Mets Day 511: Biopsy at NIH

Jennifer and I arrived at NIH at 6:45 am.  NIH security procedures require each guest to exit the car while it is hand searched and screened for explosives.  Each person must pass through a metal detector, then your license is scanned and an NIH guest ID created.  Only then can you proceed to the parking area.  It usually takes about 15 minutes.  We got up to phlebotomy a bit after 7 am, where I gave 8 vials of blood.  We then went on to Interventional Radiology, where we waited.  At 8:05 am, Chelsea telephoned to say that she thought that her water had broken and was going to the hospital to be checked out.  I wished her good luck and asked that she let us know what was going on.

As soon as I got off the phone with Chelsea, we were called back.  We met Dr. Chang, the senior IR at NIH, who told us that he had consulted with Dr. Apolo and Dr. Wood, and that he would be doing the biopsy.  We were surprised, since we thought Dr. Wood was going to do the procedure.  Dr. Chang assured us that he ready to do it.  He called up the images from the CT and PET scans, and started muttering about how small the node was.  Jennifer and I kept looking at each other with worried expressions.  After a few minutes of muttering, Dr. Chang stood up and said “let’s go” and walked down the hall.  The nurse had me take off my shirt and put on a gown, and I blew a kiss to Jennifer and I walked into the OR.

 The nurse accessed my port, started a saline drip, then put on a nasal O2 line.  Meanwhile, Dr. Change was pressing an ultrasound unit against the left side of my neck and top of my chest, searching for the best way to access the enlarged node.  After a few moments, he was satisfied, and nodded to the nurse to add some sedative to my IV.  I remained conscious throughout the procedure, but felt no pain.  I listened as Dr. Chang first took a fine needle aspiration biopsy, then took three core needle samples.  There was a loud snap each time he cut a section of the node.  I was on the table for less than an hour.  

I was wheeled to the day hospital to be monitored for a couple of hours to make sure everything was ok, including eating and drinking.  I ordered breakfast, and the omelet was a great example of bad hospital food.  Jennifer shivered under an A/C vent until a nurse brought her a heated blanket, and we took turns dozing and texting Chelsea.  While her ultrasound showed a marked decrease in amniotic fluid, she was not leaking on an ongoing basis, and was showing no signs of being in labor. 

I was sent home after a couple of hours, as was Chelsea.  I won’t get the results of the biopsy until sometime next week.  I might become a grandpa first, which is fine with me.  The links of my family chain continue to be forged, and I can have joy in my posterity.