Yeeeeeeeeoooooowwwww!!!!!

Tales of this weeks poking and prodding.

Tuesday I met with Baylor's Director of Marrow Processing (almost sounds like something out of Soylent Green - ) to talk about a possible bone marrow transplant (which is the same as stem cell transplant and, oddly enough, doesn't involve an actual "transplant" or surgery). Hopefully, I'll be able to donate the bone marrow to myself but regardless the process is at least four months away so I really don't have to think about it now. Pain quotient - 0

Wednesday was a big day for poking and prodding. The day started out well enough. The MUGA (Multiple Gated Acquisition) scan of my heart was dominated by discussions of the technicians new Jack Russell terrier. The dog talk was a good distraction from the little prick I got when he accessed my vein. The tech drew blood, mixed it with dye then injected it back into my system for the scan. Once the vein is accessed there's really not much pain involved. Pain Quotient - 2

Next I had a PET scan. Luckily they were able to use the access the MUGA tech had done to inject the dye into my system so there was not real pain involved with the PET scan and I got to nap for almost an hour in a darkened room before the actual scan. Pain Quotient - 3 (because of the crappy "pina colada" they gave me to drink)

I saved the best for last --- a bone marrow biopsy! This was ten minutes of pure pain. I have a couple of friends who have, unfortunately, undergone the procedure and warned me that it was painful and that the pain can linger for several days afterward. So I took my iPod in for distraction --- it didn't work! The bone marrow biopsy team had me lay on my side then they gave me a local anesthetic and stuck what I can only imagine was an incredibly large needle into my backside and into bone. Luckily, bone marrow biopsies were the nurse's specialty and, though the pain was off the chart, there was no lingering pain. Hopefully, I'll never need another one. Pain Quotient - off the chart.