I awoke to a sister knocking at 8:20 to do my IV antibiotic due to the PICC procedure. It took about 20-25 mins. At 9:00 I am expecting a technician from the outside to draw blood. I need to dress, etc as a taxi is expected at 9:15. No breakfast or water as I will have a CT scan of my stomach area. Not a PET as I said yesterday.
9:15 we are in the lobby. No taxi, we wait. And wait. And wait. Geeta's mom arrives in a ambulance instead of a taxi, so this is offered. The front seat is very high for me. Robbin picks me up but does not hear the warnings of those around to watch my head. Bang and subsequent tears, but we are on our way.
We get there and the driver parks about a foot away from higher ground. I try but cannot as the ambulance is high. I ask him to park closer so I can step down. Ahba translates and the driver turns the car around and puts me on a slope that I cannot maneuver. They get me a step that is now on a slope and with trepidation I get down. Phew! I am wheeled into my appt about an hr late.
I wait as Robbin registers me. Once done we wait another 1/2 hr until a technician comes out with a bottle of fluid for me to drink. 3 glasses in 15 mins, then another glass in 30 mins and another after 30 more mins. I am disappointed and hungry as I drink.
After the last glass, I ask Ahba to tell them I am ready. Unfortunately, there are a few ahead of me, so we wait... and wait.
It is now 12:30 and I need to be back at NuTech by 1:00 for my 2nd of four blood draws today. Ahba tells them and we wait.
Finally, it's time! Hooray. I enter the room and I'm asked to drink another glass of liquid, ugh. I am helped to lay down.
They put a tourniquet on my wrist in an attempt to insert something but they did not. They wanted me to raise my hands over my head but I could not. They proceeded to set the table in motion so that I would be in the CT unit. The tourniquet had a metal piece on it so I yelled and they stopped. My hands and arms were under a blanket so I had to maneuver with frustration. I think they thought I was in pain from the tourniquet but I was afraid of the metal. The test proceeded and took 5 mins. They injected a medicine into my vein 1/2 through, leaving a butterfly unit in me. I asked why they did not take it out. "In 10 mins" I was told.
Out in the lobby we decide to go to a small cafe next door as Ahba brought yogurt from NuTech for me. And I am hungry as its 1:00.
Back in the lobby we wait for someone to remove the butterfly. They come, remove it and we depart by taxi. It is now ~1:15. We get back to NuTech at 1:30. We missed the technician.
We arrive and the sisters want me in the injection room for stem cells. Ahba listens & I remind her of my very full bladder! We go to the room. Then I ate lunch and then went down to the injection room as Robbin lay sleeping. Poor guy was up all night with Dehli Belly again. And he had a headache from no food.
We slept on & off as Ahba read.
The rest of the day was uneventful - thank God! :-)
xo
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