what a crappy morning...

This was the morning of the biopsy....I should have known it would suck really bad when I had to be out of the house by 6:30 a.m. For those of you who know me, that is WAY earlier than when I would usually roll out of bed (between 7 and 7:30 if we are lucky). But I got up and got dressed - and headed out the door. I actually got there on time, and checked in - had a great conversation with the desk lady about Luling City Market BBQ - that is for a whole other discussion and then started the waiting game. I was totally checked in and they called radiology at 7:45 saying I was ready for my 8 am appointment.

Then 8:00 came and went
8:15 came and went
8:30 came and went (and I started to get antsy)
8:45 came and went (and I held off getting out of my chair to ask what kind of business they are running)
at 9:00 I heard the "Miss Lip" - which is other wise known as my other "I don't know how to pronounce your name" name.

I got upstairs and the nurse started checking me in and here is how the conversation went
Nurse: "um, you are taking lovenox? when did you take the last dosage?"
Me: "at the ungodly hour of 6 a.m. this morning."
Nurse: "we can't do the biopsy if you have taken it - you can't be on any blood thinner. Let me go talk to the doctor."

so she exits and leaves a "not so happy" Miss Lip sitting on the bed in the sonogram room.

She discusses with the doctor and comes back in, with the sonogram tech and says:
Nurse: "I don't think we can do it. It is just too risky with you being on blood thinners."
Me: "well, why didn't one of my 3 doctors mention this, or maybe the hospital when I scheduled it or the hospital when I checked in and sat downstairs for an hour. That would have been nice."
Nurse: "I'm sorry - I don't know - but you can't be on blood thinners. The doctor is coming in to discuss."

At this point, the tears start welling up in my eyes. I didn't want to have to come back and waste more time, my insurance flips tomorrow to the new coverage and without a new insurance card, I didn't want to have to pay for it at 100% and then submit.....I just wanted to get it over with!!!

The doctor comes in - and says, yeah, it is a little risky but I think we can do it. I wanted to scream at the nurse - why did you get me so worked up when you didn't even know what he was going to say!!!

They started doing the sonogram just to check - and just to fit in with the kind of day I am now having - they can't find the "nodules". I won't tell you what came out of my mouth, but it wasn't very nice. So the doctor ran into the other room to go and look at the last two sonograms to see where they were, and comes back in to check again. He finally finds them.....and a few others. GREAT. Even better when he tells the nurse in a whisper - oh, this one is on the isthmus - that isn't normal. MISTER - I am laying down about 1 foot from you. I HEARD THAT!!!! Some were too deep, and because of the blood thinners - he wouldn't try for them. As I understand it, if one is cancerous, all are likely cancerous. So one was good to try to test.

Anyway, so they deaden it with the worst shots - I don't know how to describe it - but they hurt. then he had to do it AGAIN as he thought I needed more to make sure it was good and numb. Then he started. Now, let's think about this - he runs the sonogram machine and jabs the needle in your neck - I'm not sure, but I am pretty sure that he wasn't totally ambidextrous. AWESOME. I kept my eyes closed, but I could feel that needle going in and out. The way I felt it - i kept picturing that video of them doing liposuction - jabbing the needle in and out. It didn't feel so hot (yes, it was deadened, but you still felt the needle). and he had to do it TWICE. He sent it off to pathology so they could test it immediately - which they never called back - but his comment was they only call back if it is bad; let's hope so!!!

Then they told me I had a little "hematoma" from the procedure. I'm thinking - what in the H is that? (don't worry - googled it - fancy name for bruise). SO, now I have a big hickey looking bruise on my neck, I have to make sure it doesn't get hard or bigger. GREAT.

And now my neck hurts. When I move my head, when I swallow, when I do anything. And now the work out plans have vanished as I have to take it easy for at least 3 days. They never told me that before hand!!!

that is the long and the short of it. It is painful, it was emotional, it didn't take the "hour" like they said it would (try I was there for 4), and it is over. Thank God for that.