04/10/15 - Finally, the day had come for my last round of tests...FOR NOW! Make no mistake, I'm well aware I'm most likely in for a lifetime of tests even if I manage to defeat the "alien" growing in my leg! But it's nice to know the tests are done for now...well...hopefully anyway! :)
So, this last one was a CT-scan of my chest & abdomen, in which I was required to fast for six hours before but drink a boatload of water within the 12 hour period prior! Initially, I mistakenly thought this was to fill my bladder, since upon my arrival, they gave me yet even MORE water to drink over...you guessed it...ANOTHER WAITING PERIOD! :p This time it was two hours & 1.5L of water! You can imagine my joy when I was informed it WAS okay to pee, as the water wasn't to fill my bladder but rather to make my insides glow, in conjunction with a second dye that would be injected by IV during the scan itself. Speaking of which, it was that extra special feels-like-you're-peeing-yourself-having-a-heart-attack-while-having-a-thousand-hot-flashes dye again, like that I experienced during my CT-guided biopsy! And there was more breath-holding, too, except this time on the inhale, and again talking machines. I like talking machines. :) Again, only pain involved was the IV - oh, and the tech who couldn't be bothered to HOLD THE DOOR for me as it SLAMMED into my arm that had the IV in it, missing the IV by just centimetres! Needless to say, I gave them an earful about that! I even explained to the guy I had a visual impairment, but he clearly didn't understand what that meant. Note to self, "Use your white cane ALL the tie at the hospitals, even when the area is flat & well lit for this very reason!" Don't need any more close encounters between heavy doors & my IV!!!
Anyway, this was the shortest of all the tests so far, only taking about 15-20 minutes once the two-hour waiting period was over. And again, this test in conjunction with the tests from yesterday, is to see if the cancer has spread, as this type of sarcoma has been known to jump over into the lungs in some cases. It's also a relatively rare cancer. Geez, when I got my Placebo-inspired "One Of A Kind" tattoo a week ago, that wasn't exactly what I had in mind! Leave it to me to get some kind of rare cancer that hardly anyone else gets, pppphhht!
On a happy note, while I was playing the waiting game yet again, I finally managed to reach my case worker for my short-term income claim, and it sounds like I shouldn't have any issues with it, which was a huge relief. She mentioned something about cancer requiring chemo/radiation therapy being automatic-claims, which I assume means it'd be automatically approved. I just hope the delays with the followup consultation & start of chemo/radiation aren't going to be an issue, since I've already missed four days of work this week. If I went back to work now, I'd have to start the required three-day waiting period all over again UNPAID before I could claim short-term income protection again! So, needless to say, although I'll have a week of waiting with no tests - hallelujah, NO TESTS!!! - I'm not going back to work. I did mention, though, that I haven't been sleeping well, forgot to eat supper one night & am worried about losing my temper with a customer due to the lack of sleep & stress that I'm under, so hopefully they'll be understanding & not penalize me for not returning to work while awaiting the next steps. I should know by the end of next week if there are any hiccups. She seems understanding, though, so hopefully all goes smoothly. Meanwhile, I'm going to take a much needed break from all this & enjoy myself this weekend with some very good friends. As they say, laughter is the best medicine, so I plan on stocking up big time!
On that note, I'm off for a much needed sleep. For the first time since getting my diagnosis on Tuesday, I feel like I might be able to get a good night's sleep...finally. I think all the time I spent with friends today has a lot to do with it, so to them, I say THANK YOU! You know who you are. :)
*[NOTE: Post title inspired by a line from Placebo's song "Post Blue" from their "Meds" album, another one of my all-time favourite albums & songs.]
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