THE NEEDLE & THE DAMAGE DONE

Our return home from Disney was a return from fantasy to reality and my reality was that I had to go for a biopsy.  Sure I know people get these all the time but when it is happening to you it is downright scary.  Especially when you have never had this type of thing before.  Regular check ups with my family doctor and the birth of my two kids were pretty much the extent of my experience with medical appointments up to this point in my life.

Summer home - Manitoulin Island 2006

We had to leave the kids with a friend so that Mike could go with me to the biopsy appointment.  He refused to let me go alone.  Love that guy.  At this point our daughter, Tasza, who was only eight years old at the time, had no idea what was going on.  Alex was 11 and he knew something was up.  He had overheard Mike on the phone when I had called to tell him the news that the mammogram results indicated the need for the biopsy.  We had told him the truth because we couldn't very well lie to him now and say everything was hunky dory and then if later on down the road we got some bad news we would have to tell him something different.  That would totally blow away Alex’s trust.

Mike drove me to the biopsy appointment and waited for me.  I didn't feel nervous or scared or anything once I got there.  The medical staff were really nice and made me feel quite comfortable.  If you have a fear of needles then you might find the procedure a bit daunting.  The procedure involved local anesthesia and then a biopsy needle was placed into my left breast and tissue samples were removed.  The samples would be sent to a pathology lab for examination.

The procedure didn't take too long and there really was no pain or anything.  Afterwards, when the freezing started to disappear, I was a bit sore and a bit tender but not really too bad at all.  Mike and I spent some time together afterwards and decided not to rush home right away. 

Retail therapy seemed to be what was in order.   It occurred to me that I had also gone shopping after my mammogram and after the initial appointment with my family doctor too.  Hmmm...perhaps there was a pattern developing?  I think shopping just took my mind off of things for awhile.  Anyway, it made me feel better.  This was not good for our bottom line but I suppose at the time I didn't really care about that.  I guess I was being a bit selfish and thinking that I deserved something new for what I was dealing with at each step.

The next step was going to be huge.  Waiting for biopsy results.

The Needle & The Damage Done - Neil Young