My second biopsy scar
They told me on Friday that the biopsy could happen at any moment during the weekend, but that after 18h no new surgeries would be planned. I had to stay sober, no eating and drinking, since 0.00am and during the whole day until 18h. I waited the whole day on Saturday. At 17.30h they brought in my evening dinner and I started counting down the minutes that I could eat. Regardless of the infusion, I was feeling incredibly hungry and the food smell coming from my evening dinner in the corner wasn’t helping. At 18h I was told by the nurse that I should continue staying sober for a little longer because an OR might free up soon. At 18.20h the neurosurgeon showed up at my bed, telling me that there was still hope that they could do the biopsy soon. At 18.45h I was wheeled off to the OR. They put me to sleep in the OR and I woke up in de PACU (post anesthetic care unit). Hooked up to several devices (EKG, blood pressure, blood oxygenation, infusion, etc.) I had to stay there until 9 in the morning. They checked me every hour, just like last time. Only this time I had a very stiff neck and a hurting scar. Last time the incision was so small that it closed with a single stitch that was hardly found when they wanted to remove it. This time the cut was huge, the neurosurgeon indeed told me that he wouldn’t use the same technique as last time. I hardly slept of course in the PACU, but everything went fine. Apart from a very stiff neck, and being very tired I am doing ok. They told me that they took a lot of biopsy samples and that the pathologist confirmed that they were representative (no healthy tissue). The pathologists will work on the histology and can hopefully make a clear diagnosis soon that the hematologists can work with.