Waking up early (Imported from benvscancer.com 14AUG15)

14 August 2015
July 10: I went in for my upper endoscopy, and possible dilation of the stricture, not a big deal, but it was the first time I had an IV, and the first time I’d had anesthesia. My mother let me know that she often is more sensitive to the anesthesia than they expect, so I let them know that. The anesthesiologist was eccentric (as I expect they all are) but I had complete confidence in him. I asked how long the procedure should take, and they told me the endoscopy would be about 45 minutes, and if they were able to dilate the stricture it would be another 20 minutes. I was looking forward to being able to eat a piece of pizza or a McDonald’s cheeseburger after the procedure.
When I woke up, I asked what time it was, and it was only 50 minutes after the procedure had started, so I knew there was no cheeseburger in my future that day. My wife and four kids came in. They had been at the park next door to the hospital for the procedure. The doctor told me that he found something “very concerning” during the procedure, and had done a biopsy. He set up an appointment to review the results the following Wednesday, and I went home, still unable to swallow correctly, and with more questions than answers.

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