jenny's belly

Just Breathe

So I woke up at the end of my endoscopy, choking of course. And they tell me "Just breathe." Oh, like its so easy. There's a tube leading into my small intestine, why SHOULDN'T I be having a difficult time. But they obviously increased my drugs and put me back under.

Unfortunately, I woke up again during the colonoscopy. And I was wide awake. I told them as much and they weren't concerned. HELLO, AWAKE OVER HERE! And I can see everything on the tv monitor the doctor is watching. Hey, what about that thing, was that a hole in my intestine? Hey, did that look weird to you? Wait, go back, what was that?

It's really not a horrible thing, for all those people my age and even older who have never had one. I mean, its not FUN but its not as bad as you might think. Endoscopy is far worse, and I think I've had 4 or 5 by now.

Anyway, the doctor said things look okay, both in my intestines and my stomach. She said that young adults with onset stomach cancer often end up with colon cancer, so I'll have to repeat the procedure every 3-5 years. The worst part was actually getting the IV in. The nurse talked big, like she was capable of using my port-a-cath. I told her I didn't mind if she just used my arm, and whatever was easier. It took this woman three tries to find a vein, and my veins are VERY easy to find. She wouldn't go in my arm where they usually go, but wanted to go in my wrist, top of my hand, etc etc. Each time she had to use anesthesia which burned like hell. It made novacane seem great in comparison.

So anyway, I have to wait until the 16th for my official results, but things seem like they're going to be okay. Its nice to leave the endoscopy area with good news! What a difference a year makes....

posted by Jen at 8:18 PM