I got up at 6:15 today, did the pet stuff, and then left for the doctor. I made really good time. There wasn't a lot of traffic that early and what traffic there was was moving fast. I passed the Slaughter exit doing 80 and I was getting passed.
That meant that I got to the doctor before 7 for my 7:15 appointment. They didn't unlock the doors until 7:15. When they did I went in and sat down for a while. They called me in and I filled out paperwork. After that it was into the exam room. I took off my shirt and laid down on a table. The tech spent about 20 minutes running the ultrasound wand over my chest. When he was done I wiped off the paste, put on my shirt, and went home.
Ellen was just getting up when I got home. I took the baskets I'd received yesterday out to the trailer and installed them in the bathroom in the trailer. It took a little bit of doing, but I think that they are going to work great.
After that I watched videos until it was time to leave for my 12:15 appointment. Ellen decided to come with me. Again traffic was fairly light and we arrived a little early. That meant I got to sit in the lobby until the paperwork lady called me in. I filled out the paperwork and then got sent back to the lobby. Eventually they called me back in. They explained the procedure, put in an IV, and sat me back down in the lobby while the drug was administered.
After more waiting they put me in an imaging machine The machine was basically an emitter and a receiver mounted on a ring. There was a chair mounted in the middle of the ring. I sat in the chair and it rotated through about 90 degrees. The process took 15 minutes or so. After that, you guessed it, back to the lobby.
The next step was the treadmill. They hooked me up to a 12 lead ECG and a BP cuff. I also got another IV. They ran me on a treadmill for 5 minutes, raising my heart rate to about 140. It wasn't that bad, but my calves got really tired. When that was finished it was back to the lobby.
One note about my blood pressure. It was 142 over 70 something. Obviously I shouldn't let them take my blood pressure when I've just arrived, or when I'm stressed talking to someone.
After another lobby stint it was back to the imaging machine for a repeat of the first test. When that was done I was free to go. On the way out I found a $100 bill on the floor of the elevator. I took it back to the office and told them to put it in the lost and found.
It was 3:30 when we left. Ellen had gone to Central Market. We went back there and to the clothing store next door. For some reason I wasn't very hungry even though I hadn't eaten since yesterday evening. We stopped at the post office on the way home. 290 was jammed, so we went the back way home.
About the time we left the post office I started to get the urge to piss and shit. My guts had this weird warm feeling. I wasn't going to make it home. I barely made it halfway home to the yogurt shop. I went inside and purged myself. Then we went home.
I was 5 when we got home. I put away the groceries and was feeding the cats when the urge hit again. I had to stop fixing the cat food and hit the can again. It was brutal. Fortunately I started feeling better a little after that. This was the worst part of the whole test. I now understand why they kept asking me if I had to go to the can during the test.
We had tuna burgers that we'd got at Central Market for dinner. They were pretty good. After dinner was videos.
Tomorrow it's back to getting ready to leave. It rained again today, so I hope it dries out at least one day so I can mow the lawn.
No comments:
Post a Comment