# 5 is O-V-E-R

Yes, it’s true, y’all, the latest meeting with Mr. Needle is now history. And thank God for it. (And I did.) All in all, it was a piece of cake, at least what I remember about it.

As y’all may remember, during a previous procedure, I had a panic attack when I couldn’t breathe. So, for the next time, I was prescribed some Xanax to help me relax. I had a .5 milligram dose, which is so tiny that even I scoffed at it. However, it worked really well; I was relaxed enough to tolerate the procedure very well, with no panic. For this time, I was prescribed a 1 milligram dose, one pill for the night before and one for the day of the procedure. So the night before I took 1 pill, slept horribly, and was worried about whether I’d wake up in time for my appointment (so much for those anti-anxiety properties!). In the morning, I took the 2^nd pill, per my instructions. Well. Just call me Loopy Lou. I couldn’t think, could barely walk, still don’t remember the ride to my mother’s house afterward. Thank you, B. for getting me to and fro safely. (I hope I didn’t sing or otherwise offend you!)

The procedure went well, I suppose, heck, l slept through most of it. I do remember swearing an entire phrase aloud when that first shot of Lidocaine hit, but after that I was quiet. I could feel the doctors and nurses puttering around on my back, taping and cleaning and draping and pressing, but I was so out of it that they could have been doing the cha-cha back there and I’d never have known. At some point, I felt lots of pressure in my chest and couldn’t breathe, so I told the doctor to stop. He stopped temporarily and waited for a few minutes and tried again, but I still couldn’t stand the pressure. So we stopped. I was told that we got 800 somethings of fluid out this time, more than ever before, so that was good. (Hey, I was loopy at this point & just don’t remember.) As usual, there was the chest x-ray afterward, which I apparently slept through standing up, and the next thing I remember was sipping a Sprite through a straw. Somehow I got dressed and was handed back over to B., who took me to my mother’s house, where I spent the next couple of hours checking the quality of her couch pillows. After some lunch, Mom brought me home, where my research continued on my own couch pillows.

Not a bad day at all. And now, the couch is calling me again. Thanks for being here.

¶ 4:33 PM