GRATITUDES:
1. Continued recovery
2. SPRING!
3. People-watching in the Radiology waiting room😄
4. Seeing the new babies coming in for their first follow-ups.

So, in my last post I mentioned that we were invited to a Roaring 20s-themed gala and that I would upload photographic evidence. Uhh, nope. Didn’t happen. I asked Dr. Bachier last week during my appointment whether it might be okay for me to attend an event like that and he told me to give it a pass, since I’m still not up-to-date on my new Covid vaccination cycle. I was a bit disappointed but relieved at the same time – I didn’t have to attempt to make clever small talk with near-total strangers and I was able to return my costume. All good!

I’m once again parked in the hospital’s dungeons awaiting yet another bone marrow biopsy. All of my initial pre-transplant tests are being re-run to find out how my body is recovering.

Aaaaand… now I’m in Prep & Hold, dressed in an ever-so-trendy hospital gown and attracting some odd attention due to my compression socks. I swear, I deserve a commission from the manufacturer if the nurses I’ve spoken to rush out to buy themselves a few pairs. The socks really are very comfy, much softer than the usual compression socks, and very warm, which would help the folks who work down here on Sub-level 2 because it’s freakin’ COLD. I’m glad I wore a long-sleeved jumper and brought one of my soft thick blankets because I’m going to need it once they wheel me into the room housing the giant electronic donut (aka the CT scanner). The nurses have once again questioned my decision to go for a local rather than sedation but honestly, unless they nearly knock me out, the pain is just as intense as the Lidocaine route and sometimes more so. Also, I CAN’T have sedation at this point because I didn’t fast last night and had breakfast and a large cup of coffee with cream this morning. So, yeah, it’s time to focus on the breath. And speak of the devil, here comes the nurse to ferry me over to the procedure room.

Well. That was fun. I was expecting a bone drill. I was NOT expecting a doctor to slowly hammer an access port into me like a guy tapping a sugar maple. Seriously, I could hear (and feel) some sort of mallet going TINK-TINK-TINK-TINK, driving the port into my iliac bone. That wasn’t the painful bit – that came later, when the doc withdrew the marrow sample, a sharp ache that lit up my right hip and leg all the way down to the ankle. Thankfully the procedure was very short, lasting only a few minutes, and I was cleaned up, bandaged, and on my way back to the Prep & Hold area for a very short recovery and then a wheelchair ride back to the clinic. I now have a VERY tender spot on my lower back that announces its presence every time I sit down. Ouch.