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| Halloween 2012 |
On Monday of last week he complained of having sensitive skin on his left thigh. It continued on Tuesday and was making him very uncomfortable. On Wednesday we were getting ready to go to Stanford when he noticed a rash that had appeared where his skin was sensitive. A red, angry, shingles rash.
Oh Boy!
We got to the Stanford hospital campus to find it in an uproar of construction. We parked in a car lot that was farther away from our usual lot, but still a short walk to the hospital. We started walking, but Willie was slow and limping to keep his pants from rubbing on the shingles site. He crept along at a snails pace and I worried we would miss our appointment. Just then a golf cart pulled up and offered a ride to the hospital. It was divine intervention!
We made it to his first appointment on time which was a pulmonary lung function test. His insurance is requiring him to complete a series of tests in order to confirm he is healthy enough to get a transplant. This is the second time he is taking these tests in the past 4 months. It seems a bit of a waste of resources to test him twice, but we are willing to do whatever it takes to make the insurance folks happy.
After the lung test he had an echo cardiogram where they map his heart with an ultrasound machine in the same way they check on babies in the womb. It was interesting to watch his heart beating on the screen and observe the tech as she pushed and prodded in order to find the valves opening and closing with each beat.
He checked out fine on both tests so we headed to the cancer center for his biopsy. The cancer center is just down from the hospital and is about a 3 minute walk away. Because of the construction, there is no route to walk to the center so we were directed to a van to drive us there. It was a winding route by car that took 15 minutes and seemed like the longest ride ever. We got ourselves a driver named Frank who was quite the interesting fellow.
"Hop in guys," he said to us as he pushed a button that opened the van door "I'll take you to the cancer center although I can't guarantee we'll get there fast. I've only been her 2 hours and I'm learning the route."
He clearly wanted us to ask about that so we did and he told us about the company he works for that supplies drivers wherever they are needed. He had been in Southern California the night before and had received a call to go to Stanford the following day.
"Wow!" I said "what an interesting job, do you have family you leave behind?"
He looked at me in the rear view mirror and said
"No, I've screwed up all of my marriages. There is no one waiting for me."
It was the saddest thing to hear so I was surprised when he started laughing
"It's really a good thing that I'm not married. I tried it a few times, but I couldn't find a woman that I love more than cars. I always say the first lie I ever told to my wives was that I loved them more than cars."
I think it was a joke, but it fell flat on it's face.
Willie was sitting in the front seat and remained quiet. I was uncomfortable in the silence, but wanted to see what would happen next.
He began naming off the cars he had owned in the past. Willie nodded as he named them, acknowledging he knew the make of the car. I just felt sorry for him. It was a surreal moment to be listening to a man declare his love of cars while we were en route to a cancer center to meet with people who will save my love.
Sad.
We checked in at the cancer center and asked them to page Carl, the dr who has done most of Willie's previous biopsies, and let him know we were ready for the biopsy. We had been told to do this and if Carl could break away he promised to come. We told the front desk that it didn't matter to us if Carl couldn't come right then, we were willing to wait all day if necessary. The receptionist clearly thought we were crazy and explained that they run on schedules and can't just accommodate our request of doctors.
She must not know Carl.
We waited for nearly an hour which we decided was a good sign that they were waiting on Carl. They got Willie set up in a room and a man came an introduced himself as the doctor who would be doing the biopsy. He was a short man of Eastern Indian decent with a shaved head and dark rimmed glasses. He had a warm smile and a twinkle in his eye that told of a healthy sense of humor.
"No offense to you," Willie said, eyeing the doctor up and down "but we have a doctor we like and we are waiting to hear if he is available to do the biopsy."
"No problem!" He said, "What's his name and I'll see if he's been contacted."
We gave him the info and he disappeared for a few minutes.
He returned with bad news
"I just talked to Carl and he is not available, looks like your stuck with me." he laughed as he said this and we felt more at ease "I've done thousands of biopsies though so you can be assured I know what I'm doing. Why don't you tell me what you like about the way Carl does it."
I appreciated his attitude. Most doctors egos get in the way of offering the care the patient desires, but this doctor wasn't offended that we liked Carl. It was refreshing.
We told him about the wonders of Carl and he nodded as he listened.
"So you like that he's quick," he said when Willie finished talking "I will use the drill today and is very fast."
Willie sat up straighter, visibly tense.
"I'm not sure about the drill." he said, "I work with power tools and I can't stand thought of it."Dr. Lenny pulled out a small drill that looked like a hot glue gun in a neon orange case.
"Here is the drill," he said, holding it toward Willie "It's probably nothing like what you use. It is a DeWalt drill in a fancy case though."
He buzzed it a few times to show that it wasn't very loud.
We all looked at Willie as he turned over the options in his mind.
"Should I try the drill?" he said to me as if we were discussing menu options and he had to decide whether he should order steak or chicken.
"Sure," I said "At least it will be faster and you can see how you like it."
"We'll go with the drill," he said to the Dr. and the fun began.
Lenny had him lay on his stomach and covered his hip in iodine. He filled some syringes with numbing fluid and began numbing the bone. Willie entered his "Zen Zone" which has become his way to deal with the biopsies. He hums deeply to himself to drown out any other sounds. We probably should have informed Lenny of this before he started because he pulled his hands back from Will's hip the second the humming began.
"Am I hurting you?" he said, clearly shocked at the deep moaning noise that came from him touching an area of skin he had already numbed.
Willie nodded his head no and kept humming.
"He's OK," I explained "this is his M.O. for biopsies. It helps him relax. He'll tell you if it hurts."
He nodded and began inserting the long biopsy needle.
"So do you have kids?" he asked casually as if we were having a conversation over lunch.
"Not yet," I answered "Our kids are frozen right now."
He laughed and continued drilling with his hand. He gave the instrument three quick turns then connected the drill to the top.
He pushed the button and the instrument drilled deeper into Willie's hip.
"Ow!" Willie shouted and Lenny pulled his hand back.
"Are you feeling pain?" He asked
"No," Willie said, and I relaxed a bit "It just felt weird."
Lenny nodded, then continued. He began pulling the marrow fluid from Will's hip. Will made some faces and said it was a bit painful, but Lenny helped him breath through it.
He handed the fluid to the lab tech who placed it in the lab dish, swirled it around a few times then turned to the Dr and smiled.
"Looks good!" he said.
Lenny nodded and attached the drill to the instrument and with one quick twist, removed the piece from Willie's hip.
I checked the clock. 5 minutes in.
"You're doing great baby," I reassured Willie "We're almost done!"
Lenny nodded as he loaded a slightly larger drill bit onto the drill.
"We just need a bone sample now."
I shuddered inside. This is the worst part of the biopsy. They don't always require a sample of the bone so Willie has only had to do this part of the procedure 3 times. They obtain the sample by drilling an hollow tube into the bone and wiggling it back and forth until the piece pops out. Then they push the bone sample out of the tube into a lab dish. The sample is usually 1/2" in length and requires a lot of pressure and drilling on the part of the Dr. doing the biopsy.
Lenny inserted the metal tube and gave it a few turns with his hand before attaching the drill. He secured the drill and informed Willie he was about to drill. This time he drilled deeper and my eyes nearly popped out of my head as I watched the drill bit disappear. I was sure he was going to drill the entire thing into his hip and wanted to scream at him to stop, but Willie did it first.
"OWWWW!" He yelled and the Dr. stopped.
"Are you feeling pain?" he asked again.
Willie breathed in deeply and let it out before answering.
"I guess it's gone now," he said "I just felt that nerve pain down my leg."
This has happened in previous biopsies and is apparently normal, but incredibly unpleasant.
"Well I'm done now so I just need to remove the instrument." he said to Willie "are you ready?"
Willie nodded and he attached the drill to the short end of the instrument that was poking out of his hip.
The drill buzzed its exit as Willie again yelled out in pain. The doctor quickly applied pressure to the sight and announced he was done.
It had been 15 minutes.
Carl still holds the record.
Willie began to relax and I turned my attention to Lenny as he tried to get the bone sample out of the hollow instrument. He inserted a smaller tube to push the bone from the instrument into the lab dish. This usually works, but he was struggling to get it out. He handed it to the lab tech who tried to shake it out of the tube. My heart sank as I considered the possibility that they may not get the sample out of the tube and would have to repeat the test.
They looked at each other and shrugged. I appreciated their silent communication to keep from alarming Willie of a problem, but it was easy to see that they were frustrated. Lenny took the tube back and tapped it a few times on the edge of the counter then tried again. This time the sample moved and he began pushing it into the dish. The eyes of the lab tech grew wide as he observed just how big the sample was. I too was shocked to see that the section of bone he took had to be close to 2.5". It was at least 3 times bigger than any of his previous samples.
"Well the lab will certainly be happy with the sample size we provided." Lenny joked to the lab tech.
"Yeah," the lab tech replied, still staring incredulously at the bone sample in the dish "this is the biggest I've ever seen."
And there Willie goes again with the record breaking. He now holds the record for the largest bone sample from a marrow biopsy.
I wonder if there is a world record book entry for that...
Lenny bandaged him up and asked what he thought of it.
"I'm not sure yet." Willie said "It was fast though, that's for sure."
"You're lucky you got Lenny," the lab tech said "He is the best guy for biopsies at this hospital."
Lenny shrugged and thanked him and the lab tech left.
We are still partial to Carl.
Lenny looked at Will's rash and diagnosed Shingles. He gave him a prescription and advised me not to be near him. I informed him that I have already had shingles and he relaxed. What a strange blessing it is that I have already had the virus as a child and will not have to be separated from my husband because of it.
We left the cancer center very slowly. Partially because of the shingles and the other part due to the biopsy. It was a terrible combination.
We stayed at Stanford that night because of our appointment with the radiation team the next day. That turned out to be my least fun day ever.
Stay tuned for more info on that...
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