Jenna. Jun 28. Ouch.

Carlee learned how to say a new word today after she saw this on my "belly".

I had a liver biopsy this morning. This is a very up-close picture of my battle wound.

Why did I need a liver biopsy? It's the question everyone's been asking me, to possibly save me from an unnecessary procedure. It's part of my long story (see June 12th), but I'm hoping to have more answers when I go back to the doctor on Wednesday.

The procedure itself wasn't bad at all; the radiologist and RNs told me I did really well and they were able to take a good sample on the first try. For this, they located my liver via ultrasound - much better than them probing the area with a needle. They deadened the skin and the area inside my body with a syringe-type needle. Then they took what looked like a small exacto-knife and cut a hole in my skin. After that, they went in with biopsy needle-gun which was probably 2 feet long. No joke. I heard a sound a lot like what happens when you get your ears pierced, and they had FIRED THE GUN. (Their term, not mine.) This meant that they had extracted a small, sausage-link piece of my liver for sampling purposes. (Again, their term, not mine.)

Now, the area on my skin is a little sore and I imagine it will be bruised by tomorrow. It's not bleeding much and has had a band-aid on it all day. I took this pic right after my shower tonight.

Kevin wasn't allowed to view the biopsy (there wasn't any room), but he stayed with me before and afterward. I had a fabulous RN there who was an answer to prayer and made jokes with me the whole time. All in all, the procedure was 30 minutes long (including all the ultrasound, setup and scrubbing in and such), but Kevin and I were there for 2.5 hours total - you know, for paperwork beforehand and for making sure I didn't puke my guts out afterward.

Please pray for a good recovery from this and for good results for Wednesday. It's been a rough month of June for me.