I Got Worse Than Shot

I have NOT been looking forward to bone marrow biopsy day at all, but alas it was here. The doctor called me in and there was no kidding around that this was miserable. The actual procedure only takes a few minutes, but wow does it feel like forever.

Needle 1: Anesthesia - not a simple injection. Rather, the needle goes in, and they inject, then in deeper, and they inject again, then in deeper, and they inject some more... and well, you get the idea. And no, it doesn't really numb as it goes along!

Needle 2: Bone Marrow Liquid - this is where the REAL pain began. Fortunately I'm really skinny, so the distance between skin and bone on my hip isn't that far. Basically, the needle goes inside the bone to gather some fluid. And it feels just like that... something going inside your bone. They must have hit a nerve on the way in too, cuz my whole leg was in major pain. I clutched my balled up sweater, concentrated on a dot on the wall, and managed to stay pretty zen. Only a minor sweat.

Needle 3: Bone Sample - my Mother always told me to drink milk as a kid so that I would grow up to have strong bones. She would be SO proud! The problem with getting a bone sample when you have super strong bones is that they really have to dig into you to get that chip! This is the most painful thing that I have ever experienced while awake, especially since my steel bones made it take so much longer! We're talking full on sweat, whimper/screams, and a complete loss of the zen stare/breathing technique I was trying so hard to manage.

When the procedure was over, the doctor told me that recently he's performed this procedure on a cop. The cop said that it hurt more than the time he'd been shot. So yea, I got "worse than shot" today. AWESOME

The walk home (yes, we're urban, we walk) from the doctor's office was SLOW and painful. I kept apologizing to my friend Matthew for limping so slowly... but then again, he's had surgery on both hips, so he understands. Matthew managed to snap this gem of a picture of me shortly after I arrived home. He thought it was very Edie Beale ala Grey Gardens (documentary about Jackie O's crazy hermit cousin)

Other than the literal pain in my butt, my other pain in the butt of the day has been with ordering my chemotherapy drugs. In a nut shell, I can't get them at your average pharmacy, and the private pharmacies that I called claim United Healthcare won't reimburse them. I called United and they directed me to a number of telephone/mail order specialty pharmacies. Not the end of the road yet! One only has some of the drugs, and others have them but don't work with United (I don't know why United would advise me to contact a pharmacy that doesn't work with them!?!?). Even my Dad, as "Health Care King" is completely frustrated by the whole situation. Boo United Health Care!!! I already have one pain in the butt, I do not need another!

Tomorrow is port surgery day. They install a port into my chest for my chemo injections. I will not be completely knocked out, but will have enough drugs that I won't really know whats going on. I'm really good at getting to that "not yet asleep, but not conscious of anything" happy place, so I'm sure this will be a real treat. :-)