Another Day, Another...

$4,000. Who knows how much today's tests cost in real dollars.

After all the ER theatrics I had this weekend - I went to my oncologist for a follow up. When talking with them - they decided to admit me for 24 hours and run some test on my lungs and heart to make sure they were functioning correctly.

I think I mentioned on Sunday that the preliminary CT and X-ray showed clear lungs, but as a follow-up they just sent me down to nuclear medicine for some test's I've never heard of.

The first one was some sort of ventilation imaging where I inhaled a mixture of O2 and a Xenon isotope 133. The machine then images the release of this isotope and shows concentrations of oxygen or areas that are not being fully utilized. Apparently the body is smart enough to know that if an embolism or some other sort of blockage is present - it will reroute to a better function area. Pretty cool really.

The second test was an intravenous one with another radioactive isotope. They inject me and then take a series of 8 pictures (2 minutes per picture) as they rotate around my lungs. This shows more about circulation and less about physical anatomy.

Neither test was painful or uncomfortable and when you have Leukemia - people wheel you from location to location on a nice bed. The entire imaging sequence only took about an hour - most of which I spent talking with the technician who was servicing one of the camera units. I was amazed to see that most of the nuclear imaging machines were actually attached to Apple PowerMacs...12 year-old PowerMacs. To put it in perspective, one of the hard drives had just crapped out on one of the units and the technician got a replacement off of eBay. I'm sure Anthem would be delighted to hear that the $2,000 test I just got is stored on a $10 eBay purchase (plus shipping of course).

I miss being home with Kris and the kiddos and am really frustrated that I cannot be more useful around the house right now. I keep asking the question, how much can one woman do and Kris' actions continue to say "all of it".

Admittedly, It's really nice to be here at Methodist in these uncertain times and I can relax while I'm here knowing that my care is unparalleled and I have hundreds of lifesavers around me at any point in time.

The nurse just checked in and told me that my white count is now 5,200. That is another 4,000 drop in the past two days. Most of my other levels are solid so now its just a waiting game until we hear back from the heart doc.

Miss you all.