CAT Scan of Liver

I am totally a seasoned pro at this stuff, now! Different hospital for the scan, so different approach. Basically a little alarming that this hospital had a lot more in depth questions than the first one. Makes me wonder what the first hospital is skipping!

Not too bad for claustrophobia. I think I have experienced the worst that they can throw at me, testing wise (the MRI) so everything else will be gravy. Not expecting much from this scan.

Now, just waiting (and not waiting well!) to hear when I go for the biopsy. I need to get this stuff going! Its hard to sit and wait!

Date for liver CAT scan

I have an appointment for next Tuesday, July 28, for the CAT scan of my liver. Again, this is precautionary, there is a spot on my liver, but it is suspected to be a lesion or something, nothing exciting.

Hurry up and Wait Mode

Well, I just spoke to the office, and I am told that the doctor is attemping to get me in in the "short term" and if he is unable, he will hand me over to a third doctor, his associate. The office would be no more specific than "the short term". So I am left dangling. While I was hopeful to get in next week, the following week works out best, because the kids are already scheduled away with their dad for the week. We are just suddenly moving closer to Sept. Will update when I have something to say.

The BIG VISIT

The doctor's appointment was relatively easy. I guess the hard parts were the tests! Results are in and its mostly good news! It appears that the growth is only in the arm, that it hasn't metastatised from another location. This is really really good news. The is one spot on my liver that they want to test, but suspect that it is not related and is just an anomaly. They believe that they are dealing with a sarcoma that has started in the bone and worked its way out. Next step is a biopsy of the mass. That will probably be next week. This week is apparently all booked up. There is a two week wait, following the biopsy, for the results to be back in. That will be the hard wait, because once that is over, we can book surgery and get on with it! I asked for a sling, the ones that you buy at the drug store are crap. This one is a bit of overkill, with a couple of special supports, but i I figured that I am going to be needing it after the surgery as well. Of course, wearing it means answering more questions. So the kids are going to have to be brought online fairly soon, so that they have the right information, and not just what they happen to overhear.

But I am so happy and relieved. Praise God. I can handle this.

The Eve of the BIG VISIT

Terribly nervous, I must confess. There are several people that I know will be in prayer, and probably quite a few more that I don't know about, that will be also praying. Greg and I are meeting with Pastor Byron ahead of time, and then Greg will be going with me to the doctor's appointment. All test results are to be in, and plans are to be made. A biopsy should be scheduled, and I am hopeful that a surgery date will be planned as well. Its hard right now to make plans, not knowing how quickly things are going to come together. It would be really great if things could happen during the week of August 2nd, as the kids are already away. But I will be grateful if things can just happen in a timely manner. For tomorrow, I pray for dignity, and listening ears. Everything is all ready set, its just a case of learning what everything is.

MRI Update

So, I confess, I am a huge wuss. And I was really worried about this test. It turns out that most of my fears were right on the mark. It is hard to breathe during an MRI. It is tight and close and tomb like. But the techs were really awesome and when I thought that we were going to have to cancel the test, and rebook, with anesthetic, the one tech suggested taking a break and trying a different position. It was horribly hard for me, and somewhat painful (needed to have my arm above my head for 45 minutes) but I could hold on to the one end of the machine, to know where I was, and I could breathe in air that wasn't blowing directly on me. So she got me through it. Phew. Stress has every possible body part hurting tonight. But we got through it. Next step is the doctor's appt on the 20th. We will hopefully be developing a plan at that point. If things fell perfectly in to place, the kids are already booked away the following week, and that would be an amazing time for them to book the biopsy. But things seldom work out perfectly.