First, the whole procedure was much more formal than I expected. We started with a simple ultrasound followed by a consultation with the resident radiologist. He explained the procedure to me, had me sign consent forms, and laughed at my bravery when I said I planned to go back to work. Once everyone was in the room -- the ultrasound technician, an ultrasound trainee, the cytology technician, the anesthesiologist (to make sure I had no complications from the local), the resident radiologist, and the attending radiologist -- we got started.

After being masked off with those little surgery towels and swabbed with betadyne, I was given a local anesthetic (or two) to numb the area. One of those was delivered deep into my neck and hurt quite a bit. That's when they pulled out the big guns. The resident radiologist used the ultrasound tranciever to guide a 22-gauge needle, which is about three-quarters of a millimeter in diameter, into my thyriod to take the first couple samples. This sounds easy peasy, but once they have inserted the needle, they jiggle it around to make sure it's full of tissue. Each sample was set into a slide and examined immediately to ensure it was good enough to be evaluated in the lab. Once the resident was done fumbling around, the attending got a shot at me too. I hate to say it, but it was obvious that he had significantly more confidence and experience. Once they were done, I was cleaned up, given a bandaid and emergency instructions, then sent home.

I called Jon before I even left the parking garage to let him know everything went OK and that I was heading back to work. But by the time I got off the phone with him I could feel the swelling in my neck growing. I stopped to pick up lunch at Moe's (and really, who can't resist the opportunity when in the neighborhood) with every intention of taking it to work. Except I couldn't even make it to 495. When it became evident that I couldn't turn my head to check my blind spots, I decided to get off the highway and take some Tylenol. I ended up eating my lunch in the Solomon Pond Target parking lot and wandering inside for a bathroom break and pain killers. I called the office to let them know I wasn't going to make it in and gave up on my day.

At that point I couldn't even hold my head up or touch my neck because it hurt too much. All of that needle-jostling really did me in. The swelling was even evident through a turtleneck sweater. I had to buy a v-neck sweater because the turtleneck quickly became too tight. Luckily it went down after another hour or so, enough that I felt comfortable driving home. I made it through dinner with Jon's family that night and a wedding in southern Connecticut on Saturday (which I had to wear a turtleneck sweater to in order to hide the ugly bruise on my neck). At this point only the thyroid area is still a little tender and fading to a brilliant yellow-green. It really only hurts when my neck muscles are stressed, like during a yawn, sneeze, or sit-up, so I figure I'm doing well.

Still no results, but I hope to have them within a day or two.