Some quick background...The only time I have ever had surgery was the last time I was here in Afghanistan following an incident on a range. The incident left me with a souvenir piece of shrapnel in my left arm (very long story), and I was returned to duty within hours. The fallout back home was almost uncontrollable. The Army called Jessica and advised that I was in bad shape, and was being evacuated to Germany for surgery. Even rumors of my death began to circulate at our Battalion Headquarters. The rumors spread faster than I could control with multiple phone calls and email, and it took awhile to set the record straight. That said...
I stopped in at "sick call" last week and had a dermatologist examine a small skin growth next to my right eye. I had this same growth removed 6 months ago in Winterset, and requested that it be removed again. The dermatologist decided instead to conduct a biopsy, and sent the sample to Germany to be tested for a common form of skin cancer called "basal cell carcinoma."
I was advised that my likely worst case scenario is to travel to Landstuhl, Germany for surgery and a couple weeks recovery in a more sanitary environment before returning to Afghanistan. I was also advised it is more than likely that my results will come back negative, with no further follow-up or appointments required. My sense is that this was a precautionary measure, and I'm not too concerned.
Obviously, a prayer request is in order that everything comes back okay...even though negative results will cost me a vacation in Europe!
Following the biopsy. The doc left me with 2 stitches.
Stitches Removed!
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