November 2010 - After being canceled on twice, I finally see the local surgeon. He gives me the impression that I have a swollen lymph gland - nothing to worry about, though he wants me to get a CT.
Talk about medical ignorance! I, in my head, just pictured an x-ray, so I agreed. I showed up at the imaging place, donned a gown, and was lead into a huge room; there I was told to sit next to this large looming washing machine thing. It's presence started to creep up on me and it slowly sunk in that I was supposed to lay down in the damn thing, and CT meant Cat Scan not x-ray!
I told the technician that I was very sorry, but that machine looked incredibly expensive. It would cost me an arm and a leg just to put a toe in it! I couldn't do it. I had them look up how much it would cost, and they told me $3,000.00! I definitely couldn't do it. I asked what other imaging alternatives there were? Couldn't I just do a ultra sound at $300.00 instead? Or couldn't I just have a biopsy done instead of sliding into some washing machine thing that was going to clean me out financially.
The surgeon wasn't happy that he had to work from an ultra sound image instead of the CT he had his heart set on. My position was -why not just shove a needle in it and see what you come up with? What's all this fancy pants imaging, about?! So working from the ultra sound image he got two small needles and sucked up one tiny drop of blood in each. I'm like, what? Thinking to myself 'that's not much, and ask where do we go from here?' He replies, he'll send it off to the lab and if he didn't get enough tissue, then he'll have me back in and we'll do a core biopsy.
I'm like, 'WHAT?!!! You gotta be kidding me! Go get the big needle, NOW! Get the scalpel and take what you want!!!!!! However much you want!!! - Slice it open! I'm here, I got my pants down! I'm not coming back!!!'
I think I may have scared him. He sent his assistant out to get the big guns.
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