my love hump

I had to go to the doctors yesterday. Technically, I've had to go to the doctors for at least a year now, but I actually went yesterday. I have this thing, this, I don't know how else to describe it, - it's a hump. I have a hump on the back of my neck. It's this big bump that sits right where my neck meets my shoulders. It looks like I got whacked in the back of the neck with a baseball or something.
And as far as I can remember, it's been there about a year. Yes, I should have gotten it checked out then, when I was first made away of it. Yes, I have been to the doctor's office in the past year, but I forgot to ask about it; because, you know, it's on my back, so it's not like I see it every day.
But I am starting to notice it - in pictures taken of me I can see it, my neck is starting to ache all the time and I think it's from my head being pushed up against the hump when I sleep at night. For these reasons, and concerns for my health and the mystery of the hump, I went to the doctor yesterday.
It's a scary thing going to the doctor for a lump that you don't know what it is. And I would say that's more scary leaving the doctor's office and still not knowing what a lump is, except for that was the outcome I expected (I mean, what is the Dr. REALLY going to do at this point, just lay her hands on me and instantly know what's wrong with me? doubt it).
The doctor felt around on my neck and back and the lump (it feels kinda hard and unmovable to the touch) and said it felt like a "some medical word I don't know what it is". I asked "what's that" - and she said, a "fatty tissue deposit". But there's really no way to know for certain. So I needed to get x-rays, and if those don't tell us what it is, then I will need to get a cat-scan. And from there we will hopefully know what it is, and will move accordingly from there.
So I walked out of the doctor's office with a piece of paper with her horrible doctor's hand-writing (seriously, the stereotype has it's base in fact!) down the street about two blocks to the Professional Building at the hospital. (Cool thing about my doctor's office/the hospital in the "big city" hear here: it used to be an old insane asylum. It was open from the 1890s - the 1980s and the buildings that aren't repaired are totally creepy and cool. They opened the very modern and medical hospital on the same grounds/right near the old mental hospital, and now the old mental buildings are being renovated to become office - like for my doctor - restaurants, condos, and a retirement center. It's very cool). So I was able to walk myself over from my doctor's office over to the back of the Professional Building, where I handed over my piece of paper and was registered with the hospital.
I was asked the typical - for ID & health-care card, my address, my phone number, sign this waver. But it's also so weird to ask be asked to give a name of someone in case of emergency, and not give my mom's name, because my mom is 6 hours away, and what is she gonna do if I collapse in the radiology room? Another question in case I for some reason collapse in the hospital - do I have any religious preference? I replied that I did not.
After answering questions, working with the woman to decipher what the doctor had actually written for what I needed to get x-rayed ("mass over C1- T7" , not "pass on T1-C7" - by the way that C1- T7 stuff means the number of vertebra that they needed to get x-rayed, my hump rests right above vertebra seven where the neck vertebra meets the back vertebra, which I think is totally fascinating. ) I was to put the paperwork in that now resided in a folder into the radiology shelving unit on my way to the woman's dressing room. Where I changed from my waist up into a lovely blue polka dot patterned gown that only tied behind my neck, took off my earrings, my glasses, and sat and read my book before a nurse came and took me down the hospital hallways filled with empty wheelchairs and medical machinery to a very beige room filled with giant beige colored medical instruments.
I had to be reminded by the Nurse to take out my cartilage earring too, which I had totally forgotten about. Then I had to stand in-front of some machine, facing the right, as the Nurse adjusted the "x-ray camera" coming out of this crazy/cool overlapping beam rigged system on the ceiling that allowed the camera to move about the room. Then I was moved to face the camera head on, then slightly to the right, jaw up, mouth open. Same pose, mouth closed. Now to the left, jaw up, mouth open. One with jaw closed. One with jaw straight out, mouth closed. Now over to the table, lay on cold table top, adjust camera. Hold your breath. Move to the side. Hold your breath. Good. Now, left arm above head, right arm at your side. Hold your breath. Now, same position, but bend your knees to stabilize you, because it's very important that you not move at all
during this one. You can breath, but don't move at all. Ok, lay still. Ok, done. But wait here, we're gonna have a look at them.
While they look at them, I can hear the nurse say "ok, hold your breath" and I hold my breath, although not knowing what for, as I'm sitting crossed-leg and hunched over on the table, and the camera's not near me. Only to let out my breath and realize she's talking to some other patient in the other room.
We do end up taking a couple more - some of the ones with my mouth open, or closed, I'm not sure, my teeth were blocking what they were trying to take pictures of behind the teeth. The Nurses (there were two at this point) move my head with their hands till my body is exactly where they want it to be.
Then it's "Ok, that's it, your done." Back to the changing room, and out the hospital doors. My doctor's office will get back to my next week "at the latest" (which you think it would be sooner, as the x-rays are only two blocks from their office).
It was strange being in an radiology room in a hospital, being in a blue-polka-dot patterned gown,and not knowing what is going on with me. It made me realize why it's taken me a year to actually go to the doctor - a "ignorance is bliss" & "what you can't see can't hurt you" mentality: if I can't seem the lump, then I don't know about the lump, and then I can't worry about the lump.
Now, I worry about the lump. But, hopefully, the x-rays will show, it's a fatty tissue build up, and we'll see what happens from there.