Part 2
Saturday, January 21, 2023
Day 2 at the hospital. Haven’t slept well because I think there are nurses checking on me at least every two hours throughout the night and also a blood extraction at dawn for my CBC.
Finally at 9 AM, I was wheeled to another room for an abdominal ultrasound. My left abdominal area was clear. The organs can be seen. However, on the right side, the organs cannot be seen. It’s as if there is a mass covering them. And it’s not gallstones as was initially suspected last night. The doctor then recommended that I undergo a CT scan.
After an hour, I was wheeled to the CT Scan room this time. The doctor asked me to drink at least 1.2 liters of water mixed with something. They call this the contrast. The remaining 300 ml was injected through my anus to ensure that there was liquid within my abdomen.
The CT Scan took around 20 minutes. It was a series of taking deep breaths and holding it for a few seconds. I was advised to stay still while holding my breath so that the CT Scan can capture clear images, otherwise we’ll have to repeat the process. It was tough but doable. Thankfully, the images were clear as per the doctor who handled the CT Scan.
I was also informed that they will be referring me to a Urologist as that’s the doctor I need for my case and so I have to wait for that doctor to come visit me.
Sunday, January 22, 2023
The CT Scan results weren’t out yet. The urologist visited me on Sunday afternoon. He hasn’t received the results yet. But he already mentioned that I might need to undergo surgery because of the mass initially seen during the ultrasound.
Monday, January 23, 2023
The Urologist came again and advised that the CT Scan result showed what it looked like an adrenal mass. Approximate length was almost 21 cm, hence a surgery was necessary to remove the mass. He can try to save my right kidney but there’s a chance that it will also be removed as it might cause bleeding if he will just partially remove the affected portion.
And so, the plan was, I will be discharged at BMC and proceed right away to Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC) for my surgery. The Urologist was kind enough to reserve a ward, schedule my operation, and coordinate my transfer so that I had a doctor to see when I went to BGHMC for admittance.
Ok, the surgery is becoming real. At this point, I entrusted everything to the Lord and the medical team. There was no time for a second opinion. The scan results were clear. The mass needs to be removed. And after experiencing that pain, I’d rather have the surgery right away rather than go home and think about second opinions and worry and deal with what ifs: what if the pain comes again? What if it ruptures this time and damages other organs? What if the next pain will be more severe? I knew the moment I asked to be rushed to the hospital that what I felt was serious and must be addressed immediately.
Part 3 in the next post.
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