If you would like to read parts 1 or 2 just click on the one you would like: Part 1, Part 2
I left off from part 2 with appointments finally in order.
New Appointments
One day my phone rang. It was a doctor from the Hematology clinic on post offering me an appointment. I told him I had already made an appointment off post. He asked why, so I told him about the October 18th offering. He was confused since their calendar only goes out six weeks. It was then that I realized that I hadn’t talked to someone from his office. It was just some person from the appointment line. I took his offer and set up the appointment.
I think it was the very next day that the GI clinic on post called to set up their appointment. My referral was never for on post so I knew it was Jay’s contact helping.
My husband and I were relieved to have both of my specialty appointments back at our hospital. The doctors know each other and can converse and see my records easily. The appointments for the outside referrals were both cancelled with plenty of time as to not be a problem, though I did still get calls to finish filing out my paperwork.
Hematology/Oncology Appointment
March 22nd came and Ben and I went to my Hematology appointment. Dr. B was great. He is a very respected guy in his field. He looked at all my reports and blood work and didn’t see anything that looked alarming to him. It wasn’t presenting itself as cancer normally does. He put me in for more bloodwork and said that he was going to see what GI had to say. If GI could get me in quickly for a coloscopy and could figure out what was going on he wouldn’t need to do a bone marrow biopsy. If they couldn’t get me in for a while, he would do the biopsy sooner so that we wouldn’t be waiting too long.
I left that appointment thinking, “Yay, it’s not cancer!” I went to work and shared the news with the few people that I had been confiding in.
Life moved on.
Sister’s Photos
Sister had her senior pictures done. She didn’t see the need to have her pictures taken but did it because she knew it was important to me. These were taken by a local photographer, Camila Marinez Rivera.
She looks so grown up.
Gastroenterology Appointment
Monday, March 27th, Ben and I headed into my GI appointment. Yet another great and very respected doctor, Dr. M. He asked how we knew Dr. C, the one that contacted him to get me in. Ben explained that we don’t know him and the route that was taken and the favors asked to get me seen. He apologized and agreed that it shouldn’t need to be done that way.
He looked at my ultrasounds, scans and MRI pictures and said that there was something there in my large intestine that he wanted to look at. He would be doing an endoscopy with ultrasound and a colonoscopy. If he saw anything he would take samples to be looked at. He then took us to the scheduler and I got my appointment made for the 30th. My prescription was sent in for the pre colonoscopy drink, MoviPrep.
In the meantime, Dr. B must have seen something in my new bloodwork because I was asked to come in on the 29th for the bone marrow biopsy. That was not the plan of waiting until GI did its thing first.
Biopsy- Take 1
The 29th came and we went in and got the whole spiel of how the biopsy is done. I really wish I hadn’t heard what to expect. There are a lot of needles involved along with a scalpel and breaking through the bone with a hand tool, then more needles pulling the marrow out.
I signed the form stating I agreed to all of this and was taken down the hall to get it going. I was very brave. Dr. B asked me if I wanted him to explain what he was doing along the way. That answer was a quick NO! I did not want to know when the scalpel is cutting or the bone is being broken. I did ask him to just chat with Ben to keep my mind occupied.
Attempt one was okay. I didn’t like feeling the needle tapping on my hip bone to numb the periosteum before breaking through. I didn’t like the feeling of him pushing down to break through the bone. I didn’t like hearing him say that he wasn’t able to get a bone marrow sample from that spot and that he would need to start again in a new spot. Same incision, but more needle tapping and breaking through.
Attempt two was less okay. I was already overwhelmed by the first try, but I’m a trooper so I held still. It seemed like I could feel everything a little more than I had the first time. Then I heard him say that he couldn’t get anything out of that attempt either.
I agreed to attempt three. I really didn’t want to ever have to come back to do this again. Well, this one failed also. He was able to pull a little, but not enough to use. I would need to come back another time. I agreed as long as I was sedated.
The doctor and nurse left the room so I could gather my things. I almost started bawling. It wasn’t from pain, the experience was just too much. Ben said he wanted to call it off after the second attempt. It was hard for him to watch.
GI Procedures
From there I needed to go to the GI clinic to have my Covid test done to be cleared for the GI procedure being done the next day. Then from there I had an appointment with anesthesiology for the procedure. I was thankful that these offices weren’t too far apart because walking hurt so much.
Due to the procedure happening the next day I couldn’t take anything other than a Tylenol for the pain. Dr. B put in a prescription for Tylenol with codeine, which was on the okay list. It didn’t really do much for the pain, but it did make me a bit nauseous. That was not what I needed while trying to drink down the MoviPrep. I had to lay on the bathroom tiles to get cold enough to tame the urge to puke. Sister brought me an ice pack, which helped immensely.
The next day I was ready for my GI procedures. The nurse was training a new soldier. He was 19 and afraid to put the IV in (he was shooting 50% with IV starts) and also uncomfortable with attaching the heart monitor pads to my collarbones and stomach. The nurse gave him the “Buck it up, Soldier” talk and he agreed to placing the pads on my collarbones.
I was wheeled in, put to sleep, wheeled out and woken up. Best procedure ever. Dr. M said that everything he saw looked great! As far as colon cancer was concerned I wouldn’t need another scope for 10 years. He did take some samples along the way during the colonoscopy and during the endoscopy looking at my stomach and upper organs.
The next day was Friday. I had already asked a few weeks prior to have that day off. I made plans to go to the Round Top Antiques show with a friend. Plans had to be cancelled. There was no way I could have ridden in a vehicle for two hours to get there. It’s normally a two-and-a-half-hour trip, but my friend, Suzanne, is part Nascar driver. Also, there was no way I could have walked around all day like I had wanted to.
Ben offered to take me up on Saturday, but I still was having a hard time getting around without pain from the biopsy. All I was allowed to take was Tylenol or my prescription with codeine for the next week.
Biopsy- Take 2
April 4th came around and so too came the next attempt at a bone marrow biopsy. I was sedated, and not just a little. Apparently, I was so anxious about the procedure that they had to give me a few extra pumps of the juice to get me to go down. It wasn’t as extreme as when a rampaging elephant needs to be stopped but I had the adrenalin of one (I may be exaggerating a bit). Even in my highly drugged state I woke up to the pain of the procedure. Yes, I was numbed, but some things numbing can’t stop, like the feeling of bone marrow being sucked out. It took two attempts, but they were finally able to get the sample they needed.
News
I stayed home from work the next day. While relaxing on the couch I got a call from the GI doctor that had done the procedure with Dr. M saying that they would like to see me the next day and that any time would work. I thought, “Wow, these guys are fast. I just had this done six days ago and I am getting the results already! Great!”
That night the results were uploaded into my records and I was able to read it. “Duodenal mucosa extensively involved with adenocarcinoma most compatible with metastatic breast carcinoma.” Ben held me and we cried.
To continue on to Part 4, click here.
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