Chapter 1 (Volume 2)

Sometime the week after Christmas 1995, I felt my breast area and detected a lump on my left chest wall. At first I thought I was just feeling muscle, but in comparing it with my right side- it was definitely different. I was immediately concerned and mentioned it to John. He said, "I want you to get it checked". I assured him that I would as soon as possible. Due to the holidays, I was unable to get an appointment until January 8th, but as luck would have it, the eastern seaboard had a blizzard over the weekend, so my appointment was rescheduled until January 12th. However, I found out we were supposed to get more snow that day, so I scheduled it for January 11th (Thurs).

In the meantime, I periodically would get a burning sensation around my left chest area. I could tell it was not right, it just didn't feel normal. But then, I wasn't so sure that maybe since I now knew it was there- it just bothered me that much more.

January 11, 1996- I scheduled my appointment in the morning so I could go before starting slide shift. Dr. Leone did a needle biopsy. Man, did that ever hurt!! I thought I was going to jump off the table before he finished. I really felt like a pin cushion. I think he stabbed me about 3 times!!! He was going to send off the results, but as usual pathology reports took two days, which meant I would not know the results until Monday, Jan 15th. What a bummer!

January 15th- B & D squads were mobilized today (Martin Luther King Day), because Special Intelligence had found that a big protest had been planned at K-mart. Approx. 75 people were supposed to be arrested. They mobilized about 100+ officers for the occasion. Another big concern was that they were afraid the Klan may decide to get involved. I had no plans on the 15th and was glad to get the time and a half pay. However, it did interfere with my efforts to get my lab results from Dr. Leone's office. I called around 8am and the nurse said she would have to look for them and wanted a number where she could call me. I tried to explain to her without going into detail that I was un-reachable and that I would just have to call her back later. After our briefing in the City Council Chambers at 9am, I again attempted to find out something, but was told that she didn't have the information yet. I then got assigned as a reserve force and B & D Squads staged at the Animal Shelter. Fortunately, we weren't needed and they released us around 1600 hrs. However, Dan and I had to go downtown for afternoon conference. I did finally get to call and this time the nurse said that the needle biopsy came back as showing "ABNORMAL CELLS", but was inconclusive in showing malignancy. So she scheduled me for a biopsy at Dr. Leone's office on 1/25/96 at 10:00am.

(Prior to my biopsy- I don't recall the date, but I talked with Rev Staunton about my pending biopsy and then Friday night the 26th, I went over and talked with Rev Staunton and his wife about my pending results for Monday. )

January 25, 1996- Surprisingly John went with me to Dr. Leone's office- even John's mother came over to wait with John!! I was escorted back to a small surgical operating room. Local novocaine was used to numb the site. It was very strange- I felt like I was being dissected, being conscious seeing blood and tissue being taken out of me! I definitely prefer it when they put me to sleep!! The incision was not large and unlike my last biopsy two years ago the tumor was not removed- only small samples were taken. But, once again, I was having the procedure done on a Thursday- which meant I would have to wait until Monday for the lab results. It is such a waiting game- a test of nerves. The nurse did say that should the lab results come in late on Friday, they would call me.

On January 24, 1996, my Corporal PJ had a heart attack. He was only 41, but fortunately, it was not fatal and did not result in any major damage to his heart. A blessed warning sign! However, his heart attack put a new twist on my situation. I was scheduled to be off all shift, but went back to work the last two days, 28th and 29th.

January 28th- It felt strange being in uniform without my vest, but due to the location of the tumor, my vest would have really hurt to wear. As it was, just wearing a shoulder strap seat belt was uncomfortable. Several members of D Squad made comments that they did not expect to see me for awhile (I don't know what they had been told concerning my pending results!). A couple of my squad members indicated they knew something. I did talk to Cindy and told her about my situation and that I would be getting the test results back on Monday. I also mentioned to Dale that I would put him in charge around 1200hrs on Monday, so that I wouldn't have to concentrate on listening out for the squad.