In October of last year, I was singing in a choir rehearsal for our Christmas Cantata at church and noticed an enlarged lymph node on my throat.  I had been feeling a little run down so I simply chalked it up to an oncoming cold or upper respiratory infection and gave it little concern.  After about a month of having this lymph node enlarged I discussed it (informally) with a friend of mine who happens to be a doctor and he indicated that this was fairly normal to the “cold and flu season” and that it would pass eventually.  Another month went by without any change, and I decided to make an appointment with my family doctor to have it checked out.

Now that it had been a few months, I was a little worried about the node but had to wait another couple of weeks to see a doctor.  December was an interesting month due to the fact that I was in school, having the lump on my throat checked out; Krystle was finishing another semester of nursing school, as well as having surgery on her sinuses to correct an issue that she had.  My attention on the node lessoned to make room for these concerns. 

I met with my doctor and he assured me that it was nothing to worry about and that a simple round of antibiotics could clear this matter up.  I was prescribed an antibiotic for the next ten days and took them faithfully.  After noticing no change whatsoever, I asked for another appointment with my doctor.  I waited until the Christmas break was settling down and saw my doctor about the middle of January.  I was prescribed another antibiotic to help alleviate any infection that may be causing the inflammation, and we hoped for the best.

Though I felt great after each trip to the doctor, and subsequent antibiotic prescription, the node never changed size.  My doctor and I began to think that seeing a specialist for this issue.