“Man plans, God laughs.” Yiddish proverb
An outpatient procedure, CT guided needle biopsy, was scheduled for the Monday morning after Super Bowl.
Informed I would need a ride home sinceconscious sedation was involved actually became a proverbial silver lining.
Sooo Super Bowl weekend I broke the news andthe truth to our daughter. I decide to stop trying to be my Dad and be me. Meganhas been at my side every step of the way even as a coconspirator in silence.
Outpatient pre-surgery famous last words #1 –“Less than 10% chance of anything going wrong” … well, 'I am the 10%' ending up witha collapsed lung (pneumothorax) and hospitalized overnight with a chest tubeinserted to inflate lung. Waiting to be discharged the next day I watched the lastsnow fall of the season from my room window.
Now a ‘we’, we learned the biopsy revealed thenodule was malignant and it was off to an Oncologist and Thoracic surgeon. Theyfelt a look and biopsy of lymph nodes would improve treatment options includingmaximizing surgery options.
Another outpatient procedure, an Endobronchial Ultrasound (EBUS) Biopsy of Lymph Nodes was scheduled for March 1.
Outpatient pre-surgery famous last words #2 -“Less than 1% chance of anything going wrong” - well, 'I am the 1%' asmy heart beat plummeted and stopped beating for 5 to 10 seconds during theprocedure.
Revived and admitted to the cardiac unit overnight andafter a thorough cardio work up I was released the next day and informed that1) I DID NOT have a heart attack and 2) my heart was in excellent condition. (‘Probablyin better shape than the surgical team you freaked out’, quipped onecardiologist.) … Best medical guess – vasovagal response.
After a night’s sleep at home I returned for anuclear cardiac stress test which I rocked and was cleared for lung surgery.
Unanswered – no heart beat for 10 seconds; do Iqualify for zombie status? Or was I just thrown back like an undersized fish? Sorry,no lights or tunnel to report, I slept through it all.
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(to be continued … since its inception Caregivingly Yours entrieshave courteously not exceeded 350 words and my ribs ache from surgery just trying to get these out)
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when caregivers get sick - lung cancer Mar 24when caregivers get sick – do you glow? Mar 25
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