News of the Lump, Bicycling Accidents, and Trip to Seattle

I went up to OHSU Thursday and Dr. P took a look at the lump under my arm and said “Hmm. That’s unusual.” He ordered an ultrasound which Dr. Kettner did. The mass was black, which to my untutored eye was good news, since black tends to be liquid rather than solid. The next step was a needle aspiration and the news was good. The lump turned out to be an intramuscular hematoma, not cancer. Due to some sort of trauma, I had broken a blood vessel and it had bled between a couple of muscles and caused a rather large lump. However, I was mystified as to how it came about.

The very next morning I was provided with a possible answer. I was riding my bicycle to the store to get dog food for the ancient beast since I was leaving for the weekend that day and she was out of the Good Stuff. On my way there, for no apparent reason, I lost my balance and fell off of my bicycle. I was able to steer to the curb and fall onto a planting strip instead of the pavement so the landing was softer than it might have been, but it still shook me up. And it reminded me that the week before I had fallen off my bicycle, again for no apparent reason. I had been riding on Broadway when I suddenly lost my balance. I was sort of embarrassed about it because there was nothing that I could figure that caused it, and I picked myself up and went on my way and forgot about it. But I believe that is what may have caused the trauma that led to the hematoma.

It is a bit of a worry that I’m as unsteady on a bicycle as I am. I don’t notice it walking, but it may be that I have lost some of my balance and it’s noticeable when I ride. Riding a bicycle does require a more specialized skill in balancing. With all the toxins I’ve had running through my body and brain, I wouldn’t be surprised that this is yet another side effect.

I’m in a quandary about whether to ride or not. I’ll probably opt for riding, given that it’s spring and riding a bicycle is my favorite thing to do. It’s not like I can be more careful because in both instances I was riding slowly (I have no choice about that) and I wasn’t distracted. It’s all very odd. Meanwhile, haven fallen on my right shoulder and hip, I’m quite sore and stiff today. And the hematoma is looking larger and has become discolored.

I took the train up to Seattle yesterday to see David and stay at the Hotel Vintage Park, which is a lovely place downtown. It’s delightful to be in Seattle again. We went to the zoo today and we’re going shopping tomorrow and see friends in the evening. I’ll take the train back on Monday.