That one time they tried to make us think Sam had cancer...

Sam has always had really massive lymph nodes in his neck. Even when he's well, they are still somewhat noticeable. It has made us very weary on many occasions. I have sought reassurance from the doctor dozens of times throughout his life, always with the verdict of normal. In early November they were looking particularly massive. I wasn't itching to rush him off to the doctor just to be told, yet again, that it's normal. So time passed. We were to watch him perform a little skit at school and all we could see from our place in the audience was the bulge in his neck. Days passed. He seemed to have a cold but then he suddenly seemed to be completely drained of energy, to the point that one morning at breakfast, he asked if he could go take a bath before school. That's when we kinda got concerned. We thought probably just mono. The doctor thought that was a possibility too, but also suggested a check x-ray (to look for other enlarged nodes), a TB test, and a whole panel of blood tests. They tried to stick him to draw the blood at the pediatrician's office and missed, but the nurse didn't give up until she'd rolled that needle around in his poor arm for a little while to make sure she couldn't get it. It was disturbing. (And yes, you can believe that they still billed us for the failed stick.) So they suggested we take him to the lab at the hospital where they are actually capable to sticking little veins. Poor Sam pleaded not to have it done. We got him his favorite pizza and soda for lunch before heading off to the hospital. The second stick went so much better and we were quickly on our way. 24 (or was it 48?) hours later, when it was time for the TB test to be read, the doctor thought to also do a strep test. And he said that one of the markers in one of Sam's blood tests was high, a potential concerns for some childhood cancers. He referred us to a pediatric oncologist for the next day. Finally on Saturday we got a call from the pediatrician's office. The strep test had turned positive. $2k worth of traumatizing tests and visits later, he had what any doctor would typically test for right away.