RADCAT 4 really does mean priority result. Rhode Island Hospital called Thursday and said do you want to do this tomorrow? Since I probably should have done it three months ago I said tomorrow’s good, say when, ya mo b there. So they checked me in at 7:45 a.m., IV port goes in, they check blood pressure (110/76) pulse (72) respiration (14) oxygen saturation (100%) then into the CT scanner and…
And then you don’t remember much after that.
They dose you with fentanyl and midazolam and do what they have to do. A 6-inch needle goes in through your back, about level with the bottom rib. That’s the way into the abdominal cavity because all they have to go through in your back is muscle.
The midazolam really messes with your head. I don’t remember getting back into my clothes.
I was in the procedure room, they were saying we’re done here, then a nurse is walking me to the front door of the hospital in that dream where everybody’s dressed and you’re the weirdo. But wait, I’m dressed, too, and, uh… oh yeah… biopsy…
According to the report in my file, it took the doctor 15.5 seconds under CT-guided fluoroscopy to place the needle against the lymph node he wanted to sample. The first needle is hollow, it acts as a guide for a cutting needle that goes down through the middle of it. So dig it: a target 3/16ths of an inch wide on a major blood vessel and he accurately places the guide needle against it through 6 inches of people meat in the time you and I take to pour a cup of coffee. That’s pretty cool. With so many retrograde voices shouting nonsense, do speak up for science and expertise in our times.
The doctor took two tissue samples from one of those brightly lit nodes the PET scan had identified as intensely interested in eating, just plain cuckoo for cocoa puffs. The lab has the samples now, we’ll see what they say.
That’s about it. I’m going to saddle up the iron piggy and ride to Vermont in the morning. Jonny and Eduardo plan to be there late Wednesday, early Thursday. We’ll finish up the exterior work on the building.
Closing here with a photo that came in over the weekend from my friend Robyn in Montana… lambs born on the Lode Ranch this spring.
Tony DePaul, September 4, 2023, Cranston, Rhode Island, USA
Hey dear friend! Brilliantly written description. I’ll be burning some sage, parsley, rosemary, and time. Speaking of, maybe a fall trip down to Tybee… just tossing that out. Kiss the bride and daughters for me. And stay cool. Plus stay as chill as you can. Hugs!
Thought I saw a typo, time for thyme, and then I got it… time for Tybee. Never say never.
Thinking about you in your trial. Tough to read about but really tough on you going through it. Thanks for writing it down as many of us might face it in the future and need to know what to expect. Enjoy the ride and the time in the woods. Very therapeutic.
Thanks, Roger. It was a hot ride up. The whole region’s getting a September look at July right now.
Passed a quiet night in my tent, not a breath of air moving. Down at 8:30, up at 4. It looks as if Jonny won’t be here until late Friday, early Saturday. I’ll find things I can do on my own. And there’s always reading & writing.
Thanks for being in touch!
I’m not as word-gifted as your more literate fans but we do think of you every day and wish you the strength to see this through. My doctor says positive thinking is half of any medical recovery so keep up the effort.
I don’t doubt that at all. There could be something there in the mind that’s as real as anything else going on down at the quantum level. What is this world we perceive, anyway? Energy that behaves like particles, like waves, like particles and waves. I’m open to the mystery 🙂
Thanks so much for writing, Robert.
Best of luck, Tony. Enjoy your time in Vermont. We were there a couple of weeks ago visiting my oldest son. I’m still amazed by how much open, wooded land there is once you get off the main roads. Beautiful state.
It really is. Jenna and Jonny’s place backs up to a state wildlife preserve, 7,800 acres I think. A “bear corridor” they call it. I don’t know where the bears are going to or from; as you say, it’s woods everywhere. Hi to Nancy & family.
…Just more good thoughts Tony! I’m glad you’re going to get to be on the road and sleep in the open air…..Looking forward to a visit with you and Pam when you get back. Your friends are all around you both!
Babs
Thank you, Fabo. Hi to Jimmy and the beefhead.
All the oncology chat drags up old ghosts from days gone by. I forgot how much it sucked.
I am so sorry you have to go through it twice. Because it truly is miserable.
This is nothing. I’m still blown away by your story, D. How they told you to get your affairs in order, you went out and found the one surgeon who knew the most about your rare type—and he happened to be right nearby at Johns Hopkins. It’s something like 15 years now? Has to be…
All appendages crossed for a good result, amigo.
Hey! From time to time I wonder how the squirrel jihad’s going. Are you still at Yosemite?
Best wishes. The Projo underappreciated your talent, but your colleagues always have. Your vibe is strong and resilient, and your life journey, with its highs and lows, is finely rendered. God speed.
Thanks old shipmate 🙂 Hope you & the family are well.
Sending all my good wishes for great results from your tests. Your description of the procedure is just unbelievable. Keep your eyes peeled, someone may scoop it up and use it in a medical journal. Enjoy your Vt. trip.
Thanks, Ellie. Loading up the iron piggy as we speak…
Hi Tony
I’m Sending you positive energy brother.
Keep ‘em’ coming
You Da man!!!!!
You’re just saying that because it’s true.
Well done Tony. I would have needed 10mg Valium to walk into that room.
Thanks for the report. This errant cell hunt ain’t easy.
Indeed. Thanks for reading, Alix.
Wow. Yes modern medicine and science ARE amazing these days. I’ve never heard a description before of what you just experienced. Well defined.
I like your style Tony. Afterwards, get on the piggy and ride to Vermont. Just like that!
Thinking of you and juju from the Eastern Sierra is sailing your way!
Thanks, Denise. How about that Johnny Danger, though? He did it hundreds of times over the course of his 17-year struggle with EMC. The doc who did the biopsy here, I told him about Danger just before things got under way. He said oh yeah, cryoablation, we do that.
Danger pioneered it! First patient to undergo the treatment at UCLA.
NEVER forget that about Johnny Danger, Farmer Jon. So amazing! Yeah, and ‘they’ do cryo because of HIM! I hope you emphasized that. I sure miss that guy.
Tony- sending you good vibes, Aloha, prayers and the best of luck from the bottom of my heart. If the biopsy didn’t take your legs away, keep walking or riding until you can’t and may that be a long time. A lot of us little Bandar wannabes are here for you.
lol! Thanks, Joe. I love that strip from last Friday. All that week Mike did such wonderful work, above and beyond his usual if that’s even possible.
“…retrograde voices shouting nonsense”, I like that. I am glad for you Tony, that the docs were quick and efficient. Enjoy your ride to Vermont, don’t work too hard (I bet you’re a little sore!). I just got back from a 160+ mile roundtrip on the Versys to visit friends in the Poconos; it was nice to get away and hang out under some tall Oaks for a couple days.
Cool. I didn’t know you still had the 650, Will. Three bikes in the stable, then?
Four: there’s the ’84 Nighthawk that runs but isn’t registered right now, and a spare parts bike for the XL250 (hard to keep up with it all:>). And of course, the most recent ’09 KLX250SF.
And I’ll guess the one you miss is the FJR-1300.
Great to read your post even if you went through quite a medical procedure. I like the way you write. You have a unique voice. Prayers going out for you. Let me know if you would like to meet for breakfast on any Tuesday or Thursday morning.
Pawtucket RI, the Modern Diner… see you there!
Hey Tony, we’re so sorry the troll has resurfaced but sending ultra good vibes for workable results! Science is king and we’re lucky to be the subjects…..love to you all. D&T
Thank you, Donna. If Tom’s up for flyfishing the headwaters of the Kennebec this fall, tell him to be in touch. It’s been too long.
Sending you positive vibes from Smokey Alberta where we’ve now set a record for number of smoke filled days and nights. Sometimes it feels like the entire Province is on fire. Great description of the procedure. Medicine sure has improved in many ways. Praying you can beat this thing into submission.
I’ve been reading about that Gerrie and thinking of you and Bill. Thanks so much for following the Nickels blather.
Tony, your writing simply knocks me out! Aside from the subject matter, it’s about you and your body. Incredible. Really fantastic writing. God speed my friend.
Thanks, Michael.
Hey, I thought about you last week when I had an email from a British director I’ve known for years. He’s been living and working in China since 2015 or so. He asked me to send him a script just for yuks. I sent him the one you had optioned way back when.
Told him I’d want to read it first 🙂, make sure it’s not totally embarrassing. On a fresh read I discovered that I still like that story! Pleasant surprise.
Told him I didn’t dare read one of my old scripts at the dinner table… might suddenly stick a fork in my forehead…
Keep the rubber side down, the horizon level.
Gonna.
So Babudan really is living and working in Rhode Island now. Glad he didn’t dip his arrow in toxin first.
Hang tough. Waiting can be the hardest part. And thanks for the update. We’re all concerned.
Thanks. Yeah, it’s not a kettle that bears watching. It’s going to be what it’s going to be, I’m going to carry on with everyday life in the meantime. Looking forward to a quiet night in the woods tomorrow.
Sending you as much positive energy vibes as I can render. Love ya’, brother.
I’ll take all the good juju I can get. Thanks, Brad.
Wow,that was a good description.Nice to go for a ride after all that.
Iron piggy wants to run.