Tuesday, March 22, 2011

11:30 this morning Jacqui and I were at the hospital to check in for my biopsy. We got checked in without any trouble, donated blood to check my platelets, and then went upstairs to get ready for the procedure. The nurse had to stick my chemo port twice, because the needle didn’t go in straight the first time. OUCH!

After this, they drugged me up really good, and I went through the procedure. It lasted about 20 minutes, during which the doctor got 5 really nice chunks of tissue out of the enlarged node.

Recovery time was only an hour this time. The doctor went straight through the cartilage in my ribs this time to get the biopsy sample. Last time the doctor went around my ribs, and was worried about damage to my lungs, so I had to stay 4 HOURS in recovery last time, back in January. But this time was only an hour, from about 3-4pm. The wonderful thing about this recovery time is that I got to EAT FOOD! I had not had any food or water since dinner last night at 6:30pm, so I was ravenous. I had chicken finger and french fries, along with some Frank’s hot sauce that one of the techs loaned me out of his personal stash. Nice guy. I also got to eat a turkey sandwich and some pineapple. It was wonderful.

I was very thankful that my mom and our good friend Kathryn came to keep us company at the hospital. Having people to talk to makes a HUGE difference.

We also got the opportunity to meet this wonderful lady named Ruth, who was just diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma. We gave her lots of pointers about what she was about to go through, and shared our experiences of donating bone marrow (OUCH!). It was very nice to meet her, and we hope to see her again soon.

Now I am home, under orders from the doctor to rest and take it easy for the rest of the day. No alcohol for 24 hrs. No strenuous activity for 72 hrs. yadda yadda yadda.

I am happy to have such wonderful friends and an awesome network of support. Jacqui and I are most grateful for all the positive energy and good vibes flying across Facebook the past few days, as well as the well wishes and support from the knitting community, and everyone else who’s been keeping up with this blog and our story. Thank you all so so much.

We’re looking forward to sharing the news of the biopsy results on Thursday. Hopefully it will be good news. Still plugging for OPTION 1. Vote Early and Vote Often. Please and Thank You.

We’re gonna WIN