Lumps and Bumps

I had the first of potentially many scares in my life...I had a lump come up on the back of my shoulder at the base of my neck on Friday. I've had a spot there under the skin for a few years. I had a doctor poke and prod it once and he said not to worry about it unless it started to bother me.

Friday afternoon, after a full week of volleyball camp, my shoulder was bothering me whenever I moved it. I assumed it was from over-use between the last couple of weeks in Canada and volleyball. Then I reached to massage my shoulder and found the lump. Being the female that I am, I start worrying through my diagnosis. Of course, I go to the nearest mirror to view my lump. The biggest challenge is that I have a very high pain tolerance and this one hurts to look at. I finally twist enough to see it in the mirror. It's a pretty good sized lump that is red and inflamed. Being me, I take some ibuprofen, ice it up and try to relax.

The weekend wears on and the pain increases. Given the location of the lump, sleep is hard to find because any pressure on it or movement of neck and shoulder muscles cause pain. I had Mom look at it and Dad convince me (jokingly but not taken that way) its a tumor. I tolerate it until Monday when I finally get into the doctor.

To make this long boring post short, the doctor drained the infection out of the lump. Leaving a nice gaping hole on my shoulder. He says the lump will probably reform under the skin after the infection clears up and the hole closes. I'll have to go back in so they can get to the lump without infection in the way. Currently I have gauze and tape on my shoulder. He did give me some good pain medication that helped me to sleep very well for the first time in several nights. I'm still not sure what exactly it is on my shoulder but I know that volleyball aggravates it. I'm not going to team camp this week and going to hide in my hole for a few days. Hopefully, this spot will heal without the pain and won't get infected again.