Magical Cat's Corner

Trick or Treat

I wish I could be more in the spooky spirit this year, but I haven't even carved my pumpkin yet, and it's Halloween today! Tomorrow I'm going to be checked into the hospital, and on Friday I will undergo a partial hip replacement to take care of the tumor in my hip bone (femoral head). I don't feel particulary nervous about this procedure. It is very routine. It is a bit riskier for me than for other people who have the same procedure since my tumor is "special". It releases a lot of junk into my body that causes high blood pressure (among other things). So, when they remove the tumor, my blood pressure could plummet. I've been taking medication over the last couple of weeks that has lowered my blood pressure sufficiently, so hopefully that will help avoid a blood pressure crisis.

Sometime soon, when I'm recovered from the hip ordeal, I will have surgery to remove the tumor in my neck. They still do not know what this tumor is. I had a painful procedure a few weeks ago called an arteriogram where they inserted a camera into my femoral artery (near the groin) and ran it up to my neck in order to get a better look at the tumor. They injected dye while they took pictures, which made my face and neck feel hot. They gave me versed during the procedure (a local anesthetic), but it didn't work very well. It hurt when they numbed the area, punctured the artery, and when they put pressure on it afterwards. I remember every detail even though they said I would be fuzzy. I don't think I had enough versed! Unfortunately, I have to have the procedure done again before I have surgery so that they can embolize the tumor, which means they will insert plugs into the arteries that surround the tumor. That will cut off blood supply to the tumor and help with blood loss during surgery. I'm more nervous about this one because, let's face it, the thought of having surgery on the main artery that supplies blood to your brain is a little less than pleasant.

Fortunately, I have excellent doctors. Starting with the cardiologist who found the tumors, I have had a fairly quick turnaround in comparison to other experiences I've heard about (even though at times it felt like an eternity to me). I also have a great group of friends, co-workers, and family who have all been supporting me. Thank you all! Have a great Halloween... I'm going to do surgery on my pumpkin now!