I forgot to add that I fainted when I got my initial Dx. What puzzles me is why they can't let you "enjoy" your unconscious "bliss". Oh no, they HAVE to pull out the smelling salts and make sure that you're awake. Then when you wake up the whole staff is in the room wondering what happened (like it's abnormal to faint when someone hands you a death sentence in essence). The first ENT I saw also got angry with me for waiting too long to come in and that I should get my affairs in order - will, trust, advanced directives, etc. Just a fun filled experience. I stop by there every year on the anniversary (Nov. 22nd) just to tweak him.

I was in denial that this could have been anything but OC, that I had a peritonsillar abcess (PTA)- even found photos on the net that looked just like it. I was more scared of the big needles they were going to use to drain it. During my Google searches, I ran across one site where a guy had very graphic photos of a radical neck disection. When the ENT gave me the "good news" those images immediately came back and out I went. Thank God for Zanax...