After a wonderful weekend with the family, I was back to a full schedule of work on Monday. A great day and I even got back into the gym without passing out! Again, what wonderful people I get to work with on a regular basis. Tuesday was more of the same: Great cases with great surgeons and great staff members, even great patients! My wife is now juicing beets, carrots, apples, and all manner of healthy vegetation for my daily consumption and to be honest, I like it and overall feel healthier.
Then came Wednesday. The day of travel to Houston to MD Anderson, the mecca of cancer diagnosis and treatment. I drove there with my wife and upon arriving first at a gas station to fill up the car, I discovered that I have a bladder capacity well in excess of a liter. Ouch. I received a call from a former intern of mine when I was chief resident at UT Southwestern's Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Management, asking for a reference for a friend of mine. I gave it and when she asked how I was doing and where I was calling from. I laid down the hammer and repeated my spiel to her about getting regular checkups and being prepared.
After checking in at Anderson, we wait and are first met by an oncology fellow. A very nervous oncology fellow. Don't worry, I don't bite (much). I have all my shots. Through the usual history and physical, I discern that I will get little information from the fellow and await Dr. Fosella. He arrives in a blazing flurry of motion and speech and within 10 minutes, my H&P is done and we are going over options. He is not optimistic: Chemo only, no surgery, no radiation unless palliative, protocols no different from Southwestern. Somehow he seems too formulaic for my situation and I decide to continue to use MD Anderson as a reference and fall back option, but I am pretty sure I want to get my primary treatments in Dallas.
The wife and I spend the afternoon eating in Houston and Sinh Sinh asian seafood restaurant then hit the road for Dallas through horrific Houston rush hour traffic at 4:45 PM. We arrive home at 9:30 pm through two hours of driving thunderstorms and a lightning storm unparalleled to anything encountered to this day in this north Texas thunderstorm season.
Then came Wednesday. The day of travel to Houston to MD Anderson, the mecca of cancer diagnosis and treatment. I drove there with my wife and upon arriving first at a gas station to fill up the car, I discovered that I have a bladder capacity well in excess of a liter. Ouch. I received a call from a former intern of mine when I was chief resident at UT Southwestern's Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Management, asking for a reference for a friend of mine. I gave it and when she asked how I was doing and where I was calling from. I laid down the hammer and repeated my spiel to her about getting regular checkups and being prepared.
After checking in at Anderson, we wait and are first met by an oncology fellow. A very nervous oncology fellow. Don't worry, I don't bite (much). I have all my shots. Through the usual history and physical, I discern that I will get little information from the fellow and await Dr. Fosella. He arrives in a blazing flurry of motion and speech and within 10 minutes, my H&P is done and we are going over options. He is not optimistic: Chemo only, no surgery, no radiation unless palliative, protocols no different from Southwestern. Somehow he seems too formulaic for my situation and I decide to continue to use MD Anderson as a reference and fall back option, but I am pretty sure I want to get my primary treatments in Dallas.
The wife and I spend the afternoon eating in Houston and Sinh Sinh asian seafood restaurant then hit the road for Dallas through horrific Houston rush hour traffic at 4:45 PM. We arrive home at 9:30 pm through two hours of driving thunderstorms and a lightning storm unparalleled to anything encountered to this day in this north Texas thunderstorm season.
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