Cannulas, donuts and Welsh men

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Monday was the day for my CT scan. I left work early to make sure I didn't get stuck in traffic ahead of my 6pm appointment, and ended up arriving an hour and a half early.   I waited in the main outpatients waiting area until about half an hour before (taking advantage of access to the Eduroam wifi network) and on entering the CT suite found myself amongst a group of 4 60-something Welsh gentlemen, putting the world to rights.   As I took my seat amongst them, they invited me to offer 'a woman's perspective'.   They were lovely chaps, one ex-Navy, one a gamekeeper and the other, I'm not sure as he asked more questions than he answered.    We talked about sexual harassment, tattoos, deer on the A40, gun dog training and tsunamis on the Indian ocean before I was called in.  They were surprised and sad that I was there for a scan, and not just to collect someone.

This scan was to check my torso whether the cancer has spread to my lungs, liver, kidneys.   I've realised I really try not to dwell on any of that and focus on the process instead.   So I was asking the radiographer about the cannula as he put it in (took two attempts, but it didn't hurt), and talking about the types of veins he sees and asking about the machine and his shift work.     Once I was laying under the donut ring of the machine, I had to lie with my arms above my head as the magnets whirred around the donut, slid up and down my body, and the cannula was attached to the contrast fluid.

The machine asked me to breathe in and hold, breathe normally, and moved up and down as the contrast fluid flushed through my blood, making me hot for a few moments, and giving a sensation of having wet myself.    That didn't last for long, and then it was all done.   I had to sit for a few minutes to check I didn't have an allergic reaction, but then it was all done.

I went home to a lovely dinner of moules mariniere et frites, courtesy of Costco and my wonderful husband.   And back to pushing away the thoughts of what the scans might show.

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