Back from Ozbiddle

Well the long island college hospital isn't nearly as bad as the words 'long island' would have you think,

Arrived, as instructed, at the emergency room - where we were forced to wash our hands, take a bracelet and a seat.

An hour later I'm ushered into a back room that looks like an emergency room. Sick people everywhere and a little cubicle for me. Four hours later I have a bed on the fifth floor. Sharing with a gaseous 62 year old alcoholic with a penchant for a fight - but a bed non-the less. Dear Lord how he smells.

Told to get a good night's sleep and am woken for IV, blood gas, vitals, inhalers (*2) and the sound of alarms (7 times) as Victor Meldrew with bowel problems rips out his IV over and over.

6am and my pulmonolost comes around. 7am and it's my GP. Nice touch. He tells me that he's not seen all of my tests but has had phone reports - everything seems to be contained above the abdomen. A good sign. Still when people see the size of the tumor on the CT scan they immediately touch me in a consoling way. That's scary.

Bronchioscope planned for 1pm. 11am they come get me, there's been a cancellation - Jude has just arrived for visiting. She has to go home. Scope shows that three parts of the lung are great and that one has collapsed from outside pressure. That pressure is coming from a tumor of some sort - but as the lungs are clean they can't grab a biopsy. Back up to the room, Jude comes over - old alcoholic holds the worst of his gas and his temper.

So clean bill of health on lungs cancer wise... lots of muscus though and still no tumor samples for the guys in pathology.

That means a needle biopsy. Tomorrow. But that's all that I know. No-one comes around, no-one tells me when it's due. Another LONG night (where I try to persuade my nurse to move to Singapore and she counters with the promise to take 5 days in Spain).

7.30 pulmonologist. Needle biopsy early. 11.30 they come for me. It's biopsy under CT... so that the needle can be guided. They take first CT scan and get a surprise. The tube yesterday has cleared out a lot of the liquid on my lung and suddenly the actual mass of tumor looks smaller than they'd supposed. More good news.

The test takes about an hour. They stick me with a hollow guide needle, ram the biopsy needle down that one and take strips from the diseased tissue. Then they leave me pinned and run the sample down to pathology - who want more. We repeat. Freeze some samples and I'm done.

I'm parked in a corridor for nearly two hours while they wait for a porter to come get me... but when I get back discharge papers are signed and I head for home (with Jude carrying my bag)

It's been a long couple of days that in turn have brought out the best (an ability to hand my body over and let anyone do anything to it without complaint) and worst (the snob - LONG ISLAND?) in me.

Results back Monday (it's Thanksgiving) and it seems encouraging to date. No symptoms, no spread, clean lungs and a tumor smaller than they imagined.

Of course there's bound to be a kick in the rubber parts at some point - but that's another day. And I have another day.

Happy Thanksgiving All

Steve