in prep for my initial radiation oncology appointment today... they asked for a list of all the dates & docs for my various surgeries, including biopsies. we could reconstruct the surgery list pretty easily... but the biopsy one wasn't something we'd been tracking.
from time to time we've asked docs for copies of different reports that have been produced concerning emma or myself... mostly pathology. they've always been very cooperative. so... asking them to print out the dates of all my proceedures was no biggie.
but in the process, i decided to ask for something i've never asked for before. that being... operative notes.
i figured the worst they could do was laugh loudly... or nervously... and say "no."
but as has become standard fare at u of m... they just said "sure. no problem."
so... while beth drove us home from a recent appointment, i enjoyed wading through the medical jargon to envision a bit about what went on between intubation and sponge counts.
hearing about how they slice and dice... identify nerves... verify which nerve is which by making me do various circus tricks... blah, blah, blah... was all intriguing to me for some reason... even reassuring in some strange way.
i was a bit disappointed, though, to find out they don't include the jokes the surgeons told... the embarrassing questions they asked me under anesthesia... or the music in the cd player while the scapel glided through my latissimus dorsi.
the latest surgery notes weren't ready yet. but i'll ask for them tomorrow when i return to say good-bye to my drain-buddy.
odd.
it's like i'm waiting for the next book in a series. (obviously i don't read many serial books!)
i'm curious though. a day or two after we were home from surgery... i noticed this huge patch of shaved skin on my right thigh. our amazing nurse practicioner, roxanne, verified they were preparing to do a skin graph because they were concerned they wouldn't have enough skin left in my armpit to close the wound and keep it closed until it healed... or that if they did, it would be so tight i'd never be able to raise my arm high enough to pick my nose. (a tragic thought indeed!)
but... evidently they made it work some how. i'm glad no one reminded them i'd still have a good left hand. but who picks their nose with their left hand? that's just weird.
anyway... so, no graph.
i wonder.
when you move skin from your thigh to your armpit... does it naturally grow armpit hair? or would i need therapy? would i still need to use deodorant? and if i wanted to strengthen that arm, could i use a thigh-master?
hmmm...
maybe it will all be in the notes.
can't wait.
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