Bone Marrow (India)
It was month of Jan. 2002.
Jeb’s sister came to Chennai again.
She completed all the related tests, including nuclear renal study related to kidney transplant; it was a full match.
However, the team advised Jeb, not to undergo transplantation at the time of fever.
Dr explained about post operative care complications, the risks, failure ratio of the transplant and organ rejection.
The team asked him to wait and therefore his sister went back to Coimbatore.
Fever stayed and the medical team continued to investigate.
Dr. Subbha Rao, Jeb’s Nephrologists gave extraordinary care.
He referred Dr. Balasubramanian an infectious disease specialist and instructed Jeb to undergo a Bone Marrow procedure simultaneously – parallel diagnosis.
This kind of biopsy result gives reason for the blood disorders: if cancer or infection had spread to the bone marrow.
It was 5th Feb, 2002.
The Surgeon carried out the procedure; had removed a minuscule amount of bone, a tiny amount of fluid and cells from inside bone through the biopsy.
He asked to lie on his abdomen to a prone position, removed the skin, cleansed the area; injected a local aesthetic to numb the region.
Later, he inserted an aspirate needle through the skin until it abutted the bone, applied a twisted motion; he advanced the needle through the hard outer layer of the bone into the marrow cavity, sucked out liquid bone marrow.
He had performed the twisting motion during the aspiration.
The entire procedure took about 30 minutes, and he had sent the sample to the pathological lab.
After the procedure, he asked Jeb to lie flat for 10 minutes – to provide pressure over the procedure site.
The team observed some bleeding and therefore advised to lay another 30 minutes.
One hour later.
Dr asked to get up, go ahead with normal activities, but, Jeb couldn’t.
He got a worsening pain, swelling and bleeding – Jeb felt as weak as a kitten and horribly sick.
While he was dreaming the past, a kind nurse pat on his hand, asked to get up, helped to stand, assisted to walk and made quick arrangement to discharge.
Following day was a dialysis day.
Jeb went to the hospital, couldn’t step on the stair case and climb to upstairs.
He sat in a wheel-chair and the hospital ward attendant pushed him to the dialysis the unit.
Jeb became a disabled man.
He felt severe pain in the hip, back and every part of his body; couldn’t lie down couldn’t even smile.
On dialysis, he requested painkillers or sleeping dose, but, the team didn’t provide.
He was anxious to see the histopathology report, because, he developed negative thoughts that pathologist would come up and say, “It is a kind of cancer and perhaps the cells are gone berserk,” so that he could end up his life – sooner.
“Jeb’s people will be relieved from the misfortune, and time will heal every one,” he realized.
Moreover, Jeb wanted to end his life in a natural way.
But, the pathology results were normal.