And the results are in… I’m cancer free!

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How are these for minimalist shoes?

As you may have read from my last post, on December 1st, 2011, I underwent a little medical procedure.  The purpose of the bone marrow biopsy is to try to isolate what might be going on in my body, and figure out why my body’s having a tough time producing adequate quantities of white blood cells and neutrophils.  The procedure took place Thursday December 1st at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, B.C.  Surprisingly I was in and out of the hospital in about 3-hours.  The doctors and support staff were incredible (and while I wouldn’t recommend trying to book a bone marrow biopsy for yourself, if you have to do it, St. Paul’s is A-O.K. in my books! I wonder if I should Yelp my review?)

And yes everyone, the procedure did hurt.  On a scale of 1 to 10, a solid 8 for sure.  But as I said to Christie, my pain lasted less than 15 seconds, where the joint hours of labor she experienced during the births for our 2 daughters was nearly 8 hours… believe me, what I went through was a piece of cake!  At one point while the bed was shaking side to side the doctor started to complain that she was getting a hand cramp.  It was nice to know that I wasn’t the only person sweating during the procedure.  One caveat to note though, as the doctor said, I have strong bones so it may take a bit to work the needles in.  LOL!  I have strong bones people, you see the paleo lifestyle works!

On another note, over the past two weeks I have received many messages filled with well wishes and positive thoughts, all from people genuinely concerned with how things are going.  I’m truly amazed, and for lack of better words, feel blessed to have so many positive people in my world.  Thank you all for being there for me while I have dealt with my “health hiccup”.  But I owe a very special thanks to Christie (@mom_ontherun), my life partner and best friend, for being there for me every minute of every day and especially for putting up with my daily highs and lows (I’m not going to paint a pretty picture, but I’m one irritable son-of-a when I’m not working out regularly).  She’s the pier in my life that keeps me moored, preventing me from drifting out to sea.  Everyone needs a person like that in their lives… have you thanked that person in your life lately?

Friday afternoon I received a call from the doctor while at the movies with Christie (yes, we were watching the newest Twilight movie… I went because she really wanted to see it — really!)  I had originally missed the call on my cell phone, but the doc then called Christie’s cell, which happened to be on during the movie (I know, I know, a big faux-pas).   We knew it was an important call, so luckily Christie answered it and I rushed out of the theater to hear what the doctor had to say.  Good think I did because it was the best call I’ve received in my life – “Dai, there’s no cancer“.  OMG!  Yes, yes, yes!  I had a grin that spanned from one ear to the other.

I’m not out of the proverbial woods yet.  Over the next 8 weeks I need to have full blood scans and they have sent the bone marrow along with the bone sample off for more tests.  There’s still something not quite right, but knowing that there’s no cancer is a relief.  The next few weeks will bring answers, that I’m sure of, and with the help of my friends and those that are most important in my life, I’m ready to hit it head on.  But until then, I’m looking forward to getting back to training come Monday.  3, 2, 1 go!

OB LA DI, OB LA DA, LIFE GOES ON…

Here’s a slide show showing some of the procedural highlights from my biopsy:

My Bone Marrow Biopsy from Dai Manuel on Vimeo.