This morning, we got up early, checked out of the motel, and headed off to the UltraSound test to see what is going on with my lymph-nodes.
We got there, supposedly for prep work at 7:30 and the test at 8:00. I actually got called in around 8:30am, and the test started closer to 9:00am! So much for starting the day smoothly. (Cheryl did get a lot of work done on one of the hundreds of puzzles that are scattered around this place!)
The prep was mostly to have me change into one of those silly shirts, then lay down on a bed. The draped me with a warm blanket (love those - that place is cold!), and left me there for about an half hour!
Then a technician came in and did the ultrasound test. They basically just run a wand over your skin, and get images of whatever is below the wand on a screen. They scanned both sides of my neck, and then the tech went off to have someone read the results. She came back in later to tell me they were going to take a few measurements, scanned me some more, then left for another 20 minutes.
Finally, a doctor came in and said that everything looked fine, but because of my history, they were going to do a needle biopsy of the lymph node in question. Great! More needles!
The biopsy was interesting. I had to lay on my side while this was going on. There was a monitor right in front of me that the doctor watched, and I watched as well. They numbed the area with more of that lidocane stuff, so I did not feel much of anything.
The actual biopsy involved poking a needle into my neck while watching where it was going on the screen. It took two tries to actually make contact with the node, and, based on the screen, what they were looking at was tiny. The node was about four times the size of the tip of the needle! The doctor kind of sawed a piece of the node off (it only takes a few cells, he said) and they get sucked up through the needle.
Once they were done, Cheryl got to come in and we waited for a quick reading on what they found. About a half hour later, we were told that everything looked normal, but the official results will not be available for a day or so.
Heading back home
Finally, after over a dozen appointments, we were heading back home, with good results for most things, but a few test results outstanding. We are not sure about my nose, and need official results for the other tests. But, all things considered, it was a good trip!
Except for the truck carrying a huge chunk of bridge part that tried to make a turn and wiped out a traffic pole and a bunch of lights, then got stuck right in the middle of the road blocking everything. Traffic was snarled for miles!
We finally made it home in time for Cheryl to make an afternoon meeting, and me to make a nap before dinner.
Thanks for the support
Once again, Cheryl and I are thanking all of you for the support. Cheryl managed to send out some emails, and text messages to folks about what we were going through, and handled the dozens of inquiries she got while we waited. We do appreciate all of the kind thoughts and prayers. God came through the way we were all hoping this time, and we are especially grateful for that!
I will post the final results and let you know what comes next. We suspect that we will be back to Houston sometime soon for the "debulking" work.
Postscript
While waiting for an appointment, somewhere in that three days, I called the Collings Foundation to see how my F4 is doing. We am waiting for the engine to get back from California where a few of the turbine blades were replaced as part of an overhaul. Then I will get my ride in this amazing machine! Rick Harris called me back to report that the engine is running well, but it will not "throttle up" to full power, so they have to change out some parts in the fuel system. Durn, at full power that engine (well, actually, two of them) will push the F4 to over 1600 miles per hour! We will be forced to stay well below that speed when I take my ride, actually below 800 mph. Cannot break the sound barrier. We might knock an oil worker off the platform in the Gulf and give him an unexpected bath.
In any case, the engine should be back soon, then a tweak to the ejection seats, and my ride may be on! I owe that airplane my entire career, since working at McDonnell Aircraft was the only way I managed to get through college. I simply would not have made it any other way. My payback will be to pay for this ride, and help keep that plane flying. (Actually, the AFLAC duck is paying for the ride! Gotta love that duck!) The Collings Foundation F4 is over 50 year old, but still quite a machine!
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