I Think I Can I Think I Can, I Think I Can

OK....the Great Adventure continues..... yesterday we expeienced the 2nd bone marrow biopsy, all I can say is OUCH! However, we now have a different attending doctor, Dr. C has replaced Dr. A, I guess Dr. C is more experienced in my stange and mysterious malady....I hope so! A Bone Marrow biopsy is something akin to drilling for oil an the 10000 ft level, first you find a suitable place, usually on the point of your hip bone at the small of your back then you clean out all the underbrush and bring in the drill rig. In my case a 120 lb doctor was determined to strike the mother lode somewhere deep withing my pelvis bone, no matter the bone had been forming for 67 years and resembled granite, she was determined. Thankfully, novacaine helped cover the pangs of a very stout needle (pipe) as it pryed and worked it's way to the mother lode, ocasionally she would ask if I was OK and I assume the grunt that I uttered was sufficient encouragement to continue her quest for the "mother lode". Even though I was assured that bone does not have nerve endings, somehow the anomoly of my DNA must have decided put some there, and they were working perfectly! Finally a breakthrough and a few moments of quiet led me to believe that they were sucking what little functioning bone marrow that I still pocessed into a tank for furthur testing, at last those wonderful words "there we are all done" were uttered, and the drill rig was removed.

Seriously, Dr. C did a fantastic job, I had been dreading the biopsy, based upon the performance of Dr. A and was amazed at the difference between the two doctors. Dr. C proved to be very professional, a great beside manner, very competant and quick. She took about half the the time as Dr. A and the pain was about half as much as I experienced in the first biopsy.....Good Job Dr. C!!!! Will be about a week before the results are back and based upon those results we will talk about furthur treatment. I continue to feel stronger and generally not as dumpy, in fact, better than I have felt since I crashed in October.

During the last week we have had 19 puppies born 14 from Amber. Nine huge pups were unable to be delivered by Gretchen (a chocolate Labrabor) so Saturday morning found us at the vet's office for an emergency C-Section, Seventeen hundred dollars later, we had 5 live pups. Needless to say Sharon was very busy trying to care for the pups as well as keeping up with everything else.....but somehow you manage to keep going, Thank You Father!