Day 371 - CT Scan, KC & Smith's

Today was the big CT scan. I was dreading it. I would far rather have a PET scan than a CT. With a CT scan they inject a contrast dye that makes you feel like you just pee'd your pants & you have to hold your breath for an uncomfortable length of time. And unfortunately I was having my abdomen scanned too, which means I would have to drink a terrible liquid called Telebrix. It's about a litre & a half & you have 2 hours to drink this horrible stuff. Ick. I really wasn't keen to have my entire body zapped with radiation equivalent to 500 chest x-rays. Adding the fact that I felt the entire scan was kind of useless. Why?

Well, I can still feel lumps in my neck, which I believe to be only scar tissue. A CT scan is only going to show masses, not active growth. A PET scan will show active growth. I know I have 'masses' in my neck. I want to know if they are actively growing cancer or not. (Let's opt for NOT!) Thus, why I feel the CT scan is unnecessary. (VERY) Adding to the fact that I don't believe the cancer has spread elsewhere & I really don't see the need to nuke the organs below my diaphragm. Capisce?

To make matters even more ridiculous, they wanted to give me a few chest x-rays prior to my CT scan. Huh? I changed & went into the x-ray room. I thought perhaps they were checking my Picc line again. After the first x-ray, she turned me to the side. I asked why I was having these x-rays. She said the Radiologist always has the patient to chest x-rays prior to a CT scan. I told her that I had just had one 2 days ago with my Picc line & I was about to have 500 with the CT scan. If the CT scan wasn't going to give them a good enough look at my innards, then we were in big trouble, as a few chest x-rays certainly weren't going to either! Luckily the Technician was kind enough to let me refuse the remaining chest x-rays.

At this point I returned to the waiting area to drink my Telebrix. Or not. There were two empty-ish glasses on a small table next to my chair. I was alone in the waiting area. I filled both glasses with my very full glass of Telebrix & found the nearest waste bin. Yes, I'm a bad, horrible person with a few good taste buds left. I poured another big glass & walked to the Picc line girls. My line had a little blood & I wanted to make sure all was well. The boss lady was there & she was horribly rude. They were just returning from lunch. They looked at me & walked right past. As they passed, I said, 'Excuse me, could someone take a look at my Picc line for me?' To which the boss lady replied, 'We're closed. We're not taking patients today. What is it?' I asked about the blood & she didn't even look at it. She just said it would bleed for about 2 weeks & that it was fine. Wow. Thanks for coming out!

I headed back to the waiting room & chatted with a few ladies that were waiting as well. One of the gals was also having a CT scan & was trying hard to drink the last of her Telebrix. A Nurse came out with a fair bit of attitude & topped up the gal's glass. Oh boy. This was going to be a fight. And it was. I told her I wasn't going to drink anymore Telebrix. She told me I would have a suboptimal scan. I told her I was fine with that, as I didn't think the cancer was there anyhow. She says, 'So you're refusing the scan?'
'No, I want to do the scan. I'm just not drinking the rest of the Telebrix. I can't. It's awful.'
This carried on for a bit & I could tell I wasn't going to make any progress with her. I told her to come back in 1/2 an hour & I would drink some more. I dumped one more glass in the trash & then chugged one glass. Done. Let's do this thing.

I found the Dictator Nurse & told her I was ready. She injected the contrast dye twice. It was awful. I'm going to check the dosage, as I've NEVER had the dye twice. I could feel my breath running away & I was gasping for air, the burning in my lungs was awful & I felt light headed. Usually they check up on you, but not this chick. She told me where to change & which way was out. Thanks for coming out.

I find out the results next round. Wish me luck. Ick.

After the scan we went to visit Al & Wilma. I had taken some photos of KC last time we were there & I dropped off a cd & some prints today. They were very pleased with the photos. We had a great visit & they told us of their next travel plans. I hope when I am their age I still have the zest for travel & adventure. They are an incredible couple.

Our next & final stop for the day was at Jacqueline's parents place. We were having a long overdue dinner with her Mom. My Mom was coming & Jacqueline's Dad was there as well. In fact, her Dad made the meal! What an amazing cook! We thanked them for the Flames tickets - actually, Jaco ran into Jacqueline & her friend, Adele, at the Flames game. Adele had invited Jacqueline to go. Jacqueline played hockey when she was younger.

Her Mom just returned from Arizona & is off to India soon! She is an avid photographer & loves to attend workshops in all sorts of amazing places. We had a wonderful meal & a wonderful visit. Talking travel & photography - this is my kind of visit! Before I knew it, it was 2300! Whoops! Time to go!

What a great day! It started out a little sketchy, but thankfully it ended with great friends & great times!

xxxxMJV&O

The African Trio reunites once again!