just when i thought it was safe to go in the water

last november i started having this weird cramping feeling...i thought that maybe it was menstrual related, but it was lasting a bit too long for that...and i don't really get menstrual cramps so i started poking around the area...and i found what felt like a lump....so i made an appointment (it is now december) with my friendly neighborhood gynecologist (who i have yet to actually meet) i always see her nurse practitioner whom i previously thought was pretty cool (as cool as one can be when she is looking at your private parts)...anyway...she examines me and tells me that she doesn't think that it's anything to worry about, maybe just swollen lymph nodes...okay, silly me to think it could be anything else, given my history....so i accept that answer for about a day...then i call a primary care physician who is taking new patients, i had yet to get a primary care in the lansing area...one could see me in february...(it was the holidays so this answer was acceptable)...i go am suprised to see that she is so young, she was very personable and spent a lot of time listening to my concerns (A+ Dr. Williams) after hearing my story...doing her exam, she sends me to have an mri...not just the ordinary 45min-60min, mri but a 3 hour mri....preventative measures....okay, i can work with that....results come back....they see something on my bladder (so they think)....another test is ordered...ct scan...test comes back...not on my bladder...near it/around it....whatever it...sends me to neurologist....can't help....sends me to a neurosurgeon (he was a complete arrogant ass) can't help....he sends me back to u of m....doctor #6 wants to do 2 biopsies....(oh yeah there was also another tumor, possible recurrence from tumor in 95)...so the biopsies are done but prior to this is the information that was received.

if the tumors are benign then we will look at surgical options, the one in the front should be okay for removal, the one in the back however because there has been so much damage in that area healing would be a concern...if they are malignant then she would have to perform a hemipelevectomy....big word huh? so from wikipedia (isn't that the coolest thing?) A hemipelvectomy is a high level pelvic amputation. Along with hip-disarticulations, hemipelvectomies are the rarest of lower extremity amputations. In some cases, an internal hemipelvectomy can be performed, which is a limb-sparing procedure. A complete hemipelvectomy, however, is the amputation of half of the pelvis and the leg on that side. This type of procedure is also called transpelvic amputation. Hemipelvectomies may be required for several reasons, such as a car accident or cancer. Examples of cancers that can require hemipelvectomies are sarcomas like Ewing's Sarcoma, osteosarcoma or chondrosarcoma. People who have experienced a hemipelvectomy may or may not qualify for a prosthesis. They may use adaptive devices such as a wheelchair, underarm crutches, forearm crutches, or, in the case of internal hemipelvectomies, a cane. Physical therapy can be useful to those with hemipelvectomies to build strength and prevent problems like back pain and scoliosis. Because a hemipelvectomy is a rare type of amputation, a physical therapist trained in the special needs of a post-hemipelvectomy patient is important. that's a lot to take in right? melinda and i are looking at each other like, what the fishsticks! but we don't give into the hype....because it would've been wasted energy, until we actually knew what the results were...we maintained (or at least tried to the very best we could) in the meantime, for those of you who don't know...we are in the process of becoming foster parents...so, we have a lot on our plates (more on that later)...

back to the biopsies...i go in for the procedures the get me all hooked up to iv's and they tell me what will happen and that i will be partially sedated (a twilight) and given pain medications once i get back into the room...so they take me back to the procedure room (i am having a ct needle guided biopsy) and the doctor doing the procedure starts up...he numbs the area (starts with the tumor in the back) and i say, "um, i'm supposed to have sedation and medication for this" he says "uh, no shouldn't be too painful." so he continues and with the first poke i jerk away like "GD MF THAT F'n HURT" (i actually just said ow)...he says "did that hurt?"....okay where's the real doctor...before he can get the rest of hurt out of his mouth, i was saved by matt (i forget his title....but he was my bud)...matt comes into the room and says, "she's supposed to be medicated."...of course he listens to matt...okay, so everything is held up, because i need to be sedated and medicated before having a needle that looked to be at least 12 inches long (they say it's not the length of the needle that matters, but what they can do with it - sorry couldn't resist) go into my body, silly girl...so, i get the meds, the little oxygen nose thing (in case i "forget" to breathe they tell me)...and we are up and running.

don't remember much after that, um, the next thing i know....i am in the recovery room, eating a sandwich...then the nurse comes and says i can go home now, she calls melinda and my mom back into the room they help me get dressed and we head home...with post procedure discharge instructions...they tell me that i shouldn't expect too much bleeding (and because they just put a band-aid on the incisions i figured i would have very minimal bleeding) if only that were true...to be continued...