The Saga Begins

It began Friday, June 6th, when my primary doctor called at 10:30 am, reporting that a recent ultrasound image of my aching gut, and analysis of multiple vials of my blood indicated something was outta whack and needed further investigation.

It was suggested – no – I was told to go IMMEDIATELY to the Emergency Room of Christus St.Vincent Hospital in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I was there for an MRI, additional blood work, and consult with a gastroenterologist.

That eventually happened, and I was told I would be staying the night in the Emergency Room’s room for overnight guests. It wasn’t a proper patient’s room – more like a storage room for unused equipment with a bed and port-a-potty! I was just happy to lie down and shut my eyes. So far, I had not experienced pain, just a pain in the butt!!

The following morning I was moved to a proper room in the main hospital, and scheduled for an ERCP (look it up on Google) at 1:30. Thank goodness for Propofol. I didn’t see, hear, nor feel anything during the procedure.

What I heard when I woke up was the gastroenterologist saying, “TJ, we have a problem. I have provided a temporary fix to a blocked bile duck where the tubes of the gallbladder, liver, and pancreas intersect, but there is a small growth on your pancreas, which caused the blockage, and it is potentially cancerous. We need more tests and a biopsy from that little growth to determine what to do next.”

I was handed my discharge papers from having spent two days and two nights in the hospital, drove myself back home to Taos, and now wait, in an unfamiliar limbo, to hear the results of that biopsy on that one little growth. They said, “We caught it early.”