You don't know Craig???

Well, here he is...

He's nearly 40 (or are you already??), he's tall, works part time as a firefighter with Ottawa Fire Services....

He's married to a wonderful woman named Heather, and they are perfect together...

...maybe because she accepts that he's crazy?

He works tirelessly for the Kidney Foundation and organ donation....

He has great friends... 

He has a large family that loves him....

And this is his kidney, when he is able to do his dialysis.... 

Please consider being a live organ donor... if you are not a match, please consider the paired program. Lives depend on it. 

It's in you to give...    Living Donation (click here)

What now?

I was hoping to be able to speak to Craig before his team spoke to him so I got in touch and asked if he would mind if I came for a visit on Monday (29th). Of course he said sure "and bring the dogs." I was down East and on the way home the car broke down in New Hampshire. We ended up having to stay until Tuesday evening and I knew, by then, his team would likely have told him what was going on. At first, I was told we weren't likely to be leaving New Hampshire until Thursday so I sent him a message to let him know what had been decided. I needed him to know why I was no longer a candidate, but really wanted it to come from me first, preferably face to face. 

Craig, being Craig, said it didn't matter how I contacted him and was still thankful for the effort, although I can't imagine the blow this must have been. I know it was out of my control, but that does not change the impact of the outcome. 

it's unfortunate that the CT Scan is usually where people are eliminated from the program, since it is the last test to be done, but it is also the most expensive, hardest to book, etc, so it is only done if necessary.  At least one other of the people going through the program on his behalf was also eliminated at this point. 

My only advice at this point, for anyone going through the process, is to know that the outcome is out of your control. If you are able to proceed with the program and become a donor, that's fantastic, if not, you've done what you can. 

I'm looking forward to getting together with Craig, letting our dogs play and continuing to help with the search for a donor. I have committed to sharing the information until 5 more people have come forward to be tested (but I won't stop there of course), and also to remind those who are not a match for Craig directly, they can still continue with the Paired Program and still find him a kidney! If you're willing to donate directly, you should still be willing to donate indirectly! Think about it. :)

So, I will now be a control for the 5 year study on the impact of kidney donation. Those who have donated will be followed and the impact on them will be tracked; physical, mental, financial, and of course their overall health. I will have my blood pressure taken every day for two weeks, give blood and urine samples and then continue with the blood and urine yearly for 5 years. 

Please consider living donation....

Social Worker and Surgical Consults

I had the Social worker and Surgical consults on April 23rd (same day as the CT Scan). I haven't posted about those appointments for a couple of reasons; one I drove to New Brunswick to pick up my daughter and on the way home, the car broke down in Gorham, New Hampshire. If you have to be "stuck" somewhere, the Mount Washington Valley is the place to be. 

The other reason is that I wanted to chat with Craig first.

The Social Work appointment was the second appointment of the day. Her name is Heather, and she is wonderful. Very kind, offered to speak with my daughter if she has any concerns and offered her services if I needed to come back and speak with her again. The appointment was actually very relaxing. She asked me a couple of questions that I hadn't thought about, such as; "Who is your power of attorney?" Oh... no idea. So, please consider that. She asked about insurance, phone numbers, etc. She would be the person making phone calls if something doesn't go as planned or if there are any questions from the doctor while you are in surgery. Sometimes even with all of the tests, there could be something unexpected. She also asked about work, sick days, compensation. If you have a job with limited sick time, you will can apply for compensation through the Trillium program. You can also save all receipts for parking, hotels (if you have to go elsewhere), etc and be reimbursed, to a certain amount. 

The last appointment of the day was with the Surgeon. I'm sorry I do not remember his name, it was not the appointment I was hoping for. Brenda came in and spoke with me first to give me the results from the renal scan and the CT Scan. The Renal scan showed my left kidney was quite a bit larger than the right kidney. The left is functioning at 62% and left is 38%. Normal is 50/50, of course. They generally still accept 48/52, but any more disparity and they determine this to be a little too risky for the donor and the recipient.  The CT Scan was the final determining factor. It showed the right kidney (smaller), has 3 arteries in and one vien out. Normal is one of each. If the kidneys were both in great shape and operating well, they may take one with two arteries, any more than that, and it becomes dangerous, the surgery becomes much longer and more complicated. 

The surgeon came in to see me and went over the same results. He said they would normally take the smaller kidney and leave the donor with the larger, but in my case, that is not possible. They cannot remove the kidney with three arteries and therefore would leave me with just over 1/3 kidney function if they went ahead with the surgery. He left the room for a moment saying, "I don't think we'll get you to sign a consent form".... "Diane??"  Then came back and said, "No, we aren't going to put you through that, there isn't a surgeon in our program and none others that I know of that would leave you with that little function." He explained that because the kidney is already smaller and doing so much less of the work, there is a chance that it will not step up to the plate and do more work if the other is removed. 

He left me with a tiny glimmer of hope when we left the appointment and said they were having a meeting the next day to discuss this case and see if I would be able to continue in the program. Upon leaving, Mary came out to speak to me, her first words were, "I'm so sorry Sue." At that point I knew this was the end of the road for me and the Paired Donor Program. I received the call the next day from Brenda that I would in fact, not be carrying on with the program and my appointment with the nephrologist on the 29th was cancelled. 

I can't really explain how this felt. I was blown away, surprised, nauseous, disappointed, but above all, I was really hoping that this would be the opportunity Craig needed for a kidney. Very unfortunate and unbelievable. 

Next was the CT Scan...

I also had my social worker and surgical consults today, but I will post about those after...
.... all in one day. A nice way to get through the appointments quickly.

To top the day off, I was able to meet Deanna who worked her butt off to make sure I had the appointments I needed. Thanks Deanna!

My first appointment was the CT Scan, thankfully, since I had to be fasted for 4 hours. Not a big deal, since I was able to have coffee and food first thing in the morning, I just had to fast before 11:40! I was told the injection used would make me feel very hot, leave a metallic taste in my mouth and make me feel like I had to pee, or that perhaps I was peeing. Interesting. 

First, they insert an IV so when the time comes they simply hook you up and inject the contrast for the imaging. First, I had some images done without the dye. The machine does all the work. I lay on the table and it moves you into the machine, tells you to hold your breath as it whirs around you. The longest count to hold your breath is 5. It's easy, there is no claustrophobia issues as it's open at either end.  

The dye is then injected and believe me, when they tell you of the side effects, it's true. It comes on quickly .... very quickly. First my hands were on fire, then the roof of my mouth, along with the metallic taste. Then I truly felt like I was going to pee my pants. Oh my. It was so weird it was almost a little scary, then it all of a sudden was gone. Thank goodness. The taste in my mouth stayed, but I am thinking it was more in my head than anything else at that point. Kind of like thinking you can taste skunk because you've driven past one. The feeling of heat in the roof of my mouth lingered as well, but again, I think that was less reality and more just lingering thoughts. It is not painful, it's just strange. 

After a few more pictures I was off to the waiting room to sit it out and make sure I didn't have an allergic reaction to the contrast. This is done with the IV in place, assuming they will manage a reaction via IV. After approximately 15 minutes the IV is removed and I was told "hold the bandage on it for 5 minutes" so that it didn't bleed excessively. For some reason I assumed it was like having blood taken. Nope. The IV is a lot larger than a needle for blood work. As you can see above, I didn't exactly listen. I then helped myself to another bandage and held it for the full 5 minutes before leaving. No problem. 

The whole process took about 45 minutes. The only thing I had to do afterwards was drink a lot of water to flush out the dye. As usual, nothing compare to what others have been through and go through daily with kidney disease.

If these tests don't seem too tough and you can imagine yourself as a live kidney donor, please consult your local hospital renal program. If you want to be considered for Craig Dunbar, please comment and I will put you in touch with Mary and Brenda at the Riverside Hospital. Donors are desperately needed. 

Recipients taking on Traits of Their Donor....

Whomever ends up with this kidney, I would like to apologize. If you end up with my character traits, be prepared to have numerous little scars, bruises, broken dishes, etc, etc... I am a super clumsy person, it seems! 

Once again, I ended up giving blood this week... unfortunately, not to the Red Cross, but to the window and couch where I was cleaning windows. Eeesh.

As for the phenomenon, it is something that I find very interesting. There have been many cases of recipients taking on traits or even having memories from the donor. This is known as (or thought to be known as) Cellular Memory. Many alternative therapists (massage, chiropractor, etc) believe that memories are stored in different areas of the body. I have been told that my low back and hips are my "power area", meaning it's the hardest area for me to let go and allow to release and relax. Apparently it's where I store a lot of my worries and fears. My low back and hips are always tight and always sore, so there may be something to that. Or, it could simply be that I use my glutes to hold me upright instead of my abs!  lol... either way, when I have a massage when my back is the main focus, I am wiped out.

I hope whomever gets my kidney doesn't have too many of my hard memories, but perhaps they will all of a sudden have a great love for animals, or want to play volleyball or want to spend time near the water! 

Now, back to tending to my new stitches. Yup, I'm that clumsy.

No Tests this week....

... and it feels kind of weird. It will be really weird when the last four appointments are finished and we sit and wait for someone to call and say, "There's a match." I must remind myself that it may not happen this round, but at this point, that is the only reality I am willing to face. I have had a good feeling about this from day 1. Perhaps that's simply because I know this is what I need and want to do, but also, I'm hoping, because it's going to happen!

After speaking with the psychiatrist and not being asked the questions I thought he would ask, I've been thinking more and more about those questions. I think this is the hardest part of the entire procedure. The tests are simple really, the only real discomfort has been going without coffee until 10:00 after being up at 5:00. That's really a mosquito bite in a world of dangerous insects. I'm even assuming that, yes, there will be some pain and a major slow down in activities for a little while when the surgery happens, but again, perhaps we are up to a bee sting?

What I have been finding stressful is the "what if's," or perhaps more "What if not's". I don't think there is a person out there who is ready or willing to face those questions. I am hoping there is never a need to, but I do think, for anyone who is going to be a part of this process, those are thoughts you should have, recognize and be ready for. My problem is moving past the recognize phase. I know there is no need to dwell on those issues, and simply think about the positive outcomes, but I think worry for my friend takes over.

I am going to work on thinking of only the positive outcomes for now, as I am a firm believer in not only mindfulness, but also in, "What you put out to the Universe is what comes back." Not that it would necessarily come back to me, just come back! Put out positive vibes and thoughts and good things happen around you! Let's hope that will happen. I ask everyone who is reading this to do the same!!

Psychiatrist Consult - Check

I'm not really sure why this appointment made me nervous, perhaps because we are all a little crazy, aren't we? I was expecting to be asked questions such as, "Why do you want to do this?"  "What if it is not successful?"  "Do you have a good support network?" etc..

What he asked was, "Was it difficult to make this decision?"
My answer to that was, "No!" I told him that when I realized I could be a live organ donor, my only disappointing or negative thought was, "I wish I had realized this sooner!"  I wish I had been able to start this process a long time ago, but we can't look backwards, only forwards.

He also asked me about my childhood, if I had suffered any trauma or abuse. He asked if I had any drug or alcohol dependency issues, asked about life and stress and if I had ever been depressed. The very fact that I made it through that appointment with a smile on my face means a lot! He was wonderful to sit and chat with, had a little advice about a perscription I am currently on and as we talked he said it sounds like I practice mindfullness. I suppose I do.

I am a firm believer, now, that every emotion has a right to be felt and you have a right to feel them. Every tough day or good day should be recognized and appreciated. Stuffing down the negative feelings or believing that you should feel okay, does not really get you ahead in the long run. If you are feeling low, allow yourself to feel it. Recognize it and move on! Dr. Bourgon suggested that sometimes over-assurance can lead to more anxiety, and really... who needs that? :) Mindfullness is simply about being present with your emotions, living in that particular moment and dealing with it. Acceptance is key. Ahhhh, if I had only been that smart as a child. :)

So, next week, I am appointment free. The following week I have three appointments on the 23rd. I am in for a CT Scan late morning, then early afternoon I have the Social Worker Consultation, then the Surgical Consultation. The last appointment, on April 29 (my brithday) is with the Nephrologist. I am still unsure why I am not to drink any caffienated beverages before I see him, I just know that I must have my coffee into me by 8:00! No problem!





Renal Scan Complete

Last week I completed the Renal Scan at the Civic Hospital. It was a pretty easy procedure. I didn't have to really do anything except "go pee", be injected with radioactive material and then lie still... that was probably the hardest part. Of course your back becomes uncomfortable, your nose itches and there's a hair in your eye when you have to lie still.

The main part of the procedure was 30 minutes. I ws able to watch the progress on the screen above me, I watched for a few minutes and then promptly fell asleep. When I woke up, my kidneys and bladder were making a smilie face at me (not really a smile, but it was close enough). At this point, I had to "empty my bladder" again, come back and lie on the table for another 5 minutes, then I was finished.

The table moves, so when you're lying down, you are moved into the machine and the appropriate camera does the scanning. In my case, the camera was beneath me. I didn't feel anything, and it certainly wasn't as noisy as an MRI. The technician was very kind and cheerful, so the appointment seemed to go quickly and without a hitch. Now I simply wait for the results and move on to my next appointment... the Psychologist Consult. Uh-oh! 

I find hospitals to be a little bit scary, I never seem to know where I am going and usually end up lost. I was lucky that while searching what I thought was the 1st floor, I ran into a wonderful friend and was able to catch up a bit!! I wasn't so lucky when I made it to the actual 1st floor (bottom floor is the main floor at the Civic), I ran into these "canisters" just outside of Nuclear Medicine. Eeesh

There's nothing scary about them. I'm pretty sure the placard says that it's simply compressed air, but hey, I was walking into a "Nuclear" area!

I will always be a fan of these pull strings in the washrooms... I keep considering installing them in my house. Lord knows I could use them! I think even having a "cancel" button some days would be a bonus! :)

Latest Update from Craig

This is why Living Kidney Donors are needed.

"I saw the vascular surgeon today, along with the vascular access coordinator. The fistula is on its last legs, so to speak, so we’re making plans for the next step. Unfortunately, there are very few options left. The two best options involve having a catheter in my femoral artery, which will cause all kinds of problems. 

Option 1 is to have that in place and have a graft done in my arm to create another access, then pull the femoral catheter out once the new access in my arm is ready- IF it works. Sometimes they never work once created. It’s pretty common for these accesses to not work, and many patients have many of them created before they get one that works. Even if it works, it will take a couple of months to be ready to use. 

Option 2 is the femoral catheter as the only access. The issue is, that my body does not like having tubes stuck in my blood vessels. Once that is in, my artery will begin to constrict to force it ou...t, and I will be left with a constricted artery. This already happened in 2 spots in my upper body, and will happen again. Once this happens, the catheter will have to be removed, leaving behind a damaged artery and causing serious blood flow problems in the leg. Then they will switch to the other leg and repeat the same thing.

SO the only way to avoid this is a new kidney- ASAP. There are a few amazing people currently being tested for the Living Donor Paired Exchange, and I am very hopeful that something will happen on that front, but the clock is now ticking very quickly. The best option is to find a match soon, so that person can be rushed through the tests. The Living Donor Paired Exchange, although an excellent program, offers n o guarantees, or I could wait another year or two. Unfortunately, I don’t have that kind of time. If anyone was sitting on the fence about getting tested, please reconsider. Things are getting very serious...

In the meantime, I’m going to soldier on, and enjoy every minute I’m on top of the grass."

"To quote Clay Walker:
I’m gonna live, laugh, love, just for today
Take all the trouble tomorrow might bring and put it away
I’m gonna drink every drop of happiness ‘til they cover me up
I’m gonna live, gonna laugh, gonna love."

It seems very unfortunate that these are his options at this point. I hope he can wait a little while and maybe in May we will be prepping for surgery.

Please keep him, and all those waiting for a donor, in your thoughts.

All Appointments are Booked!!

The incredible Deanna at the Riverside Hospital has worked her magic and booked my final 6 appointments! I have my Renal scan this Friday, Psychologist consult next Wednesday, on the 23rd I get my CT Scan and see the Social Worker and the Surgeon and on the 29th (my birthday), I see the Nephrologist! She worked very hard to make sure these appointments were all booked before May, and I am eternally grateful! As long as everything goes well (fingers crossed please), I will be ready for the May cycle for matching!!! Very exciting!

Short entry today, just excited to share the appointments will all be completed before May!!

Teaching Session...

I went to the Teaching Session on March 21^st. As I had mentioned before, I did things out of order a little, as they wanted to see right away if I was a match for Craig.  The Teaching session goes through all of the steps of the process, some I had been through already. Mary and Brenda were very upfront and informative about the process as it went, so the Teaching Session was added information, stats, and likelihoods of things happening.

Some of the information was very encouraging; Recipients finding kidneys at 100% antibodies and are now living well. Better ability to find a match with living donors, kidneys lasting longer, healthier kidneys, and less chance of rejection with living donors. All very good news! Of course there are the down sides; first and foremost, not being able to find a match for the recipient. But, there are potential downsides for the donor as well. There is the possibility of finding out you have a health issue you were not aware of, and apparently some of the compatibility tests can predict paternity/maternity. Donors have found out, they were adopted or both of their parents were not their “biological” parents. Wow, what a way to find out!  Apparently this testing is part of the matching process and takes hours each time. It’s tested and re-tested to be sure. Some siblings will have no antigens in common, while others have 6 (best case). Strangers can also be genetically matched, as some antigens are very common. It’s a very interesting process! 

Then there are the antibodies. The recipients blood cannot have any antibodies against the donor’s blood. In some cases a mother cannot receive a kidney from a child, as she may have developed antibodies against him/her while pregnant. It’s odd that the mother would treat the baby as a foreign body, but I guess it is.

There are reasons a potential donor may be found ineligible; the anatomy of the kidney, or the anatomy of the other organs making it impossible to remove the kidney, health issues, etc. It basically has to be good for the donor and the recipient.  They will not sacrifice the one person’s health for another’s.

At this point, I am beginning Phase 2 of the process. I have completed Phase 1 and the test results are all in. So far, all is good. I have no diseases; infectious or otherwise, my heart is good, my kidneys are both there, my chest x-ray was fine, no lumps in the boobs (that shouldn’t be there), and basically everything is normal. I have my first Phase 2 appointment on April 5^th, the Renal scan. It will take approximately an hour. The only part of it that sounds… icky… is the “injection of radioactive tracers”. Eeeks.  It sounds like the Renal Scan is very interesting. I’ll write about that when the time comes. It’s going to test my overall kidney function. I was trying to find a picture of a renal scan, but I really wasn't sure what google was giving me, some were with Lasik, some were of someone with cancer, I didn't want to post something that was inaccurate... then I found this one. Uhhhh...??

I’ll get into the recovery and complications of the surgery later…. For now, I am going to concentrate on improving my fitness and eating as well as possible. I want to be a good candidate, and I want to heal well and quickly afterwards.  At the bottom of one of the pages, I had written, “6 weeks for the tissues to heal fully, and a few more weeks to build strength back up, “ which was a quote from Mary Rada. Underneath it I wrote, "Get Stronger Now!" These are pictures of me from about 5 years ago. Working towards this goal again will keep me busy while waiting for matches to be found. 

Remainder of Phase 1 Testing

This week I had begun to feel a little nervousness, I think because the weeks are winding down until the next National Cross match for the paired program. I'm not nervous for me, I'm sure thousands of people have life saving surgery every day, and me, well, I'm just going in and coming out a tiny bit lighter, life not needing to be saved. Maybe I will be nervous about the surgery when the time comes, but I do hope it is sooner than later.

At the teaching session yesterday, Brenda mentioned to me again that we may not make it in time for May, so I told her to go ahead and book the Phase 2 appointments and just tell me where to be and when! It's not a big deal to do a little extra driving or go into the hospital more than a couple of times. They try to block them all together, but if it's faster to make multiple trips, than that's fine with me.

My day started with picking up the requisitions on the 5th floor, then off I go to the Main level to the lab. Yesterday's blood work was a form of DNA test, checking the antigens, Non-infectious diseases and infectious diseases (Hep B and C, HIV, HTLV, Syphilis) and of course chicken pox. If this is transferred through the kidney, it could be fatal to the recipient. Not much point in that happening!

Then off to the xray department for a quick two panel chest xray, and then on to the Cardiology department for an ECG. None of these tests were the least bit invasive, and the only one that took any amount of time was the blood work, but all tolled, I was finished in less than two hours. I was worried I would have to do some of them after the Teaching Session, but Phew, no worries.

As you can probably tell, I stopped asking permission to take pictures! lol I only posted a part of this photo, because Lord knows what kind of information is on the screen and I had a hard time seeing it after the photo was taken. The technicians were all nice enough, but I figure if I plead ignorance, it's easier... "Easier to beg forgiveness than to ask permission".

The Teaching Session was very interesting. It was odd that it was only women, but apparently they have had men come out to them as well. As a side note, there was a woman there who had lived the first part of her life in Tanzania, and I was really wishing I had my camera. She was very nice, so I assumed that she may let me take a picture. Her hands were beautiful! (I love to photograph hands).

Instead of making a very long post, I'll explain the Teaching Session later.  So far, Phase 1 has consisted of;

• Questionaire
• Consents
• Height, weight and blood pressure on both arms
• Teaching session
• Screening of blood and urine (blood three different times... maybe 4)
• 2 x 24 hour urine collection
• Letter to family MD - which resulted in pap, breast exam, mammogram and TB test
• Tissue typing and Crossmatch (which we did first because it was for a known patient - Craig)
• ECG and Chest X-ray
• Abdominal Ultrasound

It sounds like a lot, but it didn't take very much time at all. I was surprised at how quickly my tests were booked. The only results I'm waiting for now are the last blood work, x-ray and ecg, everything else was good.



Is that my Ultrasound or the Moon Landing?

Yesterday was my return to the doctor's office to see the nurse about my TB injection. She said the same thing I did, "It's tough to see where it is." Although I think my words were more along these lines, "It's hard to distinguish it from the other marks on my arm." I was in and out of there in mere minutes with a card stating I am Tuberculosis free! Excellent!

On to the Ultrasound this morning at the Civic hospital. I was told there was no need to come in any earlier than 7:00, as the technician is not there before that. I got up, made my coffee, poured my warm water for lemon and then realized, "No food or drink".  Ugh!! So, with a very dry mouth and the headache coming, off I went. I found a parking spot relatively easily, and made my way into the hospital. It's a little confusing once inside, even though most things are marked, the Emergency radiology department (where they do the ultrasounds that time of day) is tough to find. I arrived just as the lady at the desk was booting up the computer, great timing. I don't think my bum was in the chair for more than a minute when the tech came out to get me. I asked her right away if there was a chance she was from the Maritimes!  lol  I explained that the other two technicians I saw this week were from Newfoundland and New Brunswick and as I was from Nova Scotia, it would have been great if she was from PEI to round out the Atlantic Provinces. She was hilarioius, "I"m from Prince Edward County, does that count?" My reply... "I'll take it!"

The ultrasound was painless of course, but did take a while. A student did most of the work, she was lovely! It was pretty comfortable and they were very friendly, can't ask for much better than that (the picture above is not me of course, I was not to take pictures again). I will be interested to find out what the doctor puts in the notes, as there was a little "something" on the right side, that they both decided simply looked like a pyramid. I'm assuming that is supposed to be there. So back to crossing fingers and hoping everything is normal. I was looking at the images now and then, and thought how bizarre they look... as the title infers, looks a little like the moon's surface!

One image in particular, mind you, looked like a baby ultrasound (taken from my upper right quadrant.. lol). She said, "I assure you, that's a kidney."  Excellent! (Clearly these two look nothing alike... not my baby and not my kidney)!

  

Please spare a thought for my pal Craig and that this May we find a match in the paired program or someone else getting tested is a match. The more the better, just in case someone gets knocked out of the running for some reason. One step closer. Next week is the information session, CT Scan and Chest X-ray, then on to the consults!

Below are two pictures of Craig. The first is him doing dialysis. I remind myself that anything I "feel" or "go through" is really a piece of cake! The other is Craig and his wonderful wife Heather!

Boob Squishing and the Easterners!

Today was Boob Squishing day. I was expecting a lot of pain and pressure, but it really wasn't so bad. There was some pressure, but I'll be honest, if they weren't hidden by a bra, you'd know they are the perfect shape for this machine!  My appointment was at 15:00 and I was asked to arrive 15 minutes early to fill out some paperwork. I was in with the technician by just a few minutes after 15:00. I was asked to disrobe from the waist up, and bring my belongings with me. In I went with the technician, she showed me the machine (and wouldn't let me take a picture, but she was so apologetic about it, and of course I completely understood, those crazy privacy laws!). It looked a little daunting, but she was wonderful about the whole thing and made me very comfortable. 

Because I wasn't able to get a picture, the technician (I really wish I could remember her name) told me to remember Hologic and find a pic on line. I did and here it is. This is the exact machine that is used there. The boob is squished between the black plate and the plastic "tray" above it. It uses a lot of pressure, over 20 lbs of pressure. I most I noticed for sure was 24.6 lbs, and it squashes the boob pretty thin. I won't be saying how thin!

                                   

              

Six images, three on each side, and that was it. Straight on, sideways and on a bit of an angle. I'm sure if I was more "ample", it would be an issue, but nothing to worry about here. Now fingers crossed there will be no surprises.  I really enjoyed the plaque that was in the changing room;

Thursday I'm heading back to have the TB injection looked at to see if there was a reaction. Again, so far, so good. On Friday will be the ultrasound, I'll be there at 6:30, ultrasound by 7:00! Now, if the ultrasound technician is from PEI, the Easterners connection will be complete! My x-ray technician was from Newfoundland. He heard me speak and asked me right away where I was from, when he commented on my answer, I knew right away he was from Newfoundland! Today, my mammogram technician had a great accent, so it was my turn to ask. Sure enough, she's from New Brunswick. When I asked where, she said, "Oh, it's a little town between Fredricton and Moncton that most people haven't heard of; Chipman."  hah, yup, I know Chipman. So, with me from Nova Scotia, if the ultrasound tech is from PEI, the week will be complete! 

TB Test (and an unrelated x-ray)

I can barely see where the TB injection went in! Woot!  I ended up with an extra “test” this week! A bit of a clumsy me story. I dropped a glass on the oddly hard tile floor in my kitchen, and of course it smashed into many pieces. When reaching for the broom behind the garbage can and lifting it over, my hand went directly into the ceiling fan. You can imagine, that did not feel good. (Another odd thing about my kitchen is the enormous and very low ceiling fan). It was bruised, hurt for a few days and then basically felt better. It’s been two weeks and Saturday night I used my hand to push myself up, heard a strange little pop and then felt some strange pain! I went to work the next day where it proceeded to swell and swell and swell until it hurt to use the hand at all.  (this is not my fan, just what it felt like)

Of course, I went to my other job right after getting off work from job #1, and it was even more sore. WTH? (and the grammar check wants me to use more sorer… uhh). I asked the nurse to look at it when I had my TB test injection and she sent me straight for an xray!  Lol I seem to be able to close the hand a little more today, so I’m guessing nothing is broken. She believes it’s a tendon issue anyway, but we shall see. As long as it heals, all is well.

Back to the testing… TB injection yesterday and I will return on Thursday to have it read. So far, it looks like there is no reaction at all. Let’s hope it stays that way. It's actually hard to distinguish the injection site from the other marks on my arm.

Today after work I go for my Mammogram. So, it’s Boob Squash day. Awesome!

See how she's smiling.....apparently she is also lying!  lol  Ah well, there are worse things.