Back to Work

I returned to work.

Headin' Home

Home from the hospital right around lunchtime. I was told the results would be in the next Tuesday, and I scheduled an appointment with Dr. Cordero for March 6.

A Big Mass - Lots of Possibilities

With the biopsy scheduled for the afternoon, I was not allowed to eat for the day. I once again spent most of the day sleeping, though I had my laptop brought to me such that I could do a little work.

Around 2:00 PM, I was wheeled down to the room where they would be doing the biopsy. Here is where I met Dr. John Blizzard and Dr. Juan Cordero. They advised me of some other options that this mass could be:
* Thymoma
* Germ Cell Tumor
* Lymphoma
* Seminoma

They felt the Germ Cell Tumor would be the most common of the four for a male my age, and this could be detected with a blood test. They decided to postpone the needle biopsy, and do the blood test.

Even though nothing more was going to happen, I was advised to stay in the hospital for the night, and I would go home in the morning.

Both Dr. Hephinger and Dr. Cordero agreed that I should be able to make my trip to Las Vegas for Andrew’s bachelor party on March 2-4, as long as I made sure to take it easy. Unfortunately, they both agreed that it wouldn’t be wise to play hockey at this point in time.

I watched 24 in the hospital. I love 24.

Late Night Trip to the Emergency Room

I awakened at 1:30 AM with severe chest pains. I figured it was a little fluky, like I fell asleep in a wrong position. I got up, got something to drink, felt better, and went back to sleep.

I awakened again at 3:00 AM with more severe pains. Now I knew it was something a little more significant. I got up, got dressed, and looked up the closest hospital (Kadlec) on the computer. By this point, I was feeling better, and decided to lay back down (still dressed) to see if I could go back to sleep. Within minutes, I started hurting again, and drove to the Emergency Room.

I had an EKG, Chest X-Ray, and CT Scan, and was given a nitroglycerin pill (in case it was a heart attack). After that, I fell asleep in the Emergency Room. It was around 5:30 AM.

At 7:30 AM, the ER doctor came and told me they found some sort of a mass in my chest. He suspected it was a Thymoma, but we wouldn’t know for sure until more tests would be run. He said I would likely be sent home, and admitted to the hospital the next day. It was at this point that I called my parents and girlfriend Dana.

Around 8:15 AM, they decided to admit me to the hospital to run more tests. They took many blood samples, and the hospitalist, Dr. Donna Hephinger, made plans to have a needle biopsy on Monday afternoon. I spent most of the day sleeping in the hospital, preparing for the next day. My mom and girlfriend spent most of the day with me. My dad came to visit, too, where he uttered the now famous quote: “I didn’t come here to watch him sleep.”