Needle biopsy done - check

I had to be at the hospital by 7:30 this morning and since it's a 45 minute drive that meant getting up really early.  The first time I heard the area called a lymph node was when they called to set up the biopsy yesterday.  We were under the impression that it was just some odd little mass floating around in there.  Now we know better.

After I got to the hospital I was taken downstairs to check-in once again.  I believe that registering and checking for any procedure is a test.  First they see if you can pass the phone test, then can you find the hospital (this includes finding the correct parking lot and entrance to the hospital).  When you have passed the hospital test by finding the correct desk to sign in at they must see if you can pass the hospital maze test by sending you, in a very round about way to another desk.  This last desk is placed near a parking lot that would have allowed you to park next to the door instead of two miles away.

The girl who took me to my "room" took me on another winding path, we must have traveled a half mile.  And I swear we made enough right-handed turns to have come full circle, back to the waiting area in which Dennis sat.  Maybe if I had peeked at the door at the end of the hall from my room I would have seen the waiting room I had just left.

I was blessed with a nurse used to accessing port-a-caths and she already knew I had one.  One stick of a needle later and my IV was connected and purring like a kitten.  From this area I was quickly passed to another area, with a another room and of course on another floor.  The elevator made me dizzy, it traveled so quickly.  I was supposed to barely pass through this room but a trauma came in and took my CT machine.

My short little procedure had to wait until the trauma victim was taken care of and while I absolutely am ok with that, I just wish they had never become a trauma in the first place as this made my plans of escaping from the hospital early, impossible.

When I finally made it into the actual room where needles awaited I was placed on the CT machine.  Two passes were made while my arms were raised and the node was difficult to find.  I was hoping maybe it had disappeared.  No such luck, once they put my arms at my sides they were able to easily figure out where the little booger was.

The doctor quickly came in, marked my skin and started to insert the numbing medication while the nurse, on the other side of the donut, injected some relaxing drugs into my IV.  I really didn't feel any more than pressure when they inserted the needle.  I could feel each of the five biopsies but again it really wasn't pain.

It really wasn't as bad as I had feared.  The biopsy itself took little time and just felt odd.  I could feel the little pull each time he pinched off a biopsy but there wasn't pain.  The last pinch I told the doctor that it hurt just a little and he said, "ok. . . well that was the last one, the needle's out now."

I was not allowed to move my arm for a few hours after the biopsy, they wrapped a blanket around me to help me remember to keep it at my side.  I believe this was done to help make sure the bleeding quit.  There was very little blood, but a lot of movement could have kept it bleeding, I imagine.

Results should be in by Monday.  Waiting is our final test, let's see if we can pass that one.  Positive, negative, positive, negative, positive. . . what will it be?

The worst part of my day was the fact that my head/jaw has continued to hurt and I still cannot sleep a full night.  So when I was allowed to go home at 1 pm, with specific instructions to keep my arm by my side as much as possible and no lifting for a couple of days, we went to the Green Mill and ate lunch before heading to the Walk-in Clinic to have my head examined.  No, really, the nice lady doctor made sure to poke each tender spot along my jaw, throat and eyes, then declared that my head must hurt.  Duh!  Sinuses are fun!

I am now on different antibiotics and pray that soon I will be done with pain.  Currently my sinuses have been hurting for a day shy of two weeks and I have not slept one full night during that time.  And my armpit is swollen and hurts and I have to keep reminding myself to not lift my dogs.

tags: needle  biopsy  cancer  tumor  nodes  hospital