I wake up at six and am out of the door by 6:30. No breakfast :-( today's PET scan requires fasting from midnight.
I'm early -- by my standards -- at Charlie's carpark, already there is a queue of hospital staff ready to start work. Luckily I now know to look for the "visitors" parking sign.
A slow stroll to G Block, bypass Emergency, walk down the long corridor, up the blue lifts... and the door is not yet open. I stall for five minutes then sneak in when a staff member opens the door.
My test is scheduled for 7:10 (am) and it starts on time.
A finger-prick (ouch!) test for diabetes, my result is 5.2 which is probably good. Only when the nurse mentions it do I realise: the PET scan uses radioactive sugar, high blood sugar levels would affect the way that my body uses the injected sugar.
As usual I barely feel the cannula going in. I still don't like it.
An hour resting in dim light with radioactive sugar drifting into and round my body. The nurse comes in to wake me up and to remove the cannula. The cannula is attached with a sticking plaster, this will hurt, says the nurse, I hope you're not going to pull *my* hair, I say... Bet she's never heard that one before :-)
A short break, a visit to the toilet. I notice it's no longer, Do you need to go to the toilet? It's, Follow the arrows to the toilet.
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Here's an aside, back to the MRI a few weeks ago, I don't remember blogging this. (Stop reading if I did.)
The MRI is very noisy. I'm wearing headphones. Every so often the technician will say something through the headphones, possibly, All okay? When I hear a voice I just give a thumbs-up... whatever the voice is saying. I don't listen, I can't hear the words, I can't be bothered saying anything.
The MRI scan ends, people come in to get me up and out. I have nothing to say so I say... nothing. Just stand slowly and walk, slowly, out. The nurses are very solicitous. As I later realise... they probably think -- because I don't answer questions, don't say anything, move carefully -- that I am doddery and senile... incapable of sensible speech.
Who am I to disagree?
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Back to the PET scan, which takes twenty minutes. Then there are sandwiches for after :-) Hey, I've been fasting.
Ten minutes to sit, to be sure that I'm not going to fall over, then I can leave.
I walk back to the carpark thinking, I could buy a coffee. Sure enough, I pass a coffeeshop, I have a credit card. I don't have my phone, it's waiting in the car. I can't be bothered signing in manually... I drive home. Where Deb makes tea :-)
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Mid afternoon there's a text from our deep-ENT: Today's scan is unremarkable -- which is a good thing. Sooo...
Another three months (I hope) till I worry people with my next MRI. Six months to the next PET, unless the MRI is dodgy. I'll check those timings with the cancer doc.
Till then... Enjoying life, three months at a time :-)
Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
... Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved
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I've never had bad luck. Just fits of stupidity... per Ginger Meggs
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Dying for you to read my blog, at https: // notdotdeaddotyet .blogspot. com. au/ :-)
Wonderful result.
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