Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, Peter ... Tosh, tick-tock

Okay.  The waiting definitely IS the hardest part.

Called the doc's office this morning.  His assistant (whose mother just got a cancer diagnosis, but ... no word on HER staging, etc yet) said .... no results yet.

I asked her .... 

Does the Pathology Laboratory GET all the other (ie, Clinical -- labs, time-course of 'disease process,' imaging, etc.) results and THEY make the diagnosis, or ....

Do they just evaluate the specimen, and give THAT info to the doctor (with some fancy terms like "Submassive Hepatocellular Necrosis") and let HIM make the diagnosis.

??

It's the latter.  The lab sends a lab report to the doctor.  He puts the puzzle pieces together.

Which has me already locking and loading Plan B.

This is very complicated stuff.  I've figured out who the leading Pathologists are *for dealing specifically with liver disease.*  At this point, I'll pretty much plan to:

 - get in touch with them

 - find out if they'll work with me

 - find out what they'd need from me, all wrapped up in a nice, neat little package

What the best in the business DO with all this sort of liver disease information:

THIS

or ....

THIS

This one really is for all the proverbial marbles.  I need the answer to be the best, most accurate, most comprehensive, and most definitive answer I can get.

And THEN I need to do my homework.

So I wait.

And I think of Peter Tosh's music ;-)

Meanwhile, I've been running recurrent fevers since ... well ... probably the biopsy (Thursday).  Not high enough to be specifically concerned about, but high enough to have me feeling miserable, AND ... since I can't take anything FOR it ... high enough to stay that way ;-)

And my sleep-wake cycle kind of reversed again.  No "hepatic encephalopathy," this time, though ... methinks.  Just good old fashioned stress ... managed the best I can.

Of COURSE, the telephone wakes me up ... 2-3hrs into sleep.  Of COURSE, it does ;-)

Since I'm waiting for calls from doctors, though ("UNKNOWN CALLER" on the caller ID), I have to half wake up and take the calls.

Supposed to get another Liver Function Test blood draw.  Have been "supposed to" for days, now.  No hurry.  Will wait until I can safely drive.  Or ... like most Southern Californians seem to do: throw caution (and the safety of others) to the wind, and just go REALLY fast :-)

On a positive note ... the weather's been awfully nice :-)

Ciao for now .... from .... the wishing-I-were-cryogenically-frozen outpost of ... The Gulag.