The Marrow Of The Issue

I had my bone marrow biopsy this morning. The oncology clinic called and said "If you can get here in half an hour or so, we can do the procedure." So once again I found myself being subjected to a medium-painful procedure without so much fortification as a single cup of coffee!

Oh, it wasn't that bad. The doctor used a goodly quantity of anesthetic (Lidocaine?) so I didn't feel the various needles passing through my skin and flesh. But the big needle jamming into the crest of my hipbone was a pretty intense experience. Not painful, really, though it was quite painful. Mostly it was just really intense. I'm reasonably tough, or like to pretend that I am, but the biopsy left me drenched with sweat and and shaking. It didn't help that my bones proved to be very hard and dense. "You won't suffer from osteoporosis later in life," the doctor remarked as he leaned on the T-handle and tried to drive the needle into my bone. (The first biopsy needle bent and they had to get a new kit.)

Later I found that the copious quantity of anesthetic he used had partially shut down my right leg, so I had a bit of a Walter Brennan gimp going as I left the office. Dag-nabbit, Little Luke.

So now I have a new dressing, this one on my back, and once again I can't take a shower. Arrrgh! I'd give almost anything for a hot shower at this point. Twenty dollars, fifty, take my dawg, I don't care!

Chemo starts Wednesday, of a form he described as "medium-aggressive". It's one day of chemo followed by two weeks off, repeated as necessary but for at least six months. Interspersed will be a PET scan and possibly a bone marrow biopsy (whee) to see if the treatment is working.

Time for orange sherbet, which sounds incredibly soothing to me right now.