekend!