Biopsy Day

Well, today was the day for the biopsy.  It was maybe the coolest procedure that I've ever had done.  If you're not familiar with a biopsy it's used to sample suspect tissue and determine what type of cells are present.  The procedure that I had was really cool.  In order to biopsy the liver, the sample needs to taken using guided imagery.  The liver is full of blood vessels, so there's a risk of internal bleeding with any biopsy there.

The doctor uses an ultrasound machine to find an appropriate spot to sample.  That process took about 20 or 30 minutes, and what seemed to be nearly a bucket of lubricating jelly.  Once they found the location, they marked the spots using a permanent marker and started prepping me.  They swabbed my belly with an antibacterial swab, and placed some clothes around the area.  The Doctor noted that I probably didn't need all of the phentinol since I was so relaxed, so they only gave me a quarter of the normal dose. I missed out on the full effects of "Hillbilly Heroin", but that's alright by me.  I've not really been one for losing my head.

The phentinol made my head feel a little heavier, and my body feel a little warmer.  I also didn't mind when they shoved a 6 inch needle into my belly to deliver the local anesthetic.  They then numbed the skin surface with another much shorter needle.  At this point, I feel pretty good.  I can't feel a large patch of my stomach, and I feel warm.  The Doctors then started scrubbing and prepping the instruments.

They placed a little guide on the side of the ultrasound probe.  When they found the spot that they had marked, they then inserted a 6-8 inch metal sleeve through the guide, and into my liver.  They then inserted a device into this straw in my belly.  When they got to the appropriate spot, they pushed a button, which deploys a tiny set of jaws to bite off a piece of my liver.  They pulled this out, set the sample aside, and moved on to a new spot.  This process was repeated a few more times, and then perhaps the coolest part of this experience happened.

When they pulled the straw out, I watched the skin tee-pee around it as they pulled it out.  It was pretty cool to be able to see something, that I recognize as something that should hurt, but I didn't feel a thing.  Or maybe it was the quarter dose of phentinol.

I'm on forced bed rest the rest of the night.  They don't want me to move the wrong way, and start bleeding from my liver.  And now that I reflect on it, I don't really want that either.

Oh, the worst part of this, is that I was unable to eat or drink anything, they call it NPO.  So no food or drink from 10 last night until after the procedure, around 7 pm.  Luckily, Ulla, Kara and Dan brought some fantastic goodies from Zingerman's that I devoured.  The appetite was back tonight.  I then ate the hospital tray they brought me.  Last check, my blood sugar was 220, which is pretty high, but they said that it was alright since I had just pigged out.


Tomorrow is going to be a lot of waiting around.  I'm super anxious to find out these biopsy results and get a plan of attack under way.  Thanks for your visits, phone calls, and kind words.  It's been hard to not get overwhelmed by the amount of support that Heather and I have received, and we sure appreciate it.  Every time we get a new message or phone call we ending up crying because we are so thankful to have all of you in our lives.  From both of us, thank you so much for being so great.  I'll update more tomorrow, and we've been taking some pictures that I'll post.  For now, it's time to sleep.