Long day!

So, today was my radiation fitting.  So much to say, not sure I have the energy to write it all at the moment.

I made my appointment for 11am to avoid the morning rush hour traffic.  Well, the construction on 95 backs up for hours so we had to take a different way.  After, Maggie (our Magellan GPS ) led my mom and I through the ghetto of Philadelphia, we safely arrived at our destination.  Sort of.  After all my visits to Jefferson I still have no clue how to get around all those one-way streets.  It is so overwhelming, that my mom and I always default to the Walnut St. Theater parking lot because we can get there and know how to get home.  We are willing to pay more for our sanity! 

We parked and made it 10 minutes early.  Plenty of time to fill out the 4 forms they had for me.  I feel like I am being tested.  List all the medications you are currently taking.  The dosage, the route (this one caught be off guard), and the frequency.  List all allergies.  Wait...didn't I JUST fill all of these papers out on Monday before having my port put in?  And the day I had my PET scan etc?  I am baffled that a place as advanced as Jefferson needs its patients to continuously fill out the same information.  If nothing has changed then look me up in the damn computer system, have me sign off on it and get on with it!  Sorry, had to vent about that.  I had writer's cramp and all I could think about was how badly I needed to use the locked bathroom.  So strange, they must have been trying to keep the riff-raff from using the public restroom in the basement, so everyone must get the key with the 12 inch long wooden dowel attached just to open the door. 

My 11am appointment did not begin until after 11:30 because the consent form I filled out a few weeks ago (so that the process would be speedier today) was the wrong form.  So, we had to wait for the doctor to come over and sign a new one.  Not before she stopped into the locked bathroom and tripped over her own feet when entering the room, oops! 

First task of the day, making my body mold.  This is what they will use to hold me in place during the actual radiation treatment.  I laid down on a blue, air mattress/beanbag cushion on a table in the middle of the room.  Due to the location of my tumor I had to lay my arms above my head so that they will not be in the way of the laser beam.  It took 3 people to mold this thing.  They can add and remove air with a little machine and when they are happy with things they completely deflate it.  All the little balls get really tight together and create a mold around my body.  When I got up all I could think of was those plastic sleds you use when you are little.

Next task, MRI.  This was TERRIBLE!  I have had several MRIs at this point, but for some reason this one really got to me.  Maybe because I was told the entire day would only be an hour and a half and then I found out that was how long the MRI would take!  My MRI tech, Phil, was very lucky I now take Celexa because I would have had to "shoot" the MRI messenger after all of it.  First, the information about my chest port never made it to them even though I called over with it more than 24 hours prior (like I was supposed to).  They needed to copy the information, then Phil had to talk to his boss because once you have a port you can only be scanned in certain machines.  That took about 20 minutes.  I got changed into the world's largest robe and then head back for the test.  I was SO cold it was crazy.  Shivering with a broken back SUCKS, in case you were wondering.  After one of the portions of the test I was seconds away from pressing my call button when Phil gave me an update.  I had 3 more contrast-free images to go before getting my IV.  I told him I needed the air turned down because it was blowing into my ear and giving me a headache.  I also told him to let me know the length of each remaining image so that I could count down.  The 15 minute test made me crazy.  For those of you who are not lucky enough to have had an MRI the noise is maddening.  The earplugs are a joke.  Next, came the contrast.  Easy, right?  WRONG!  Phil tried twice and both times my veins had scar tissue in them and he was unable to advance the dye.  UGH.  (Maybe I will love my port.)  Then Jackie came in, she didn't even want to try on my little veins.  Then Melissa came in.  She is a CAT scan tech.  They use jumbo needles so she is good at IVs.  Luckily she was able to get it in right away because I was serious when I said 3 strikes and I am done.  In the past 4 days I have had 5 IVs stuck into my left arm, ouch!  Finished up the scan and was ready for phase three.

Final phase, CAT scan while laying on the newly created body mold.  Oh but wait.  Cindy came out to tell us that the scanner was in use and we had to wait at least 30 minutes.  I was about to LOSE it.  I hadn't eaten since breakfast and at this point it is after 3.  At least this scan did not require another needle.  Around 3:30 they took me back.  The whole process was less than 20 minutes and I was ready to run down the hallway to get the hell out of there. 

The elevator doors closed at 4pm and we were getting into the car to drive home by 4:10.  Stupid 95 traffic got us on the way home too.  Again, thank you Celexa.  That shit helps me keep my cool, I swear.

I know I am not the only person with cancer.  I am not the only person who has to get scanned.  I am not the only person to complain about the chaos that can ensue during a day at the hospital.  But writing all this down helps me and hopefully all my crazy comments and information helps somebody, or makes somebody laugh.