If I'm learning nothing else, it is a bit of empathy for folks having to endure medical tests with so much poking and prodding. Despite my anxieties, I survived my heart test yesterday and the good news is my heart is apparently in very good shape. No more ideas about the cause of the stroke however. It does occur to me to ponder; if we can turn urine and sweat into drinking water, seems like we could improve a bit more on some of our medical tests, namely the MRI and the PET Scan for the heart. Yesterday I was in the waiting room and my name was called by a young tech wearing what looked like a bright red nuclear bomb vest, so immediately, I was calmed -not. She took me back into a small sterile office and kindly explained the test and I shared with her my anxiety that resulted from my previous hospital MRI experience where they strapped my head down with Velcro and put me into a tube head first - although I did manage to get through that finally with some significant medication and a roomful of people talking me through it (I think Russ rode the table in with me to get through it). It ruined me forever on tests in tubes. So of course, the PET scan involved a tube. So then " Dirk" came in to put in my IV and further calm me by telling me the test was no big deal, but he lied. They did put me in feet first which was better, but then injected what seemed like 5 gallons of cold liquid into my veins while they took pictures of my heart at rest and racing. I kept imagining that if Dirk were so inclined, he could just kill me right then and there. Made me think about how it must be to get lethal injection. I remember at one point looking up at the laser light that was used to line up the pictures but since they took away my glasses, I couldn't read the red warning that said, "Don't stare at the laser" :) I think it also said it was a Mach 5 laser, so maybe I also got an eye surgery out of the deal. When I was trying to think of calming thoughts, the only thing that would came to mind was when I lived in California and while at Santa Cruz, went up with a friend on top of a crane while he bungee jumped off - maybe I need to work on my visualization skills a bit. Anyway, I lived to tell about it and find the sick humor in it, so all's well that ends well I suppose! So, although I've not done a treadmill test to truly compare - if they gave me a choice - I'd pick that over the chemical test any day - I'm just saying... But please don't let me discourage you from getting the tests you need - if I can do it - you can too!
I'll see the Ophthalmologist tomorrow - we still suspect some left side vision loss, but even if there is, they apparently have prism lenses that can help with peripheral vision problems. Anyway, it's not my day to worry, so I'm not. Last week, Russ tried to help me put in and take out my contacts - that didn't go too well - I never realized that was such a two-handed function. He is squeamish about putting things in eyes anyway, so he got pretty freaked out and somewhere along the way I lost my left lens so I'll have to get another I suppose.
I'm missing the visits I had when I was in the hospital and rehab- they really cheered me up and kept me going at a very critical time. If you want to stop by, try calling my cell at 255-3599 and I will give you directions (and to ensure I’m not out at therapy or a Dr.’s appointment). My energy is up and down, so please bear with me on that, but I think I'm a bit more up for visits these days and a few friendly faces would be welcome.
I hope things are well in your world as we head into the Thanksgiving season.
Love, peace and good health,
Wynne
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment