Bone Marrow Biopsy

Monday at the Farber was the time for my annual bone marrow biopsy.  Last year, I found the procedure to be extremely uncomfortable and painful, so they suggested that this time I could take an anesthetic to supplement the lidocaine, so I agreed.  I had Gretchen come with me so that she could drive us home.  However, this note wasn't in their system ahead of time, so I didn't get any prior instructions. Unknowingly, Gretchen and I went to the cafeteria for lunch before the procedure.  That was a mistake, because the IV they were planning to use required an empty stomach.  Oops!

One of the nurses came out to explain the remaining options.  I told her that none of this would be necessary if Zack was still there.  He moved out to California about two years ago, and everyone misses him.  I never had any issues with Zack doing my biopsy.  He was great!  The nurse said, "Let me tell you something.  The nurses here were the ones who trained Zack."  I replied, "Then he was a very good student."  She had to agree.  She gave me a couple of alternative options, including some anesthetic knockout pills, but in the end, I settled for just an Ativan to relax me.  That actually worked quite well.  I was able to relax more and this time was much better than last year.  I didn't feel any after effects at all, so I even drove home.  I think I'll opt for an Ativan (or 2) again next year.

Other than that, my numbers still look good.  I'll find out in the next couple of weeks whether the bone marrow biopsy confirms a deep remission.  My fingers are crossed.

We were planning to leave for Florida tomorrow to attend Pat Killingsworth's Myeloma Survival School in Amelia Island, north of Jacksonville.  It's so sad that Pat is no longer with us and I will never get a chance to meet him.  I'm looking forward though to giving my respects to his wife, Pattie, and meeting other MM survivors while there.  However, Gretchen isn't feeling well, so we changed our reservations to Friday instead.  I hope she feels better by then.

After that, we are planning to drive down to Cape Coral, Florida to visit Steve and Sue for a few days.  We are really looking forward to that.  The weather there is supposed to be in the 80's.  Yahoo! They told us to be sure to bring our bathing suits.  That sounds good to me!

Our fundraiser for the MMRF 5K Run/Walk is still doing pretty well.  We are over $6,000 in contributions so far, but we have a long way to go to meet our fundraising goal of $10,000.  If you haven't contributed yet, please consider making a donation to Team Epic for Bill.  Here is the website:

MMRF Boston 5K Walk/Run Team Epic for Bill

Thank you in advance!