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Murray - all I can think of right now is "The best laid plans of mice and men . . ." but your smiling attitude will beat this!! I am smiling, too (it's contagious) Peggy ----- Original Message ----- From: "Murray Charters" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Thursday, August 14, 2003 3:05 AM Subject: Update Re: Houston, We Have A Problem... > Mornin' All, > > just a quick message to relay yesterday's happenings... > > * * * > > Brenda's and my day, > she was with me all the way. > > We checked in at VGH Admitting around 12:00 Noon, Aug 13, 2003 > > I was there for a routine out-patient procedure - thoracentesis - (draining of the pleural effusion that is > restricting the capacity in my left lung). I handed the admitting person my wrist band from the previous week, my CARE > Card, and checked in in a few minutes, (they were expectin' me) and proceeded down one floor to a Day Bed area just > down the hall from the Broncoscopy suite. Get yer duds off, put this skimpy gown on backwards, old hat stuff!! Wait > for the porter t' wheel ya down the hall... > > Soon I was in the Broncoscopy suite, where I had a Broncoscopy last Thurs., for biopsy of the tumor found in the upper > lobe of my left lung. Ahh.. there was a familiar face. Anne hooked up the ECG, applied the Blood Pressure Cuff, the > finger clip monitor, and tested the equipment... Old hat! Ready t' roll.... > > Dr. Ayas was to tap the pleural effusion on Wed. Aug. 13th. at 13:00 Hours... He was late... 13 minutes... not that > I'm superstitious... > > He intended to use a biopsy needle to drain 1 to 1.5 litres of fluid... which would allow my lung to expand, restore > temporarily my lung capacity, possibly allow me to rest a bit easier and get a decent sleep... > > The thoracentesis procedure also allows biopsy of the pleural effusion. > > Dr. Ayas explained the procedure and I signed the consent form. > > This was 'sposed t' be a quick outpatient procedure / roughly 1 hour plus 1 hour rest and observation, after which I > would return home. > > They had me sit up, bend slightly forward over a bedside table. He prepped the area on my back, applied a local > freezing and got started. That's when Parkinson's showed up in the form of hypotension... Suddenly I felt dizzy, my > blood pressure dropped, and my heart rate ticked down into the 30's... I had forgotten to warn them that I'd > experienced hypotension before... I was probably somewhat dehydrated as well... fasting, fluids only from the night > before... I think I only had two glasses of water... one with each set of Parkinson's meds... I'm sure I went pasty > white... almost passed out! > > Now I needed an IV tap... and Oxygen... Sooooo ... lay back and relax, suck up some Oxygen... IV tap in, wait.... > > About an hour late we resumed the thoracentesis procedure... Things were still not going as planned... Dr. Ayas had > difficulty getting the fluid to drain... Finally we had about 750ml of clear straw colored fluid... Not all that's in > there, but enough for today... > > An imbalance between the venous-arterial pressure and the pressure within the pleural space (oncotic pressure) causes > transudative effusions. Transudates contain few protein cells and little solid material content and have a clear, pale > yellow color. > > Dr. Ayas explains that this fluid looks fine under the circumstances. > > In due course they wheeled me down the hall for a chest Xray to confirm where we're at now... One from the front, one > from the left side... Okay... "Kodak" moments are finit.. Back to the day bed area for rest and observation... It's > 15:30 now... > > I get apple juice and my Parkinson's meds at 16:00 right on time... (I have my own meds and my 3 ring binder with me) > > Dr. Ayas reappears around 16:40... He has seen the Radiologist, the Xray is Ok. and I can be discharged. > > Wait... Wait... we have a few questions... When will we be informed of the results of this biopsy? (perhaps Friday, > but more likely Monday) > > If this biopsy is negative then is the 3 cm. (roughly) tumor in my lung the primary cancer for sure? (the oncologist > will make that diagnosis)... > > What do we call that tumor? What type of cancer cells do I have so far? (It is an "adenocarcinoma" probably in Stage > 3A) > > HHHhhhmmmmmmmmm.... > > adenocarcinoma, bronchiolo-alveolar > A carcinoma thought to be derived from epithelium of terminal bronchioles, in which the neoplastic tissue extends along > the alveolar walls and grows in small masses within the alveoli. Involvement may be uniformly diffuse and massive, or > nodular, or lobular. The neoplastic cells are cuboidal or columnar and form papillary structures. Mucin may be > demonstrated in some of the cells and in the material in the alveoli, which also includes denuded cells. Metastases in > regional lymph nodes, and in even more distant sites, are known to occur, but are infrequent. > http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/omd?adenocarcinoma,+bronchiolo-alveolar > > What's next? (Wait for this biopsy, consult with the Oncologist) > > The IV comes out, the vital signs monitor is switched off, and I don my street duds... > > It's 17:00 hours... > > I learned one small lesson... remember to think about Parkinson's and hypotension when you have any hospital > "procedure"... > > It is better to discuss this upfront and be fully prepared... (I had my 3 ring binder, we had briefly dicussed my meds, > but hadn't considered hypotension or dehydration... > > I hope you all keep on smilin' and doin' your very best... > > I am! > > cheers ...... murray > > > * * * > Murray Charters <[log in to unmask]> > http://www.geocities.com/murraycharters/ > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn