Tough Cookie

So on Tuesday, September 30th, I went in to get cut open and see what the hell this lump in my arm was all about. I was pretty nervous about the procedure. I mean, I didn't think i was going to die or anything, it was just that I was going to be cut open; not all that fun. So I arrive there and wait for about an hour to get into a room. Then I wait another 45 minutes or so to get things started. I ask if it's okay to listen to music while the procedure takes place. Indeed it was. I had loaded up my phone with a bunch of Underworld; my favorite band. I turn it on as the procedure starts. They clean it off, spray some cold stuff on it, inject the numbing solution and start working. It wasn't that bad. There were plenty of uncomfortable feelings, pressure and just odd thoughts as she told me about how she had her finger in there and was feeling around. Sadly, she was not able to get the entire lump out. She said that it was firmly attached and that if the lump had been a little more giving and could be pulled a little toward the outside, she would have got it. But she didn't feel comfortable trying to get the whole thing. Instead she cut a pie wedge chunk and a little bit more to send to the pathologist. She said it would take about a week or so to get anything back. They wrapped up my arm after what I found out a few days later was two stitches, and sent me on my way. They set up an appointment for a redress in two days.

Two days later I come in for the redress. So hears what I thought was happening, take off my bloody bandages, and put clean ones one. That was not what was happening at all! Well I suppose that did happen after why I was really there. So it would seem that they had to leave a special gauze in there to soak up the drainage, seepage, whatever. So today they needed to remove the old gauze and pack new gauze. This is not fun. At all. I came prepared for a new wrap job. I was on zero pain killers and they decided not to numb the area. I'm not really sure why they didn't do that. I remember breaking my ankle and that was really painful. This is probably a close second only because it was only for about 5 minutes instead of weeks. Although, I have been dealing with pain for weeks now, just not as excruciating as what took place this day. Once it was over the Doctor and assistant kept asking if I was okay. They apparently were amazed at how well i endured the pain. During the repack the Doctor told me it was okay to scream profanity and call her names as she was married to a truck driver. I did a lot of breathing and concentration; and squeezing the assistants ring and pinky fingers. They also mentioned that it was one of the biggest packing jobs they have ever had to do. By the end of it Dr. Sprangel said that I was one tough cookie. I laughed and told her that's what my wife calls me; Cookie. She told me to tell her that I was no longer a cookie, but a tough cookie.



I left the Doctor's office and headed over to my Mom's to help her set up her new TV and PS3. Thankfully, I had asked Curtis to come over and help me because I was in no condition ot pull cables around and reach for different electronics. Curtis was a big help. I got Mom's PS3 up and running, put a game on it for her and headed back to Ashland.

The next day I woke up feeling like crap. I had a headache and felt nauseous. I got dressed and started drinking a glass of milk. I didn't make it through the glass of milk before it was time to head to the bathroom and remove that milk instantly from my body. I called into work, which I really didn't want to do. Went to bed and drank some water which came back up later anyway. Finally around 7:30pm I started to feel slightly better and had some soup. Saturday I tried to go into work and do some stuff I was going to do on Friday only to find that the computers were borked and I couldn't do anything on them. So I ended up hanging with Ginger the rest of the day. Sunday was spent playing Ninja Gaiden 2. (See my review over at Nosh's Game Emporium. http://noshimitsu-games.blogspot.com/ )

Monday was time for another repack on the arm. This time, I procured a driver and took two of my pain pills when heading out. They also used some numbing stuff. This time went way smoother and was over before I knew it. There were no results from the biopsy yet, so hopefully Thursday when I go in again for the redress.

Well that was long probably boring for any of you who read this. Work is getting better. they're giving me actual spots to edit and stuff. I still have a ton to learn, but it's a lot of fun. Guess that's about it for now. Until next time, same Bat time, same Bat channel.

-BJ