Good news! Had my MRI done yesterday and there is still the one (1) lesion....NO NEW LESIONS!!! That I am so very happy about!!! Last chemo was January 4th....so its a long time since.
NOW, I go back for pre-administration testing one day this coming week -- back to the city...no date set yet....(keep reading to find out why)
THEN, I have my ablation done on Wednesday, April 4th.
Dr. Brown is thinking this could be done as an out patient. She is the intervention radiologist. Dr. Allen said I may stay as an overnight patient.
Dr. Brown will take out my port too! and most likely at the same time.
Of course with any surgery there are things that could possibly happen - lung collapse or bleeding...or infection (with the port being taken out) - which is more unlikely because it is being removed rather than being put in - your body would see it as a foreign object which may cause infection.
I had blood work drawn on Monday, when I had my port flushed, and I was called by Dr. Allen's office --- not my oncologist who drew it -- told me that my potassium level is very low.....
I had my potassium checked by my family physician when I needed my blood pressure med renewed and he said he'd call if there was a problem...never heard from him, so I figured all was well....so when I got the call from NYC they said it was 2.8 which was lower than the one in January...so I called my family physician to ask what my results were....they didn't have the paperwork --- I did get the bill and paid that....but no info!!! So, she called me back (as they do the blood work in the same building) and it comes back as 3.2....still a little lower than it should be.
When I was doing this blood work at my family physician office they took two vials - one had the tournack (spell?) on and they wanted it drawn without the tournack....don't know why....but this last one at the oncologist office - they took from my port. I don't know why this is so low. I've been eating potatoes and yogurt with potassium in it...bananas are good but for some reason, I have a hard time eating them.....so now I have to go to the pharmacy and pick up a potassium supplement (or whatever it's called).
Dr. Brown said if it's too low - they don't want to do surgery...so that's why I am waiting until the end of the week to go for the pre-admission testing.
Charlie and Paul came with me to the city. Thank God Paul knows his way around.
We had the MRI appointment set for 2 pm on 55th St. and then Dr. Brown has her office in the hospital on York Ave - which is about 15 city blocks away. This office for the MRI looked like a clinic...the looks didn't impress me at all! I waited and waited for over 2 hours. They took me in the room to change and get 'hooked up' to the IV for the contrast and then the nurse said the radiologist would be with me in about 3 or 4 minutes -- which turned out to be - at least - 20 minutes! No magazines to read...just sitting there. Finally got into the room and they wanted three (3) different contrasts....making this a full 60 minutes rather than 45 minutes....
MRI's aren't bad...they are very loud - but they give you ear plugs. It's very chilly in there - that's when I'm happy that I still get some 'warm flashes'. You have to hold your breath for a few seconds...I think there were 4 that I held my breath for 8 seconds....the rest were 20 seconds and the most 30 seconds!!! That's hard!!! Take a deep breath, blow out a little and hold. That works the best for me. Doing the 'take a breath and hold'....is very hard! I think just letting some of the air out makes it easier.
So, the MRI ran into 4:25 - and my appt at the hospital was at 4...we called to say we were on our way. There was a shuttle that we could have taken but we would have had to wait another 15 minutes and there was traffic at that time...so we walked - 10 or 15 or maybe 20 city blocks...it wasn't all that bad. Paul was so hungry that we stopped in a grocery store and he bought a salad to hold him until dinner - heck, we were late already! Got to the office and only waited about 10 minutes and then we met Dr. Brown.
After all that - we went to dinner....now, remember we got out of the hospital about 5:45 ish....AND there are restaurants all over the place - one next to another and one just about every block....well, we walked, and walked and walked and walked some more!!!! Charlie had gone to an oyster bar with Nicholas that he was looking for...it turned out that it was at Grand Central Station --- way out of our way! So, we walked some more!!! Finally, yes, finally Charlie decided on a restaurant...it was so tiny I don't think they had a bathroom in there. They only had 6 tables and three were tables for 4. Food was good and expensive. We finally got out about 8 pm then went to the subway station then got the train back to Secaussus and then we drove our hour ride back home.
My feet are killing me...I think its because I have that numbness in my toes from the chemo - so there is a lot of pressure on my heals....it hurts when I walk! But I'll get over that. I just can't believe how much walking we did - to find a place to eat! I did NOT complain once about walking so much to find a place to eat! Good grief, I would have chosen four before Charlie finally decided!
