In the beginning........

For those who have not heard this tale, like Bilbo, I will take you back to where it all began, in the Shire. Well, actually, Carbondale, Illinois, which might as well be the middle of nowhere. The year was 1996 and I was a second year law student. Sometime in September of that year, I was called in to the VA hospital in Marion, IL for my yearly routine physical. During this physical, the nurse practitioner found lumps. The lumps were confirmed by the nurse and by the physician. I was then informed that at age 34, I was being referred for a mammogram. Almost a month and a half later, I was finally seen for a mammogram. The very grim looking person who took the x-rays refused to indicate whether they were good, bad or ugly, and told me I had to discuss the results with my doctor. At this time in my life, I was living in almost isolation in DeSoto, IL, population of 1600 and attending law school full-time. Cliff, we all remember Cliff, was stationed in Norfolk and was then in the middle of a 6 month Med. cruise.

My boys were about 4 and 6 and my entire life was flashing before my eyes. I felt isolated, alone and terrified of what would become of my boys. Almost a month later, I was told the results indicated that what I had was fibro cystic disease of the breasts (read lumpy boobs). I was told to take 400 IU of vitamin E every day and the lumps were decrease. They did in deed, but I was now left with the knowledge with lumpy boobs.

Did I mention that one of my classes that semester was Medical Malpractice? I sat down mid December to take my Med. Mal. final. I opened the exam book and started reading. "A woman goes in for her annual physical and they discover lumps. The doctors them perform a lymphectomy and remove the wrong lymph nodes. The pharmacy overdoses her on her chemotherapy. Does she have a cause of action and against whom?" It took me 20 minutes in the bathroom to compose myself enough to take the exam. Needless to say, I scored one of the highest grades in that class.