9/13/24

Today is Friday the 13th.  I was informed I had cancer on Friday the 13th.  I don't think anyone can forget where they were or what they were doing when they got the call, or were told in person.  That memory is permanent.  Sorry, didn't want to start with a downer, but sometimes it's beneficial for your mental health to share stuff on your mind.  Now I'm good to go - so here goes...

I broke my little finger in my accident last week and it's giving me grief.  How can such a tiny finger hurt so much?  It's a bugger.  

David took me down to Houston on Tuesday and we stayed with Courtney.  I had an appointment with a hematologist Wednesday afternoon that was supposed to take 1/2 hour.  2 hours later, I'm done.  They took my vitals, then I went back and another nurse asked a zillion questions.  Then the doctor came in and did his thing and then he said another doctor would come in to see me next.  Uh, ok.  After I saw him, they sent me down for a blood draw.  Geez. I flunked several chapters in that report, but they said I was good enough to have my biopsy Thursday morning.  Great.

We left Courtney's at 6:40 a.m. and headed to MD Anderson for my biopsy.  I got there just in time and they took me back for another check of my vitals.  They put me in a gown with no ties and said 'open side faces the front'.  I figured that, but really didn't want to walk down the hallway like that.  She brought in a warm blanket and said she was sorry, she forgot to leave that for me.  I wrapped myself up and went to another waiting room.  The wait was miserable because my mind was racing.  They came to get me and we went to the room for the procedure.  Well, let me tell you, that was a most interesting room.  The doctor was already there and he told me all about what they were going to do.  Yuck.  Not good.  This was most definitely the weirdest biopsy room ever.  The table I was going to lay face down on, was 4-1/2 feet high and there was a ladder/step stool beside it so I could climb up.  I asked him if he was going to change my oil and he laughed and said no.  I climbed up on that table, laid my head down on a 'pillow', if you can call it that, and one boob fit down into a hole in the table where the 'boob vice' was located.  It looked like some kind of medieval torture device.  Turns out - it was. I laid there for 45 minutes with my boob squished to the max while they worked.  First, I was numbed.  While I wanted to be numbed, I didn't want the needle stuck in me.  Too bad you can't have one without the other.  So, I'm in a boob-vice that hurts like a bugger and then they stick me with a needle.  In several spots.  A lady doctor joined us as soon as I got onto the table, and it turns out, she was the main dudette.  The other doctor was observing.  So, she said she was going to talk the entire time and not to worry about it.  Fine with me.  So, I heard about everything she was doing and going to do, and I changed my mind after awhile and wished I had earplugs.  After the numbing procedure, a scalpel was used to make a slit.  She told me not to worry when I saw the actual biopsy needle, because it was quite a big larger than a regular biopsy needle like I'd had in the past.  Great.  Just great.  Guess what?  She was correct.  Every few minutes they would all get behind the protective glass and I'd have mammogram pictures done.  That's the only way they can see it.  She took several samples, then they'd all run behind the glass again for more pictures. Each time, I had to hold my breath.  I could hardly breathe laying on that table anyway. The actual process of acquiring the samples was only supposed to take 10 minutes, so my time would be limited in the boob-vice.  Well, they did it 3 times and I was in the vice for 45 minutes.  Yes, that's not a typo.  45 minutes.  OMG.  Every time the nurse came over to stand by me, we were face-to-face because I was up so high.  She would stand there and talk to me quietly while rubbing my back.  Every time she started doing that, I knew something bad was going to happen next.  It did.  Hoo-boy.  They kept telling me I was doing great.  If that was great, I'd hate to see not-great.  She took 9 samples.  NINE.  When it was over, I had to go down the hall to get a ..... guess what?!?  Another mammogram!  Getting down off that table was more difficult than getting on because I was so stiff and sore.  Nothing like laying on a metal table on your belly for 45 minutes when I can't even lay in my own bed on my belly that long because my back will scream.  After that, they took me to a recovery area to have my chest wrapped.  I was bleeding all over the gown and blanket they gave me but they didn't seem to mind.  They added more steri-strips, put gauze on me, wrapped me up like a mummy so tight that I couldn't take a deep breath, stuck an ice pack in there, and sent me home.  They gave me disposable ice packs and lots of gauze and I had to keep icing it all day long.  Every 1/2 hour I would either put one on, or take one off.  I did that until 11:00 last night when I went to bed.  David drove me home last night and I ran out of gauze before we made the trip home.  Good thing I stole some paper towels from Courtney's kitchen before we left.  What a mess.  I changed the gauze right there in the front seat of the truck but was careful not to attempt it while passing a semi.  Really didn't want to give him a free shot.

I took a Tylenol pm last night and only woke up twice.  I changed the gauze each time so I wouldn't leak all over the bed.  I'm still bleeding this morning but it has slowed down a lot.  Good thing, because I had to put on a heart monitor this morning.  The fun just never ends.  I'm not supposed to sweat, no lifting, keep activity to a minimum and no pool or baths, etc.  I can shower if I'm careful and don't face the showerhead.  I will wear the monitor until the 23rd.  I will have to remove it because that's the day I have an MRI of my eyes.  Yep.  More fun awaits!