Monday, January 5, 2009

Tired Monday

Very tired...

The scans went well today. The radiology department was ram packed today, but I only had to wait about an hour to get in for my CT scan. It was standing room only in the main radiology lobby, but I think most of them were waiting for x-rays. The contrast dye wasn't so bad this time...I didn't get as warm all over as I did in the past (you might remember from a previous post that my butt got the most warm - and no I didn't like it). For the CT scan they put a needle shunt into the crease of my elbow just before the scan. They use this to put in the contrast dye.

Right after the CT scan a nurse came in looking for me to do the MUGA and get my Gallium injection. This was great - no waiting...When I got home Diletta told me that the hospital had called saying that I didn't show up for my appointment??? I don't know about the booking department at the cancer center...Something goes wrong every time...Anyways, the nurse that took me in for the MUGA and Gallium injection was great. Very nice and knowledgeable. I asked her about me testing positive for Uranium the first time I went through the border...she didn't know the answer but asked some colleagues and looked it up...not possible. Gallium 67 (what I am injected with) breaks down into Zinc 68. So their detector must have been wrong.

The other thing I asked about was whether or not I can/should handle Isabella now that I am radioactive...she suggested that I don't hang onto her for long. There are no official restrictions, but who knows, nothing wrong with being precautious.

All in all I was there for about 3 hours. What really sucks is that you can't eat or drink for 4 hours before the test...so I had a crazy head ache when done, likely from dehydration.

After that I went to meet with Beth and Nicole who are in charge of the resource room at the cancer center. I had written them a letter of recommendation for what I thought should be in the room and what patients need to have access to. In addition, I had sent them some drawings and quotes from Shannon. I wanted to get some feedback on all of it. They loved all of it and are looking forward to getting it done...their goal is to have it done by the end of February - A lot faster than I had thought.

Ciao

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