disclaimer. Tonight’s post may be TMI for some. I had a biopsy procedure done today on my prostate. Proceed accordingly.
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As we pulled out of the driveway after lunch today, a song was on my lips:
“I’m off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz….
because because because because..
because of all the wonderful things he does…”
I looked at my wife and we laughed . ..especially when we got to that line about the “wonderful things he does.”
(we were both thinking about the “wonderful thing” the Doctor was going to be doing to me in little over an hour 
My PSA count has been hovering slightly above normal now for a couple of years, and at my last appointment in June , it jumped 2 points.
Dr looked @ me and suggested we needed to consider taking a biopsy to rule out cancer. I told him the higher # was just a lab error 
He liked my attitude, but said I needed to retake the blood work , just in case
The next day I had the blood work done again and when the results came back , it had 2 more points.
When Pam the Dr’s nurse called with the new numbers, I agreed, I would schedule the biopsy…..
reluctantly
The procedure is on an outpatient basis…no anesthetic . Nurse and Dr both said it tends to feel like someone was snapping me on the rear with a rubber band.
That didn’t sound too bad going in….
Now that I’ve experienced it first hand, I would give you a different word picture….
It felt like the Wicked Witch took her broom handle and inserted it
somewhere it didn’t belong,
snapped it of,
and I could still feel the slivers 8 hours later.
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After everything was all finished and we headed to the check out counter, the girl at the reception desk said they were wondering what had happened to me.
I told her we got lost in the bowels of their clinic. (keep in mind I’m @ a urology clinic she was impressed w/ my quick wit.
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After today’s procedure, I’m more committed than ever to grow old gracefully…..
We have a friend Helen ..she’ in her mid 80′s…
She’s my role model
She has the sweetest spirit.
Every time we see her, I come away encouraged.
She still has her mind, though her body is shot.
She’s been through enough physical pain and heartache for 3 people.
(within a year’s time she buried her husband , a sister, and a grandson who chose to end his own life)
I asked her after the death of her grandson, how in the world she did it???
What was the secret of her resilient spirit?
It’s not that I don’t grieve, she told me..because she did.
She said, she’d learned that you have to let things go,
Sometimes, things will happen that won’t make any sense…but you have to keep living.
She’d been through a lot and spoke with authority.
Writing this tonight, makes me want to stop and see her again…being around people like that gives me hope.
How about you…
Do you know an older person who is getting old gracefully? How so?
Tell me more!
Time to hit the sack. I’m supposed to lay low for a couple of days. I’ll try.
Tags: attitude, Christianity, faith, health, Life, medicine, personal, prostrate cancer, psa, spirituality, thoughts
August 3, 2012 at 9:48 pm |
Sorry, this does not sound like fun. Good thing you and Mrs. DM have good senses of humor. Hope the tests come back OK.
Have a happy weekend! Hope your apple harvest was/is plentiful and beetle-bite free, too. ~ Lily
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Thanks Lily, my sense of humor does tend to kick in when I’m under the gun. The apples we’ve gotten so far (16 bushel) are delish, and the beetle traps keep collecting those Japanese beetles @ a steady clip. Always fun to hear from you. DM
August 4, 2012 at 8:06 am |
Don’t you just love the light-hearted description the nurse and Doctor gave you? “Oh it’ll just feel a little like … ” and the reality is completely different? Grr!
I hope your tests come back soon and that you get good news. I’m praying for you, MJ
Now compared to childbirth, I’m sure this was nothing..(having been @ all of our children’s births I just have that sense) so I’m not whining as much as just painting some new word pictures for the next guy who needs this procedure… 
DM
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thanks for praying ! My mother mentioned to my wife this morning that when my dad had the procedure done, he said the description didn’t fit the experience either
August 6, 2012 at 8:08 am |
I too have been there. In 2008, I had a prostate biopsy done. They told me that they were going to take 6 samples… after my 11th one, I told them I had had enough. I have given my other friends a heads up on what to expect because what they say it will be is a far cry from what it was.
My results came back negative and soon afterwards my PSA went back to normal. I have to get it checked every six months but no further biopsy procedures. Thank you, Lord!!! I am praying for you and those results. Keep me posted my friend that I have never met… we may have more in common than some of my closest friends.
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thanks for your comments David…don’t you just love that picture of the Wicked witch? It cracks me up every time I look @ it. They told me they were going to take between 8 and 10 samples..I quit counting after # 5…in the end, I got tested 12 times. thanks for your prayers as well DM
August 6, 2012 at 8:48 pm |
Hope you’re sitting a bit more easily by now, and that maybe that “sliver” has worked its way out. As for growing old gracefully, I do not know anyone who is doing that. About the best I’ve seen is my grandmother going senile (or whatever the latest terminology is for the cheese slipping off your cracker) and in her last few years she was the most happy and lighthearted I’d ever seen her. No more grudges, no more overthinking – just watch some TV, laugh because something tickles you, nap when you feel like it, and have ice cream when it sounds like a good idea. I learned more from her in her last few “fragmented” years about how to enjoy life than I did in the decades I knew her before.
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Reading your description of your grandma’s last days…wow…she sounded like a sweet heart. I’ve heard people tend to either get more mean or on rarer occasions, more mellow. I hope I’m the latter…appreciate your well wishes… DM
August 7, 2012 at 12:15 pm |
And the results? (hugs)
_____________________As of today, I”m still waiting to hear back DM
August 8, 2012 at 11:28 am |
Dear DM! Sorry to hear your experience with the wicked witch. Hope all your results will be negative. When do you expect them back? Thinking of you.
DM
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Thanks for checking in! Dr Called this morning..said the results came back great!
August 8, 2012 at 3:36 pm |
wanted to thank each of you for your concerns! The Dr called today and said my results came back fine. That was good news.
October 3, 2012 at 8:44 am |
Yay to your good results! And thanks for a really funny blog about a not-so-fun experience.