Bone Marrow Biopsy April 4, 2025

We arrived at UNC Rex Hospital at 11am....and Jill had no coffee, which is a tragedy within itself!  haha!  

After checking in at the Imaging Center at Rex, they called us back pretty quickly. A radiologist performs this biopsy, not my oncologist, because it is a CT guided bone marrow biopsy, so they can really pinpoint the exact location. 

The staff there could not have been nicer.  They gave me the gown to change into and I let them know about my situation of being a really hard IV stick. I changed, got into the bed of freshly warm blankets and then Try #1, here come the nurse to try to get a vein in my "good" arm - no luck. Then, they did an order for an ultrasound machine to wheel in so they can find my vein that way. That took forever.  So, I said, "look...I'm willing for you to keep trying without the ultrasound, I have a high tolerance for pain". So, another nurse came by and with the right movement and laying my arm 'just so', she got the IV needle in Try #1.  Her name is Luciana....I keep track of all the names of nurses and lab techs that can hit a vein in the 1st try.  They are my A Team! 

The radiology MD comes to talk to us about the procedure and that's where we learn that the hip lesion is not in the front hip, but it is in the back hip, really at the pelvis.  So, I have to lay on my stomach in the CT scanner.  Y'all....I'd rather clean toilets all day than lay on my stomach...I hate it.  But....hey, it has to be done.  I am a warrior, you know. I can do ANYTHING. 

After about 1/2 hour, back I go to the CT Scanner. Chuck is able to stay in the room where will be my recovery room...he didn't have to go back the waiting room. They were really wonderful to him, too.

I positioned myself on my stomach on the scanner, they put oxygen in my nose and I they administered the twilight sleep anesthesia, and I could feel my shoulders relax and I was conscience.  The Radiologist arrived and injected a local anesthetic and said, "you are going to feel this burn". I sure did. 

The Radiologist got 5 samples, at 18 gauge each and did not have to use a drill to get to the bone marrow.  The hole in my hip was large enough to just put a needle in it and aspirate out the bone marrow. I guess that was good/bad/good. 

Today is a Friday, so now we wait the weekend, which is the worst part - the waiting is the worst. 

Chuck and I knew the oncologist was probably right, and here's a major silver lining - we immediately on April 1st, were very sorry for anything mean we had ever said to each other. We literally became as close as a couple can be overnight and we started talking about all our thoughts, fears, feelings, plans, and started making decisions we need to make for ourselves to get through this. More to come on this. 

Chuck and Jill = Chill (our couple name) and now we have a book where we keep all our notes to remember things to ask the doctor -  "Chill the Fuck Out Cancer". 






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