August 7, 2008

• Update on the Beast….

  I accompanied the Beast to the doctor’s today despite his trying to discourage me. I told him that I was just as concerned as HE was about what the doctor had to say and I was going with him…period.

  We got there and didn’t have long to wait. The nurse asked him for urine sample before we were shown into an office where we sat for a bit before the doctor came in. They wanted to check out how much blood was still in his urine and they also had run a blood count yesterday to see if he was in any danger of becoming anemic or possibly need a blood transfusion. Despite the color, which is alarming, they said he was not in any danger yet. I just love that word…YET. Really makes you feel confident, doesn’t it? NOT!!! The only plus is that the Beast is not throwing (or should I say *peeing*) any more clots.

  The sonogram was negative for any stones or calcium *deposits* in it. I gather sometimes a kind of shell may form in the kidneys that is worse than stones but the Beast did not have either. He does have a couple small cysts but they are not part of the problem and are not unusual, he said.

  The next step is the urologist, who is going to take a look inside the bladder for a tumor. The Beast grimaced at the idea of a fiberoptic camera being threaded up his penis and into his bladder but he knows he has no choice at this point. He seems rather resigned to what lays ahead for him/us.

  This is NOT what we hoped for at all. The only good thing is that his blood pressure seems to be climbing back into what is a normal range for him so perhaps the bleeding is stopping. I sincerely hope so but I will not let the Beast let this slide if the blood stops showing up in his urine. That would be very much like him. If it’s not causing him any noticeable problem, he will want to ignore the original concerns. This will NOT happen. I won’t let him let it slide.

  At this point, I am VERY concerned. I know that they don’t do corrective surgery on bladders. It’s not a normal thing to remove a tumor in or on a bladder without creating OTHER problems that are not fun to consider. I’m not sure if they do chemotherapy for bladder tumors or perhaps radioactive injections to reduce them like they do in the prostate. I am sure this is all information we will be given if and when it becomes necessary.

  In the meantime, please keep the Beast in your prayers. I think he may need them even more now.

  Love you all. Live life like today is the last day you may have. Like I’ve said before, you just never know…. Be sure to tell those you love that you do, even if it’s the last phrase in your phone conversation. It’s easier than you think to end it with *I love you* or just *Love ya!* Try it. It spreads when you use it all the time. Watch, listen and see for yourself.

  • 3:55 pm
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