I went in for an ultrasound today, to see if they could remove some of the fluid build-up from my liver not being in tip-top shape. Another cool procedure, with amazing staff. The guy who transported me, named Ahzim, was telling me a story about playing Connect Four with someone who tried to cheat him by saying he only needed to connect three. So Ahzim and I have decided that dumb people will now be referred to simply as "Connect Three".
The ultrasound revealed what appears to be a 6 or so centimeter pocket of fluid towards the bottom of my abdomen. Finally I have an excuse for the bottom of my belly to hang out of a shirt. I will fight you if you say otherwise, and either way you lose. You lose because you got beat by a guy with cancer, or you lose because you beat a guy with cancer. I have the card now, I might as well play it.
The best part about this procedure was seeing what my layers of skin, fat, and muscle look like on my belly. It looks exactly like bacon. It looked delicious. I'm excited to not be so distended down there, when they insert another 6 inch needle in my stomach to extract the fluid tomorrow. I should do before and after pictures. The other hopeful thing, is that with the fluid gone, I will have more of an appetite. We'll see.
This afternoon, the oncology team is coming to see me, and then I've been granted a 4 hour pass to leave the hospital! I get to go out into the 10 degree temperatures that are afflicting Ann Arbor today. More as I learn it!
I'm really glad you're keeping this blog- we have been praying for you a lot and have been thinking of you pretty non-stop...so, thanks for doing this to keep us updated. Anything we can do to help relieve your boredom?
ReplyDeleteRon,
ReplyDeleteYour comparison to bacon makes me giggle. If you have to go through all of this, you should at least be able to see something cool! I really admire the way you are facing this whole process with a certain level of humor. I have had several biopsies to test for skin cancer in the past 2 years and I take a good look at the 1x1 squares of skin they remove before they stick them into the lab container everytime! The doctor cuts pretty deep down, so you can see all of the sub-layers in the sample they take. That view is pretty cool too and, as mentioned in another one of your posts, it doesn't seem like the procedure is real when you are awake and cannot feel it. Strange the way that works, isn't it?
I echo everyone's comments about you starting this blog. It is great to know how you are doing. Also, it is certainly a helpful reminder to pay attention and ask questions when things don't add up, just like you did. It's always amazing how some of these symptoms that seem like they are stemming from something very average at first, actually end up indicating more.
Thanks for being bold and sharing!:)
Take care,
Kirsten Simmons