The saga of the cyst

About a year ago we noticed a small cyst just below Hazel's neck. We had a surgeon look at it a couple of weeks ago to see what we should do. He said to get it removed eventually because it may get infected someday. But, since it hadn't changed in a year, he didn't think it was any rush. Well, the next week (last week) it got infected. It started getting bigger and red so we took her to the doctor. We were told to give her an antibiotic to treat the infection and schedule her for surgery in a couple of weeks. So we are/were scheduled for the 29th. We tried the antibiotic, but after a few days, it was very clear that Hazel would not take anymore and trying to give it to her was traumatizing her. So, we called the doctor again. He said that since it had started to go down in size and wasn't red anymore, we'd switch her to a topical antibiotic. Well, we started that yesterday and each time we put it on, the area got bigger and more red. We thought she was allergic to it so we took her back to the doctor. He was very concerned at the rate of growth (and didn't think it was a reaction to the cream) and nearly sent us to the ER at Seattle Children's. But, he thinks he's identified it as a Branchial Cyst, which needs to be dealt with by an ENT. So he consulted with an ENT in Seattle, who isn't as concerned, but wants to see Hazel asap. That's where we are now. We need to talk to them tomorrow to get an appointment and we want to get this thing removed before we go to Michigan. We have less than 2 weeks to go for a consultation and get scheduled for surgery. Please pray that that will happen and that there are no further complications!

As you can kind of see, it's big and red. It used to be the size of a pea and only under her skin.

And if you want a good laugh, look at Jude's face in this picture.