Recently my hematologist, whom I go to for hemolytic anemia, noticed some abnormalities in my blood. Enough that he ordered a bone marrow biopsy. I almost blew off the biopsy--the thought of it terrified me immensely. I also made the mistake of googling the procedure and that worked me up even more. Finally I scheduled the biopsy--the first day of my two week Christmas break. Now, I must admit, it wasn't as horrible as I had imagined. Of course the Demerol I insisted they give me relaxed me somewhat. When the "Biopsy guy? came in, I had to laugh and say something to him, as I recognized him from 2 years ago as a man I was sitting near at a local coffee shop who was rather intoxicated and loud and extremely funny. Once I said something, we realized we had several friends in common and that led to some small talk, which also helped to relax me.
Then came the waiting. Waiting. Waiting. and once again my imagination began to run away with me. I kept thinking, "It's bad news and they don't want to call me right before Christmas, so they are waiting." Sure enough, the first working day after Christmas, they call--answering the phone, I was holding my breath, waiting for the bombshell. Whew, it never came. The doc said" Well, the biopsy doesn't look horrible." He went on to say that there were no indications of Leukemia and that my red blood cells may be showing some early signs of displasia. Hmm....the white blood cells are what caused them to order the biopsy, so I found that strange. Although my red blood cells are white I've been seeing a hematologist since 2006. My doc is retiring on the 31st of this month, so I will see a new doc in January to go over the results of the test thoroughly and see if we are going to follow a treatment plan of any sort. At least the worrying is over for now.
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