With the hospital complex on lock down things are a little different. While I’ve been to this facility before, only a handful of entrances are open.
I’d been directed to enter at 707 McDermott which is right next to the building that holds the PET scanner. There is a trailer in front of this door but also a large entrance sign with an arrow that seemed to me to indicate you should go around the trailer, which I do. Now I’m in HSC and I’m on my own to navigate through the maze of hallways. I end up over at the CancerCare building and after some phone calls I’ve got a guide assigned and it’s back to the 707 entrance, across a lane to a locked door where I tailgate in as a person is going out.
Now I’m in familiar territory and it’s up the elevator to the 7th floor. Except the elevator is totally locked off. Back in the lobby I meet up with the nurse who escorts me up.
Turns out that bypassing that trailer was my mistake. This is the intake/screening area, which I managed to totally bypass. If I’d gone in there they would have called the PET folks and I would have had a simpler entrance to the facility. Oh well, it was an adventure and a little welcomed extra walking.
After quite a few screening questions, a weigh in, a blood sugar level test and changing into hospital pant I’m placed into a fancy reclining chair and hooked to an IV
Sadly, they won’t use my newly installed port as protocol won’t allow them to be the 1st to test it out. No big deal, just a typical IV in the arm instead.
The hour flies by as the meds circulate through my system and then I’m in the machine. Twenty minutes with my arm over my head. The 1st pass is a CT scan and the longer, slower 2nd pass in the PET scan. Pretty uneventful as you feel nothing. I did get a tickle in my throat and they want you to hold still so there was some pretty serious concentration to suppress that urge. Once I’m set free its back into street clothes and I’m on my way.
Results will be discussed with the doctor on Monday March 30th.