Before I tell you about my bone marrow biopsy today let me take this opportunity to thank each of you who read this blog and who are on this journey with Carole and me through prayer, friendship and encouragement. It is nothing short of a miracle of God’s healing and the genius of medical science that I have been able to help Carole around the house, return to work, take a trip with the officers and am feeling so good. It is a humbling experience to know I have so many people petitioning Heaven on my behalf. Saying thank you seems inadequate.
Today Carole and I drove to Dr. Collin’s clinic for my bone marrow biopsy. Carole thought I had previously had one but I told her and can tell you that what I experienced today I had never experienced before!
Two lovely ladies asked if my wife wanted to be in the room during the procedure with me. I assured them she did not! I don’t have eyes in back of my head so I could not see the instruments they used but I’ll describe the process as I know it to be true….
First the lady in charge of the needles decided which hip she felt was best (emphasis on her pushing and me feeling it.) Then she put anesthetic on it. Then she numbed the area with Lynocane (not sure that is how it is spelled but it a numbing injection except that bones can not be numbed!) Then she stuck a needle into my right hip bone and withdrew the marrow from that bone into her syringe. The contents will be analyzed and my cancer re-staged. She wanted to be sure she had enough (I’m guessing) so she did the same thing a second time.
They then asked if they could take a “sample” of my bone for the purpose of research. I had to sign some consent forms which I did and this time they took a sliver about 3/4 of an inch long off my hip bone. They let me see it. They told me it will be kept forever. I don’t know what that means but I guess it means that at least part of me will always be in Texas!
Next Monday I return for more tests (skeletal scan, pulmonary, and heart-health) and to see a social worker. Carole and I are going to my North American Division meetings and when we return I’ll meet with Dr. Collins who will go over all the test results and I’ll sign the consent forms for the transplant and they’ll begin giving me injections to appeal to the stem cells to come out of my bones (or something like that). Please pray they do because the alternative isn’t much fun either. Once harvested they give me one heavy dose of chemo and wait 48 hours until they infuse my own cells back into the blood stream to start their way back into the marrow to make my own blood.
They gave us the consent forms today to read through in advance of all this and Carole stopped reading after page two. The truth is that there is risk in living. There is risk in my not having the transplant and a risk in having it. My faith is in the Master Physician who has seen me through this so far. Depending upon my ability to avoid infection I will be treated as an out-patient. Carole and I will be in student housing near the clinic where I’ll go every day for labs and check-ups. I’m not expecting any of this process to be fun but I am expecting to be back to my family and my work and, God willing, feeling even better than I do today.
Carole and I value your continued prayers,
~Doug
