revelation turns out to be of the sorta false alarm type!

As many friends know I have Hep-C and have been on the liver transplant list.  I go to UW Medical twice a year for a check-up.  Everything has been steady, and couple of years ago was taken off the active transplant and put on the ready reserve.  My visit of July 24 & 25 was in all probability going to be routine.  After all in January 2 weeks after my near death experience the we’re amazed that I was just chooglin’ right along!

On the 24th I had an ultrasound.  The tech took longer on this one then in all my previous ones combined with Joni’s for Sasha thrown in for good measure.  It took over an hour!  But she noticed nothing unusual.

The next day I had my meeting with a doctor of transplantation.   After we chatted for a while, he tells me he has some things he has to discuss with me.

DOT:  “You have liver cancer!”

Mickey:  “Oh then that puts me right to the top of the list -not that I want a transplant.  Went though this at Mayo 8 years ago.  That’s what they told me.  Then after a claustrobic small tube MRI it was deemed a false alarm.”

DOT:  “This growth is too big.  This rules out a transplant for you.”

Mickey:  “And this is a nation standard?”

DOT:  “Yes.”

Mickey:  “How long do I have?

DOT:  “Maybe 6 months, no more then a year.”

Ok then the Mick is dead meat!  This was somewhat depressing news.  But then as I thought about it:  So what?    Have lost my mother, my daughter Sasha and I have no relationship.  I am tired and rapidly aging.  So it is going to be sooner or later, and sooner sounds like the better one to me!

Yesterday, August 8th I had appointments to discuss treatment options.  My sister Elaine, the doctor, took a day off on short notice, and at her instance flew to Seattle for the day. 

As for my 6 - 12 month prognosis, Oh that is without treatment!   And with that I was back in the ball game.

We are going to try radiation,  if that don’t work then chemo.  And then we’ll keep on trying.  Seems like a piece of cake compared to a transplant, which might come back into play.

I know that many times meanings are lost in translation.  Still I was reminded of my first appointment in Boston with Dr. Sanvig Chorpra back in 1999.   Dr. Chorpra is at best a world class jerk, whom I double dog dare to sue me for slander.   When he told me I had Hep-C it was like a death sentence.   And he proceed to tell me what I could & could not do with my life.  Most of which was none of his business.   Someday I will get around to jotting now my adventure with Dr. Jerk and his sidekick, Donna.  Anyway, the DOT was not anything like Chorpra.  Elaine who interned at Mayo  was impressed with the friendliness of UW Med, as Joni and I were in ’05.

4 now on with the show featuring the mantra:  "Pico's don't get sick!