Strength in (h)art

After a thorough interview with the oncologist at Western Park it transpired a couple more tests were needed. 

Firstly a PET/CT scan would be booked, Positron Emission Tomography combined with a traditional CT scan. It turned out to be the most boring part of this journey, they inject you with very radioactive die and then you lay still for an hour. Perfectly still, no moving, not even reading. The reason being the die they inject has a glucose element to it which fast dividing or energy greedy cells absorb, the cancer cells are these such cells but muscles when in use would also absorb the die therefore giving the a false reading. So forcing myself to fall asleep was the best option in my mind, that was fine for the first hour but the next 40 minutes in the scanner was boring.

Secondly because there was a possibility that the lymphacites (white blood cells) were coming out of my bone marrow 'bad' they wanted a sample of marrow. Now as a special offer for one friday only they would take this marrow sample in an hours time if that was ok with us. We were both of the opinion that getting a test done sooner rather than later would get a result sooner which would reduce stress, hopefully.

My coping strategy of understanding procedures has stood me in good stead and a bone marrow biospy was going to be no different. As we walked up the stairs my legs went weak, there looking down at me was mum's art work. Now mum started going on her carpet munching weeks way back when and as her confidence grew so did the ability for art to be shown to people outside the family. Then one day there was an exhibition for charity and one of the people at Western park decided to buy some of mum's work. So as Wendy and I are walking up the stair well to go for a biopsy there staring down was the picture of leaves shown above. It was as though mum was there, my family were there, helping us through this, giving us strength to face the unknown the uncertain and more than likely the uncomfortable!

So the biopsy, Wendy ahd heard from various places that it wasn't a good thing to go through but hey this is my first so I'll take it as it comes. Now those of a delicate nature may wish to turn away now or go and read something more interesting as the mental picture isn't good. I'm laid on my side with my trousers and pants half way down my a*se looking into Wendy's eyes and wondering what's coming next. I'd had a small aneasthetic into my lower back where my pelvis was closest to the skin and we were waiting for this to take effect. Dr Walkington was very nice and had offered something that would make me feel woosy but I had declined, I'd rather have a clear head when facing something weird, it helps when I'm teaching too! 

"You're going to feel me pushing the instrument into the pelvis and maybe some twisting now." Good oh we're getting on with it then. Pushing that's not pushing Carys can........, oh ok that's pushing now. Actually as you're pushing into the pelvis it's twisting and squashing one of my family jewels, ooooh that's most unpleasant. No I didn't say that, once the procedures underway you can't be worrying about squashed testes, anyway they've done their job. "Right we're through the bone, I'm going to push some more now and then you'll feela twisting as I pull the biopsy out." Mmmm twisting and pushing wonder what that'll do for my knackers, nothing thankfully, the pulling was strange as there was some vacuum created by the removal of the tool but at least it was done. Looking at the tool later it all became clear about the twisting and everything, she'd used a really thin cheese sampler on me! You know when they take a core of cheese out of one of the big rounds on cookery programs, one of those tools, just it had a seperate attachment to cut through the bone with too. Very clever and simple, effective too.