Friday

The word has come down: with my white blood cells clocking in at 3.9, I will be discharged tomorrow (Saturday) morning. 

Today they will give me platelets, since they are low, and will then remove my apheresis catheter — something I’m a bit anxious about because having it placed was a bit traumatic. I’ve been told that the removal of the catheter is much easier than the placement, so I’m hoping for the best there.

The results of yesterday’s CT scan were straightforward enough: Dr. Einhorn informed me that there is a lymph node in my abdomen that has a distinct teratoma growth, and will need to be removed through surgery in January.

If you’ve ever seen the film My Big Fat Greek Wedding, you may recall how the character Aunt Voula explains her own teratoma: 

[to Ian’s parents] Now, you are family. Okay. All my life, I had a lump at the back of my neck, right here. Always, a lump. Then I started menopause and the lump got bigger from the “hormonees.” It started to grow. So I go to the doctor, and he did the bio… the b… the… the bios… the… b… the “bobopsy.” Inside the lump he found teeth and a spinal cord. Yes. Inside the lump was my twin.

Yeah, that’s teratoma. It’s like a bunch of confused embryonic cells, and they sometimes just start making stuff — like teeth, hair, bits of spinal cord. Who knows what they’ll find!

In weather related news, the drive home may be an adventure for Todd and I. Once again, Todd is staying on in Indianapolis a day longer than he planned. The issue this time is as much the severe weather we’re having in the Midwest as it is my impending discharge. Today is a bad day to travel the roadways, and we’re counting on tomorrow being just enough better to get us home to Madison without much fuss (or sliding into snow banks).