Monday, August 5, 2013

Testing 1,2,3

As I write this I am currently sitting in a hall tucked away somewhere in the Duke Clinic building waiting.  The hall is kind of crazy feeling and I guess it's fitting since its the waiting area for psychology.  There are no windows just doors, lots and lots of doors.  There are a few chairs along the wall and that is where I find myself.

It is the start of day 2.  This time I'm in the waiting room for radiology in the hospital.  I am currently waiting to do my barium swallow test thing.  I'm pretty thirsty which is good I guess since I "get" to down some delicious chalky radioactive goo!  I can't wait!!!!  

In other news yesterday went well.  One problem we ran into was the lack of information the docs here have.  I mostly had meetings scheduled yesterday but hadn't had any testing done, well except having pretty much all my blood taken out. (for real I got 27 tubes of blood taken :0).  The lack of test results lead to doc appointments that went like this " hi I'm doc blah blah, here's  some info, give us a bit of your history, we can't really tell you much because we don't have anything to go off of.  Bye".  It is good to be here though and see what the place is like and meet people here.  We have met a few other pre-transplant people which is nice.  We also met one lady who has already had a transplant!  It was really good meeting her because she has already been through this once and was very successful she is 16 years out!  She is also here being evaluated which is a bummer for her but it is nice to know that 16 good years is a possibility and to now know someone who that is a reality for rather than just hearing rumors.

My barium test is over and mom and I are sitting in a cafe grabbing some food, trying to erase the barium's taste memory before my next appointment.  I don't want to jump ahead and call the barium test the worst test ever but it was pretty bad.  The stuff tastes HORRIBLE!!!! I kept gagging and even puking as I did it.  My poor digestive system is just not up to par when it comes to ingesting nasty things ( and even good things actually). I did not quit though and just pushed through!  I pray that the results are what they need and that I never have to do this again!  

Well that's all for now be sure to check back  later for more updates.  If you are the praying sort prayers that the rest of the tests are smooth and that I am the perfect candidate, basically that there is nothing that makes them hesitant to transplant me and that it is the right time, not too early as we have been hearing that a bit. ( though again with no test results they are simply going off of a quick exam and what I tell them, and we have already covered my slight denial problem!)

Until next time
Adios!

The view from the airplane 

The lung boards hopefully one say sooner name will be up there! (Oh the fun of auto-correct!  It should read: the lung boards, hopefully one day soon my name will be up there!)

5 comments:

  1. Don't know if this will help at all, you've certainly had your share of tests and blood letting, but I decided pretty young that tolerating awful things because of the "why" it was happening gave me peace and acceptance.

    I know you are on that path and may already be there. When you got your last tube put in thingie, your testimony was awesome as to how you handled it.

    I know Mom is holding your hand; imagine that I'm there too if it helps.

    AJ

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  2. Hi Anna!
    You are never far from my thoughts and I'm bring you a 'truckload' of good vibes your way! I know this part kinds of sucks but keep your chin up! When you spoke of doors...I just thought of the old saying about when 'One door closes another opens!'... I'm sure that's the case for you..given the number of doors around you!

    Take Care . Ross Xx

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  3. I'm proud of you making it through the swallow!!! That's a big deal--knowing you!! Keep up the positive attitude.
    Love you!!! Beth

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  4. The barium test sounded awful. ..I hope the rest go better and that you are the perfect candidate for a new lung and that they find the perfect match very quickly.

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  5. Congratulations on getting through the barium test. I wonder what other little surprises the doctors have in store for you. Hang in there!

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