A Skeleton Scan Comes Into View
“I just didn't fit in the bone scan tube. I can't imagine what they do if someone really big comes in. Where do football and basketball players go?”
Well, my brain scan was clean, and I got to see my skeleton today. Now I have to admit, that in all my years of writing, that's a sentence that I never thought I would write. Today was another scan day, MRI on the brain and a complete bone scan, that was a new one. And I learned a lot.
First, I learned that I am still too large for most hospital machines. I just didn't fit in the bone scan tube, they had to do a separate picture of my feet. I can't imagine what they do if someone really big comes in. Where do football and basketball players go?
But the doctor was kind enough to let me look at my skeleton. I had been badgering her about what the scans showed, and she was adamant that she couldn't tell me anything. That's drilled into all of them, and rightly so. But she did let me look, probably just to shut me up. It was pretty cool. I didn't really know what I was seeing, beyond the skeleton itself, it takes a trained professional to really read it. I did see the bright white spot on my spine though, that was obvious. There was the tumor.
There was one strange thing that happened. Another doctor came in while I was on the machine and said she wanted to go over my history. She had it all right, the original tumor, the brain tumor, the spread, and so on. And then she started talking about my bone pain and the problem with my left hip. I don't have a problem with my left hip. My first thought, of course, was now I do. But it turned out she was thinking about another patient, but that kind of thing scares you. It's hard not to think, maybe she was right?
The MRI's are old hat now. I do fit in that machine, although it's a little snug. You lie there and are bombarded by really strange sounds. Again, I tried to pump the radiologists, but they didn't give up a thing. I was expecting my doctor to call me on Monday with the results, and trying to tell myself it was no big deal, I could wait, but then I got a surprise call and an early read. The brain was clean. That's some of the first good news I've gotten in a while.
Oh yeah, the cold intolerance hasn't been so bad. I had ice cream last night. So all in all, not a bad day.
6:32 AM ET | 08-14-2006 | permalink
