December 3, 2014. Ridgeland, MS. A Biopsy.

The room is like an operating room, with bright lights overhead and machines everywhere. And of course, all the people were wearing masks. The whole procedure was very high tech. A small grid was placed on my chest. Three or four times the CT scan read my chest and the grid. I was sedated but awake because they needed me to cooperate. Not so many years ago that procedure could not have been done. While the Radiologist watched the CT scan, he took the biopsy. It sounded like a small gun being shot but of course I did not feel anything. The Radiologist was pleased with the amount of the tissue, so evidently the biopsy was a success. I felt like a patient. Immediately after the biopsy, an X-ray was made of my chest. Then I stayed for two hours in bed in a waiting area where the nurses monitored my vital signs. In the meantime, I ate the sandwich they gave me. Finally, Christina brought me home. They told me that I am not really in my own mind but I seem fine to me. Now what we really want is to determine the type of cell causing the pleural effusion, but for that we must wait until Friday or Monday. This biopsy was very fancy.