Bone Marrow Biopsy

The week really went well before Jim went in for his biopsy. He didn't mention anything to me about feeling anxious about the procedure. I think now that he is working, it helps occupy his mind with other things. Right before the procedure, however, Jim called me and said his stomach was in knots. It's just never easy. The doctor gave him some Ativan to help calm him. The procedure was somewhat difficult. The needle bent as they tried to insert it to draw out the bone marrow. The good news is that Jim has strong bones. The bad news was that he had to be poked again. Jim suggested they put handlebars on the bed he was lying on so he could grip something as he braced for the pain. The joke he tells is that it was all good. He "took it lying down!" After the procedure was over, we returned home where he immediately asked for morphine to help ease the pain. We ate a little dinner which did not sit well with Jim. The morphine may have upset his stomach a bit, and he became sick and laid low the rest of the night. Over the last day or so, he only has pain at the incision site when he moves a certain way.

The next step is an appointment on Monday for an EKG, chest x-ray and ultrasound of his heart. This is a follow-up procedure to the chemotherapy treatment to determine if any damage was done to his heart by the chemo. We are hoping for a good result from those tests as Jim has not exhibited any symptoms related to his heart at all. And we continue to wait (patiently) for the results of the bone marrow biopsy.

Thanks again for following us on this journey. We appreciate your love and support.