Things We Don't Want to Hear

A friend sent me a list of things that one wouldn't want to hear during surgery. I'll provide more of the list in future posts. Today, I want to discuss one of the phrases, "I wish I hadn't forgotten my glass." This actually happened to me before my first liver biopsy. It was in the 1990's. Two weeks before the procedure, a well-meaning friend told me the gruesome details of her liver biopsy. She said it was the worst pain imaginable and although she had never had a baby, she couldn't imagine anything worse. She didn't stop there, but you get the picture.

I was a wreck worrying about the biopsy. The day of the procedure, I could barely walk, my legs were quaking in fear. Then the doctor arrives and says, "Damn, I left my glasses at the office." I replied, "Seeing is very important. You are not doing this without your glasses." So, we waited another half hour while his assistant ran over to his office to get his glasses.

In the meantime, I am hyperventilating from fear. The glasses show up, he does the procedure, and it's over before I can say hepatic encephalopathy. It wasn't bad at all. I wish I had seen the You Tube video of Gerard's liver biopsy before my procedure. It is very reassuring. I have provided a link to it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_N30cpR1RWQ


So, two things you don't want to hear before a liver biopsy are:
Damn, I left my glasses at the office
Liver biopsies are the worst pain imaginable