I went ahead with the biopsy. My bed was wheeled into the icy cold OR, I saw the operating table, their navigation system, everything was in place. The last thing I remember is the stinging feeling of the anesthetic in my arm. Afterward, I woke up, shivering from the cold, but feeling ok. Adrienne was sitting next to my bed and the nurses put some warm towels and something that felt like a huge hairdryer under my sheets to warm me up. The neurosurgeon came over to tell me that everything went fine. I had to stay in the PACU (post-anesthetic care unit) the whole night. They monitored my EKG and oxygen saturation continuously. They also did some physical tests every hour, to see if my pupils still contracted when they shone a light in my eyes and whether I could still move my arms and legs. I hardly slept.
On Tuesday morning, the day after the biopsy, I felt ok. I was tired but I also didn’t sleep in the night. I didn’t have any pain. After speaking to the neurologist and the neurosurgeon, I was sent home. They had to wait for the pathologist to stain the biopsy samples and to analyze them. Then in a multidisciplinary meeting on Monday the 6th of March, they would discuss the outcome and call me, probably for an appointment to discuss treatment options. I could wait for this at home.