PET Scan Adventure
Thursday was PET scan day for me. Remember the insurance preauthorization thing that was going to take until October 2nd. Well the clinic called me the next day and said I was approved. This is one of the many reasons it’s important to advocate for yourself. If I hadn’t I would be waiting until then for this to get moving along. In reality, it was approved in less than 24 hours.
The family has been juggling schedules to try to help out but with one member of the team, Kramer, gone, it’s a little bit harder. Kelli ended up finishing up childcare and I went to my appointment myself.
I seem to take a bit of Kramer with me though…checking crops. Yep, the soybeans are turning color. They are heading towards getting ready for harvest.
The good news is that I’ve been through all of this a time or two myself..and a time or two with Kramer so the scary part of this go around isn’t as scary. I at least know what to expect. It is pretty sad though. I find myself saying…”the last time I was here was with Kramer” or “Ugh, back to the East building (which is the cancer center)”. I’m doing it though and trying really hard to do it with as much grace as possible.
I had a 1:15 appointment and went back right away. If you haven’t had a PET scan, it’s kind of a weird thing. They inject a sugary substance into your vein and then you have have to lay in a recliner in a dark room for an hour. Then you get the scan. The stress while you’re laying there to relax and let the stuff they injected to work it’s way around your body. It’s not easy to “relax” with thoughts of cancer running through your head. Trust me. This is my third PET scan.
Once you get to the machine they lay you down, then strap you down. They pack you tight. It almost feels like you’re a mummy. A strap goes around your belly and around your feet. Then in the machine, which is like a tunnel, you go. After I was in the machine for about a half hour, I was out and on my way.
If you’re ever going for one, a word to the wise is wear elastic waist pants or you might end up laying in the machine with your pants at your knees. That also was the strangest feeling.
After the scan I headed towards home. You might remember this is just under a 2 hour drive. I knew the drive home might be interesting as we were predicted to have strong storms in the afternoon. There was suppose to be torrential rain.
For the PET scan I had to eat a high protein low carb diet the day before and then no food for six hours before the test. So I was up at 6am and ate something so by the time the test was over, I was hungry and needed gas so I stopped. I went in my purse to get my debit card and look what I found…. …
