Blatherings from the Bilge

Groggily did the Green Menace arise from the warmth of his bed.  Grumpily he stumbled from the Bilge and into the guildhall to the kitchens.. before the strictures of the Acolytes slapped him just a little more subtly than that of Their Holy Rubber Mallet.  "No Food or Drink before the Ritual".  The despair of the goblin could be heard throughout the guild hall as his hand slipped from the mug containing his morning brew.

Trying hard not to want to cleanse the gene pool of  the world's supply of stupid in one morning, the goblin confined himself to his Bilges for a few hours before he could catch a wagon to the Temple.  Prying his eyes as wide as he could without the blessings of Caffeine, he tolerated the drivel of the coachman and only slew two of the pedestrians who threatened to delay his passage.

When finally he arrived at the Temple steps and was ushered into the Antechambers, Alyxyn was met by an acolyte bearing a strange look upon his face, who whispered shamefacedly "The Ritual has been denied".

As it turns out, the vendors at the bank where Alyxyn holds his funds were unwilling, at this time, to permit the High Priest to do as His God was dictating.

Hmmmm best to switch ooc at this point I think.

Yes, the PET scan and other imaging was denied by the insurance company about 20 minutes before I arrived at the imaging center.  So, yesterday was filled with phone calls, apologies, promises, rescheduling and recommitment to get these tests by the Doctors, the Doctors' staff, the insurance specialists at the Doctors' offices and the imaging center.  BUT.. we still have no idea WHY the insurance company is denying the imaging.

By the end of the day, a new appointment was made for Monday for the same tests and the imaging center and doctor's offices will be calling me Friday to reassure me.. or better explain, the next steps.  This gives them more time to 'work' with the insurance company to ensure everyone has the paperwork they need and that the insurance company ends up understanding the time critical nature of this entire series of tests.

At one point I thought the doctors were going to have a stroke from screaming loudly and forcefully of THEIR frustration in dealing with the insurance.  That is the level of care and support I am getting from my doctors who very much understand that this truly is a quality of life,  even potentially life and death, matter.

Blatherings from the Bilge

And thus, on day 17 of the third month of the year of our Scumminess Two Thousand Sixteen, did the altarboy of the High Priest call upon the Green Menace in the dark depths of the bilge of the guild vessel.  Lo unto the Afflicted came word that soon his ordeal would continue.

For on Tuesday next, day 22, would the tiny goblin be carried forth unto a minor altar again.  There would the acolytes administer strange glowing dyes into his body from which the High Holiness would seek to better track the extent of the unholiest of afflictions of the goblin rogue.  Truly did the green monstrosity tremble at the thought for he would need to remain quiet and still for hours without the invocation of the blessings of the Holy Rubber Mallet.

Once the dyes were applied and the artists properly rendered his afflictions, then would the High Holiness decide what invocations remain, what rituals applied and what sacrifices would be necessary in the quest to send the diabolic affliction back into the ether, far from the Green Menace.


ooc:

March 22 I go in for PET scanning which will involve a radioactive tracer be injected throughout my system.  It is estimated to take 2-3 hours total.  From this and with the results of the labs, the docs will determine next steps.

Alyxyn

Bilgewater Blatherings or "how badly f*cked is the greenie?"

and now for the latest in the chronicles of the tiny green menace.

Months have now passed since the removal of the demonically foul abomination from within our Green Menace.  This time has been filled with days of Masses by the Healers, sacrifices of livestock, imbibing of Holy Potions and other such rituals required towards the banishing of the affliction.

Finally, it became time for the High Priest to again lay on of hands and invoke the holiest of relics to determine the success of the Pantheon in its struggles.  The tiny gobbo accompanied by his tribe travelled to the church and Alyxyn was cleansed, purified and dressed in appropriate robes.  Once the acolytes were sufficiently pleased, the goblin sneak was quietly led with solemnity into the altar and laid forth for the rite.

At which point his forehead was smote by a large rubber mallet and darkness embraced the greenskinned archer.

Weird dreams carried the ravenous munchkin through the rituals which were likely filled with volumes of chanting of holy words, retching of humans in the proximity of goblins and enslavements of acolytes to the stone altar to ensure they would remain.  However all passed without notice by Alyxyn as he had a long chat with the voices that accompany him.

Eventually the chanting tapered off and the rubber mallet was set aside and Alyxyn was permitted to awaken from the ministrations of the High Priest.  With the opening of his orange eyes into the darkness of the shrine, the green menace was presented with the cowled face of the High Priest.  Sagely and Wise was the image and troubled.  Such a fierce look was bore by the priest as to chill the blood of the most wild opponent, such sadness as to slay legions of drug addled mimes.

Soft was the voice of the healer as he broke the news "the abomination is not gone.  Indeed, it is striking back with a vengeance"  and thus did the heart of a gobbo break.

Out of Character now as I can only write like that so long in my current state of mind.

The procedure Friday was what I am terming a peek and poke.  They ran a camera up my urethra into my bladder to take a look around.  Keeping in mind that amount of material was resected from my bladder walls in November, there is a lot of 'good' regrowth and healing.  However, there is equal sign of regrowth of the cancer.  In the terms of the doctor "with a vengeance".

Biopsies were taken and we have to await on the lab results to know exactly how "bad" it is however that last biopsies showed a greater than 90% growth rate.  We can only hope that that has slackened back to more 'normal' rates of 75% or less so it is "only" considered aggressive.  More scans are going to be slated as soon as the docs can but they believe it has likely spread now outside of the bladder and the most 'reasonable' expectations are that the next procedures will remove the loss of body parts in an attempt to get ahead of the cancer's growth.

What are the chances? noone is hazarding a guess at this time.  What is the time frame? we don't know yet.