OOOOOOUUUUUUCCCCCHHHHH

This is how I started my morning....okay, well not quite.

This morning I had my biopsies scheduled. They were squeezing me in so they told me to be there at 8am but expect to sit around waiting a bunch. I was fine with that, I own a kindle...plus the earlier the biopsies the earlier the results.

I got to the Medical Center at 7:50, hoping that I would beat the actual appointments in and they would take pity on me. But it seemed like it might be the opposite, they did not want me to sign in or do any of the paperwork...actually the desk clerk knew me as soon as I walked in the door and said "Holly, have a seat and Kathy will come out to talk to you in a minute"...UT OH. No signing in? That screams of "CANCEL". So I sat, I heard some talking and the words reschedule, cancel and my name. It was not looking good. At 8pm (totally out of character for me), I asked my Sweeties group for prayers that things would go as scheduled (without telling them what or why, since I would rather wait for results). Then at 8:10 I hear talk of "broken" and "reschedule"...without my name..8:15 they asked me to sign in and start the paperwork...WOOT WOOT! Turns out their MRI machine just stopped working so they cancelled the other appointment and I took their place. I feel sorry for them, but still glad it happened.

After I finished my paper work Kathy called me back and went over the procedure, the recovery and what to expect over the next few days. Personally, I was busy thinking "wow, I am getting in earlier...so I will get out earlier! Maybe I will take the kids to the park" (oh silly silly me). Then I changed into my robe and Andrea (my tech from yesterday) walked me to "The Rack"..it is what they call the picture at the beginning of this blog, since it is more like a torture device. I had to lay on it on my stomach, put the boob getting a biopsy through the hole and then they squish my boob with the mammagram machine so they can see where they need to take the sample from....next they numb my boob which takes longer than anything else. Then they insert the needle and take out the samples. This biopsy was to get come of the calcification out, to figure if they were precancerous cells. They had to go in really deep since they were nearer to my breast bone (ouch). They took out 4 "samples' (aka my tissue) as big as tic tacs ...I know, I got to see them (gag). Then they had to go look at the samples under an x-ray to make sure they got what they needed. However, since they did not...they had to go back in and get 4 more. Luckily, second time was the charm...and there was NOT a third time. The funny thing is they use glue to seal the opening they made in my breast...and all I could think of was Maddie's book "Parts" where the boy thinks the glue that holds us together is not holding him. I was thinking Maddie would get a laugh out of glue holding her mommy together.

Next, after the forced me to drink some water and asked me no less than 100 times if I was ok, I moved into the next room for the ultrasound biopsy. This one was wayyyyyy more interesting, because they use the ultrasound to see where to stick the needle and where to draw from...so I got to watch the whole thing on the ultrasound screen. Like when they gave me the shots inside to numb the tissue, you can see that the fatty tissue expands when the numbing agent hits it. The geek in me really enjoyed watching this part...and wished they would stop asking me if I was okay.

I had two ultrasound biopsies...one on the lump in my right breast and one on a swollen lymphoid in my armpit. Time felt like it was going fast but by the time they finished it was 11:56. After they glued me up, I had to go to the next room to get more mammagrams so they could make sure the markers were in the right place. They put markers where they do the biopsies so in the future if I go in for a mammagram they know that area was already checked and don't make me go through this again. It was kinda cool to watch them insert it (on the ultrasound machine) and then they showed me what they look like on the mammagrams. In my right breast the markers are V's but in my left breast the marker is a ribbon. I did not know they did this, it was interesting. Anyhow, it took a few tries to get pictures of the markers to make sure they were in the right place, but what did I care...I was numb.

After they were done with the mammograms, I was able to get dressed and go home. I was told not to lift the kids, reach above my head and to just take it easy (these made me laugh and say "you do remember i have two kids under 3 right??").

A couple of hours after I returned home the numbing agents wore off and I felt like CRAP. I feel like I have been shot full of BBs. I have to wear an ace bandage until tomorrow and after I might have some bruising and be sore for a few days. It was hard today because it hurt and I swear all Blake wanted to do was kick, hit or elbow me in the boobs. My patience was low, I was tired and just wanted to lay in bed and just felt like a horrible mom. All Blake wanted was for me to pick him up so I felt like a jerk telling him no. But I was already doing more they told me I should do and paying for it...OUCH. However, I am now feeling good on some tylenol PM and ready to go to bed. HOPE HOPE HOPE I get some results tomorrow and do not have to wait the weekend.

Fingers crossed.