Her Lip
When we moved to Flagstaff, Hershey was just turning 15. The trooper that she was, she took it all in stride. It was right after we moved into the house that we discovered the lump under her lip. We immediately took her to the doctor. At that time it was only the size of a small pea.
All the tests proved negative and her doctor, Scott, felt it was benign and all we need do is watch it. We were not going to take any action until it became a problem for her to eat, etc.
Through the next few years, the lump would continue to grow. As it grew larger, it just looked like she was lifting her lip up at you. It was completely hidden. It never seemed to bother her.
About the first of May 2000, the lump had reached a point that something needed to be done. It was so large that it began to bleed and the bleeding was very difficult to stop. After being up in the middle of the night trying to stop yet another bought of bleeding, we decided we could no longer let it go. Tyree was home that day. He took Hershey to see Scott and get an evaluation on the risks involved. We decided to go for it.
Less than an hour later, Tyree gave me a call at work. There had been an accident. It was a very windy day. While they were out in the yard, Hershey went to let herself inside (the door was ajar) and the wind caught the door and ripped the lump nearly off her face. She was bleeding badly (he said that it covered the entire porch) and Tyree couldn’t get it stopped. I was to meet him at the hospital. My heart dropped.
I got to the hospital first. When they arrived, Hershey was sitting peacefully in the back of the van…the lump hanging off her lip. Thankfully, the bleeding had stopped. As Scott was in surgery, and Hershey was no longer in any danger, we had to wait for him to finish.
We waited for what felt like eternity. Scott came in and evaluated the situation; he left for a moment and returned with gloves and a paper towel. While I held gently on to Hershey’s face, he covered the lump with the paper towel and gave a quick twist. It was gone. Hershey was always a great patient.
Our miracle was answered. She was beautiful again. St. Francis took care of it.
