I Wanna Be...

Oh yes, I have been sedated! Had the broncoscopy (actual term!) today, and though I'm still a little wobbly, I think I'm coherent enough to write a new post. We'll see...

So the procedure is set for 12:30 today at UCLA. Matty was able to get the whole day off to take me - Reason # 7832 why he is the Greatest Guy Ever. My instructions are to not to eat or drink anything at least 8 hours before the procedure. Now, usually, when you get these sort of instructions, whatever you're having done is early in the morning. The going without food and water thing isn't so bad. For the 12:30 procedure, however, that's a little different. And, for those who don't know this about me, I gotta have some food in me within an hour of waking up. Caffeine is nice, too. That's just how it is. So, needless to say, going without both makes me one cranky, cranky gal.

My crankiness doesn't completely alienate Matt, and we arrive at the office (waiting room magazine inventory: Smithsonian=1, Popular Mechanics=3). I'm met there by Tina, Dr. Khanna's nurse who brings an intern and someone else from the department - they all want to watch! At this point, I realize that my booty - or at least part of it - belongs to UCLA since I'm in their clinical trial. It's not a bad realization, just one I hadn't made until then.

Miki, the nurse, preps me for the procedure. She goes to insert the IV in the top of my hand, but if you recall from my first post, the skin there is quite thick. So she's pushing and pulling, jabbing and stabbing with the needle and I'm trying not to squeeze Matt's hand completely off. Miki gives up and tries in the inner crook of my arm. Perfect.

I'm wheeled off to the procedure room where I get to chill (it was pretty cold, but I meant 'chill' as in relax) because the doctor is late. A doctor? Running late? Nawwww.....John the nurse sprays this horrible numbing spray down my throat - twice. Just as I'm feeling like I will never swallow again, the doctor finally arrives and I get what I've been waiting for - the nighty-night cocktail in my IV.

My last coherent (?) thought was looking at the cabinets in the room and being sure that they were getting longer. You know the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland? Where the pictures get longer and scary? Something like that....

I don't remember the first few minutes of being awake, but Matt was kind enough to tell me that he very much enjoyed my mumblings of half-sentences and non sequiters - I guess I was quite funny.

Since there was no need to do a biopsy (good news!) the whole thing went pretty quickly. There was about an hour of epic coughing, but that was to be expected. I was given the Best Glass of Water Ever and sent on my merry way. Miki advised me not to eat any spicy foods for a while, so we went to In and Out and had a milkshake!

I've been sort of in and out of sleep and I'm a little wobbly and nauseous, but hey, it's over and I'm ready for the next step!