So I noticed last night that Ayla is showing signs of her LM (lymphatic malformation) in the left side of her mouth now. There are little bumps that look like frog eggs. I know from a support group on Yahoo that is the typical appearance. I didn't have a surge of anxiety when I discovered it (unlike when I first found that her cyst had grown back after her surgery). I have found my mind returning to it several times though so I guess I'm not as relaxed about it as I thought last night.
It doesn't change anything for her right now. It's not really noticeable (I have noticed some slight swelling around her mouth which I guess is related to that, but really, only I would notice I think). She's never had an infection in her LM, which is rare. It's been great because infections often mean lots of antibiotics and steroids. Now that she has it in her mouth, I'm worried that the infections will be much more likely (so many germs). A big fear for me is that she will end up with it in her tongue. The kids that have it in their tongue seem to suffer a lot (pain, swelling, bleeding, appearance). I've always felt reassured that it was just in her cheek, so far away from her tongue. The thing with LM is you never know where it might appear next. It doesn't spread. All the LM she has, she was born with. However, there is no way to tell where the malformed tissue is until it begins to fill with fluid. There is also no way to tell when the affected areas might begin to fill and swell.
If she does have problems with it, from what I've read, surgery isn't a great option. I think sometimes they can use lasers to temporarily help. Anyways, I need to not dwell on that. Hopefully, she will have no problems with it and now that I've written all these worries down, hopefully I can let go of them!
