4:45 AM - alarm clock -

5:00 AM - dogs hit the bathroom -

5:15 AM - my loving mum picked me up -

(I get behind the wheel because god bless my mother, she tries hard but driving isn’t a strong suit)

5:45 AM - we’re parked in the parking garage -

6:00 AM - I’m checked in and waiting for my name to be called -

From here on out I lost track of time. I had wonderful nurses all day. The first one got me situated. The second gave me an IV- I wasn’t able to eat or drink so this one got me lightheaded.  The third wheeled me down to the Ultrasound room which seemed about a 1/2 mile away- I wish I was being sarcastic. From the time I got to the Ultrasound room to the time the procedure was done was about 15 minutes.

Roll me in. Find my liver with the ultrasound. Two gentlemen come in to join the the ladies that were already hard at work. One finds a spot on my liver free of big veins. The next confirms. A third says let me see that thing. All the while they’re asking me to take a deep breath, then a shorter breath, then a medium breath. Once they found it they said ‘great, now can you recreate that breath?’ Of course I can. I’m an athlete.

Here’s where it gets a lot less fun. They scrub me down right below my sternum. She loads up an 18 gage (thicker than necessary) needle with a numbing agent. (How did I know it was 18g? Because she confirmed with her partner that they both prefer the 18g. Great. Sarcastic me does too.)

With needles prepped and ultrasound on my liver, needle one dives into my abdomen. “Pinch. Burn. Ok great.” This numbed the surface. Needle two dives in. FUCK ME. This one numbers you liver. I felt this one in other parts of my body. A sensation I never had before and would appreciate never feeling again. Finally the fancy wam bam needle that captures a sample of my liver. “Got it. Looks good!” All around the room everyone’s pleased. Me too. Enough with the big needles in vital organs.

We discussed potential issues about bleeding out or whatever. They roll me out of the room and I had to wait for my ride. The nurse came about 20 minutes later and apologized profusely for being late.  What they neglected to tell me ahead of time was that I would be there for the next four hours on bed rest. *I got bathroom priveleges after the first hour.

I finally got home at 1pm and I’m just getting to jotting this down now. I was surprised at how shitty I’ve felt all day.  My mom wheeled me to the parking garage- doctors orders- and I started walking to the car with her. I could feel every step in my liver and it hurt. I almost had to stop a couple times.

I’m on the couch with mum’s chicken noodle soup in hand and the dogs laying all over me and each other. It could be worse.