Author: Sean D

14 sites.

53 staples.

18 “tumors” removed.

14 sent to lab.

1 staple fell out due to not being put in right.

Boss asked me if “Sean, were you in a knife fight and lost?”

Friday I went into the surgery center looking to be out by 3:30.  The doctor had told Joanna that if I wasn’t out at 3:30 that it would be time to worry.

I went at High Noon bringing the necessary paperwork and with a slight amount of fear on my mind. I knew that Doc Chako told me not to worry.  I remembered that a couple of my good friends at University Medical Center had told me great things about Dr. Thames, my surgeon.  But in my world, a healthy amount of fear is warranted.

12:14 the paperwork was done and I was sitting in the waiting room with my parents.  Joanna had given me a wave as I walked into the center.  She was nervous and I talked to her while we waited.

12:28 each second brought to me a new degree of fear, fear of the unknown.  Dad and I started making jokes about things not to hear during the surgery or what to do if we see the white light.

At 12:38 they called me back and the nurse asked me to do the thing that embarasses most men before surgery. “Please change into the surgical gown.”  Now the surgical gown was short and it was cold in the room.  There was NO way I was giving up my lucky socks.  Yup, there was a fight for about one minute and she realized that she wasn’t going to win.  So the socks remained.

At 12:45 she started the IV in my arm.  I hate needles more than anything in the world, nothing worse than having a hard piece of metal in my arm.  So I started to watch tv waiting for the surgeon.

The surgeon came in and talked to me and marked the sites of the various removals.

Then I waited…

and waited…

then the director of the center came in and said the words that I’d been hoping for.

“With all the areas that we are working on we have a problem sir.  If we try for a local on everything we’d have issues with toxicity.  And I know you prefer to live.” (more…)

the doc still wants to remove the growths.

Ok, I’m going to say it only once.  I have lipomas in me.  Its how I carry my fat.  Ten years ago I had one removed and it was found to be benign. Before Christmas I had a massage because of the stress of the holidays and work.  I had an unsually large amount of stress in my back.  When the therapist was relieving the stress in my back she noticed a twinkee sized lipoma on my left size near my ribs subcutaneously.

“You should have that checked out,” she told me.

So I did, first thing when I returned from vacation was go to the doctor, and he examined me.

“Didn’t we have one of  these removed?” the doc asked me as he checked my records.

“Yes, ten years ago,” I said not really worried cause he said then not to worry about them.

“Well, I used to not be worried about these lipomas, but last year I saw a woman who had lipomas just like you.  We had them removed because they were causing her pain and one of them was cancerous.  I learned from her to take these seriously because she died after a 6 month painful battle. I want to send you have a surgical consultation,” that was said to me as he prescribed the usualy antibiotics for my sinus infection.

I haven’t been sleeping well since that pronouncement.

Yesterday I went to go see the surgeon.  And he was amazed by the number of these lipomas I have.  BUT he wasn’t concerned about the stomach or the back.  He was more concerned about a mass of these lipomas on my upper right arm.  He addressed a umbilical hernia that I had and said that all could be fixed in an outpatient treatment.

“We should schedule it this week,” he said.

There was no option, no delay.

But after examining me he wanted me to have my gall bladder checked.  So this morning I went had blood work done, as well as an ekg.  Nothing funnier to a radiologist tech than asking “Mamm, is my baby going to make it?” while she is looking at the screen.

She tried not to laugh but failed.

After research and the great consultation by Doc Chako, I have nothing to worry about. They are nothing, I have nothing to worry about and I will be back at work on Monday.

Mom and Dad are coming up to make sure I am ok after the surgery and also to probably throw stuff away in my house.

If Doc Chako isn’t worried, then I’m not worried.

I just didn’t want to tell everything until I knew more than what I did the last couple of days.  And Marshall, I’m still expecting my money.