[Magdalen] I met Doogie Howser.

[Sibyl Smirl]

On 2/3/16 11:11 AM, M J _Mike_ Logsdon wrote:
> My cutting went well, and Doogie (the VERY young surgeon) did very well.  A very nice, efficient fellow.  I was given what I was told was a big dose of Xanax ahead of time (no intravenous sedation there, nuh uh), and, to be honest, I did feel some lessening of anxiety, but not nearly enough to make the still quite painful surgery anything less than what it was.  He did two biopies, on the edge of and slightly into the worst part of the worst-remaining wound area.  Half-way through the second it was CLEAR I was feeling what was happening, so he shot me a third time with lidocaine, which for all intents and purposes, worked.  The leg wounds have been healing so well on their own, he told me to simply continue what I've been doing in terms of wound care.  Entire procedure, done in under 15 minutes.
>
> Next, soon a PET scan, blessedly possibly on a Saturday, and maybe even closer to home.  After that, one or more visits with Doc Kim at the cancer center, and of course, the whole ball of wax is hardly fully formed yet, so there could be more interesting news to come, but at least for now, no more cutting, and I can actually go to work every now and then for a change.

Last night I ran into a bit of synchronicity in my reading that made me 
think of you-- "A Doctor in the House: My Life with Ben Carson" by Candy 
Carson. In 2002, Dr. Ben had a personal bout with prostate cancer--not 
the usually (relatively) benign sort, but an aggressive and seriously 
malignant tumor.
   Quote:
	"When Ben tells this story, at this point he stops and says, 'If anyone 
ever tells you that a biopsy doesn't hurt...it doesn't hurt _them_. 
They leave out that portion of the sentence.  After about six biopsies, 
I'm thinking cancer isn't that bad, just stop with the biopsies.'"

He did, of course, grit his teeth, continue with what he needed, and has 
at this point been cancer-free for a long time.

My own personal relationship with Xanax (and I do remember you have 
atypical reactions to anaesthetics) is related to anxiety stemming 
originally from my Asperger's, especially panic attack alleviation.  My 
experience is that it's wonderful for anxiety, and doesn't do one damn 
thing for pain!

So, still praying for you.

-- 
Sibyl Smirl
I will take no bull from your house!  Psalms 50:9a
mailto:polycarpa3 at ckt.net