It was now November and starting to get cold in our neck of the woods. The Temps were steadily in the 30’s and 40’s. Too cold for me. I was dreading the snow. I would have to bundle my skin and bones up and head out to my appointments. I was about to begin a succession of vaccinations. Measles, mumps. Chicken Pox, Tetanus, Flu, etc. Should be fun. But today was another trip to see Dr. Dave. He was waiting for me. My three month Bone Marrow Aspiration follow up. He was a scary individual with that huge needle in his hand. A daunting figure, smiling and looking forward to bringing the pain. Trying to make me feel better once he told me that he had one before…. just to see how it felt. I knew that he was lying. He finally gave in and said that who in their right mind would have a bone marrow aspiration for no reason! Agreed. But today, he wasn’t here. A personal emergency. Mike Styler would be the guy today.
Mike was a very meek and mild kind of cancer doc. Very intelligent. Very small and thin in stature, his voice was very soft and I had never seen him get really excited. He was a great Doctor. My go to guy when Dr. Dave was absent. But today would present another problem. I never had an aspiration from Mike before. This was out of my comfort zone. These things hurt like you can’t imagine. We went over the usual questions about my condition and medications. Reviewed my bloodwork and other labs. All seemed good for the moment. Now it was time for the big needle. I never had it before from Mike.
Mike needed a stool to get above me to begin the procedure. I was so nervous. Dave and I were a team. An orchestrated show of prompts and gestures. All to make the procedure as quick and painless as possible. Not today.
Mike began the needles that injected the novacaine to numb the spot where the larger needle would be used with the Lidocaine to numb the deep tissue. No issues. Now for the big boy. I am blessed with extremely hard bones, lucky me. Mike was pushing and turning and pushing and turning with all of his might. Pop!! He was in. Its all good now. Just grab the top of the table curl my toes around the bottom of the table… and sloooowwwlllyy withdrawal the hypodermic syringe of liquid marrow. AAGGGAAAHHH!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!! HE PULLED THAT SYRINGE IN ONE LIGHTNING MOTION!! No warning, no hesitation. HURT LIKE A MOFO!!
That was the last time that Dr. Mike would touch a big needle around me. I needed extra motrin and extra gauze pads to stop the bleeding! Never again!! I really appreciated Dave at that point. Another week for my results. Time just hangs when you are waiting for those results. Cross my fingers the counts are good. Gotta get wrapped up warm and head out again. Pretty sore but that’s life. Got to take it easy when I get home. Now the wait begins. Need those great results. Results have run my life for twenty five years now. A wait and see game. Should have them by Thanksgiving. This would be a special feast this year. A feast of love and life and promise. A new chance, a new beginning.
Next up: The Holidays