Original Posting: 09/29/2015

“And you didn’t even buy me dinner first,” I replied.

It was one joke in a series of many, as I laid on the table like a Maple tree, a tap sticking out of my back collecting spinal syrup. I have said many times that I believe life is too short not to have fun at every moment, and I feel like today was my greatest testament to that. A test, if you will, that I surely passed.

“I have done many lumbar punctures,” remarked the former racetrack security guard turned medical assistant, “but none of them have been filled with so much laughter and fun.”

My neurologist agreed that most patients do not crack jokes and laugh, but that my laughter seemed to make the fluid flow faster. He also teased that my comfort made him less nervous. After about 15 minutes of laughter and smiles, three vials, just over 5 cc’s each, were full. I was cleaned up and prepped to have my blood drawn yet again. An MS panel, apparently, although I was unaware there even was one.

They wheeled me out in an unneccesary wheelchair, and I rode home to lay down for the next 24 hours to reduce my chance of a headache.

My head did ache when would stand up throughout the next day, but nothing a Tylenol couldn’t handle. Yay!