Part Three: Perks

            Pink is my favorite color, so I feel right at home in the waiting room of Breast Surgery of Tulsa.  It is the very nicest waiting room I have ever been in: cozy, comfortable chairs and sofas, artwork adorning the walls, and little framed family pictures on the wall ledge.  Dana has driven me here for my biopsy.

            I am nervous.  First thing this morning (June 1), I realized that instead of me driving there and Dana back, I preferred to be chauffeured both ways.  We arrive almost a half hour early, and I hand over the films and new patient forms at the front desk.  As we wait, Dana asks if I want her to come to the exam room with me, and I defer.  (As you may have noticed, I’m on a roll with rhyming.) 

            Finally, it’s my turn.  One of the medical assistants escorts me back to a large examination room, decorated—you guessed it!—in pale pink.  Three lovely flower paintings hang above a vintage cushioned love seat and matching chair. 

            The assistant does her thing, she leaves, and I undress to my waist.  The blue paper cape easily slides over my head.  It has two snaps in front for the unveiling that follows.  Dr. Smith is the perfect blend of professionalism and kindness.  She does a breast exam, checks the lump and lymph nodes in my armpit with the ultrasound device (all clear on the lymph nodes), and then readies me for the biopsy.  I mention that it is difficult to hold my right arm over my head due to an old shoulder dislocation, so she suggests draping it over my forehead, which is the perfect solution.  As she injects the local anesthetic, the nurse gently pats and squeezes my left hand, which is both comforting and distracting, taking my attention away from the little sting of the needle.  Doctor explains that I will hear a pop each time the core needle takes its tiny sample of tissue.  The sound reminds me of a cork gun.  I don’t feel a thing.

            Several steri-strips, gauze, tape, and absorbent padding later, I’m ready to go.  The nurse has carefully explained the aftercare and given me a printed instruction sheet.  At check-out, my next appointment has already been made for June 13, but I will not have to wait that long for the biopsy results:  those will be given me over the phone on Friday, just two days from now.

            There have been more than a few perks to today’s dreaded appointment:  the lovely pink waiting room and wonderful staff, the news that I can resume taking my Celebrex tomorrow, time spent with my daughter, lunch at Panera’s.  Also, I had wondered if I would descend into worry after the biopsy, but that is not the case.  Naturally, the lump is a steady presence in my mind (especially once the local anesthetic wore off) but God’s love is greater.