Tuesday was an emotional day for me. We moved out of the apartment in the morning then went to Willie's appointment at the cancer center. It was the big biopsy day that we have been dreading and simultaneously looking forward to for weeks.
"I've been getting my arm loosened up." Lenny joked as we passed him on the way to a private room. "I'm just going to lift some weights then I'll come do the biopsy."
We have really grown to love Lenny and will miss seeing him twice a week.
The nurse drew about 15 tubes of blood. Some of them were for tests, but most were for a study that Willie has been a part of that will help identify blood markers in Leukemia patients. When she finished, Lenny came into the room with a lady from the lab.
"You ready for this?" He asked with a broad smile on his face. "We only need aspirate today so I won't need to use the drill."
We both exhaled loudly at this news. When a bone marrow biopsy is done they drill into the hip bone with something that looks like a hollow screw driver and take out the blood inside the hip. This is called aspirate fluid. Sometimes they take a bone sample as well which means drilling into the hip again with a hollow screw driver and popping out a piece of bone. That second part of the biopsy is the most painful and Willie was not looking forward to that. We were so happy to hear they only needing aspirate.
Lenny prepped Willie for the biopsy and started drilling within minutes. He got into the hip on the first try and attached a large syringe to the instrument to suck out the marrow blood. Willie says this part feels like they are sucking your insides out and can be painful. Lenny needed 6 cc's total and took his time drawing up the aspirate. He handed the syringe to the lab tech who squirted it in the dish and smiled.
"This is a great sample!" She said. "There are a lot of spicules."
"Is that a good thing?" Willie asked.
"It means there are cells in the marrow, which is good." Lenny replied. "Now we have to test them and see if they are cancerous cells or not."
The room fell quiet under the burden of this news.
"We have no reason to think there will be any cancerous cells though." Lenny added as he placed a large band aid over the hole he had just drilled in Willie's hip. "The cells would have shown up in your lab work by now if there was any cause for concern."
We relaxed at this news.
"You're going to be fine." He reassured. "You've done really well and your labs have been looking fantastic."As if on cue, the nurse returned with Willie's labs for that day. All of his counts improved and he is almost normal on all of his levels.
"He won't be needing that PICC line anymore." Lenny said to the nurse. "You can go ahead and take it out."
She had already planned on doing this and had all the equipment ready so she got right to work. The process of taking a PICC line out is much easier than putting it in. All she had to do was snip the stick that held it in place and pull the 18 inch line out.
Willie complimented Lenny on his biopsy skills as the nurse pulled his line out.
"I guess I'm better at it than others since I've had 9 biopsies myself and I know how it feels."
"Did you have cancer?" I asked, in total shock.
He looked at the floor and laughed, looking a little ashamed.
"No, I didn't." He said. "I was in medical school in the 80's and back then they would pay people to donate bone marrow for study purposes so I did it as often as they would let me."
We laughed at that. It's just like selling plasma to pay rent, but to the extreme.
"I had a lot of bad biopsies that were really painful and very few good ones, but I learned from them how I could do them better."
"I'm glad you did." Willie laughed. "What did they pay you for them?"
"200 a pop." Lenny said, looking sheepish.
"I've had 7 and no one has paid me a dime!" Willie joked.
"And then we ask you to pay us!" Lenny added. and we laughed.
By this time the nurse had finished pulling the line and had placed a large bandage over the hole."Looks like your free!" Lenny said, helping Willie to his feet. "We'll see you next week to check in. Now all you have to do is go home and have a happy birthday!"
We thanked him and had the nurse take a picture of us together. He has been such a blessing to us and we are so grateful to him.
We left the cancer center and walked over to the main hospital to see our friend Casey. He is in the F ground unit which is where Willie was admitted for a month last year when he was first diagnosed. It was strange to walk back onto the unit and think about everything that has happened since we were there.
It was on that floor that the doctors first mentioned the possibility of Willie needing a bone marrow transplant. It was there that we cried after hearing this news and refused to consider such a risky procedure. It was there that we began facing the fear and relentless anxiety that comes along with cancer. But it was also there that we learned that there is an abundance of peace to be found in times of trial. That unit represents the beginning of a journey that we are nearing the end of and it was an appropriate time to come full circle in our path.
Casey has been receiving chemo and was not doing well and had a high fever when we got there. He had been out of it all day and was sleeping when we arrived. We talked with his parents for a while then Casey started to come around. He was still out of it so we didn't stay long. Those are the moments that I wish no one ever had to go through. We've been through it with Willie and it never gets any easier. Our thoughts and prayers go out to that dear family who we have grown to love.
Willie's 33rd year is one I will forever be grateful for, but never want to repeat.
It taught me how to life deeply.
Laugh fully.
Love with reckless abandon.
And hope beyond anything that makes sense.
It is that hope that will keep us going for 33 more years then 33 more after that!
Happy Birthday Willie!
I love you!
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