Often getting an IV is the worst part of any medical procedure. This was true, once again, for the PET scan I had on Tuesday. I warned the tech that I am a hard stick. Either she didn't believe me or thought her skills were that good. She stuck me and dug around until she got it. Then, when she tried to push that lovely radioactive tracer into my vein, it blew. Try #2 on the other arm failed miserably. "Have you had anything to drink today? That could be why your veins are being to difficult." {Well, aren't you used to that, since in order to prepare for this scan, I wasn't able to eat or drink for 6 hours prior? Duh!} Thankfully, she called in reinforcements, and I finally was able to be radioactive once again.
After the injection, I had to sit in a chair and wait for my entire body to absorb the tracer. After a 45 minute nap, it was time to move to to the machine. First, I was scanned with my arms above my head, then with my hands down by my sides. The total scan was about 25 minutes of lying still in a cold room, listening to the hum of the machine. Another quick nap, and I was ready to go.
On the way out, the 2nd tech was very comforting. She apologized for things not going smoothly, but I assured her that it wasn't just them--I'm used to it happening! I was told to not hug my babies and to keep them a few feet away from me for the rest of the day to prevent my radioactive state from passing on to them. That was another reason to be grateful that the boys are away at Summer Camp Midland.
Now to just wait for the results to help us make a battle plan!
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