kyra_ojosverdes | About Last Week

Well, it'll still be an abbreviated version, but parts of it were fairly humorous.. or at least, interesting.

Chuck drove me to the hospital, which is connected to the complex of doctor's offices. We finally figured out which lab was supposed to draw blood for the required pregnancy test, then were shown the way to radiology. (This was good, because despite the amount of time I've been spending at the hospital this last year, I was pretty disoriented.) We sat in the waiting area for a few minutes, then the nice intern-guy called me back for a quick conference. He just wanted to make sure that I'd gotten the pregnancy test. He told me that they'd have to wait for those results, then they'd call me again. As I was walking back to the waiting area, Renfroe arrived. Yay!

We sat there for a while... I have no idea how long. It always seems longer than it really is, but the time was definitely shorter for having the guys there. Renfroe kept me laughing. After a few minutes, the intern came back, said "I see you brought your bodyguards with you. Here's some reading material while you're waiting," and handed me a pamphlet. It was about the radioiodine procedure, and especially about the precautions I'd have to follow after taking the pill, to protect others from my radioactive state. Evidently, washing my hands 53 times each time I use the toilet is absolutely essential. (This was reinforced again once I was back in the pill-taking room.) Renfroe and I cracked more jokes about all that.

Finally, the intern came to get me, and led me down a very long series of halls. I'd left my jacket with the guys. He sat me down in a very cold, fairly bare room (everything was marked as belonging to that specific room, I guess to prevent contamination from radiation). He brought me some magazines to pass the time, and a heated blanket for the cold. I read Redbook. It's a guilty pleasure, one I indulge only when waiting for a doctor. Finally, after about forever (30 minutes or so... prettymuch enough time to read the entire magazine), the Dr. came. He went over the procedure and the precautions, and I assured him that I'd be staying home, alone, without any kids or pregnant women, and that I'd wash my hands really really really well EVERY time I used the bathroom. And I'd flush several times, too. I signed a few forms, and the intern disappeared for a minute.

He came back carrying what looked like an ammunition box. The doctor went and stood far away, near the door, watching me. The intern put the box and a large cup of water on a metal table in front of me, then stood behind a tall metal shield that had a glass window. Reaching around the shield, he opened the metal box, set aside some foam padding, and drew out a canister. It was a little smaller in diameter than a baseball, and obviously quite heavy. (Lead, I assume.) This was all very James Bond. He unscrewed the top, and asked me to remove the plastic vial inside, then take its lid off and remove the pill. I did, with both men watching like hawks. The intern joked that they had to watch me take the pill, to make sure I wasn't going to sell it on the black market, or use it to make a 'dirty bomb.' I took the pill, and drank most of the water. The doctor left the room, and the intern reassembled his metal box. He pulled a large metal trash can, heavily labeled with all sorts of large, brightly-colored images o' doom, next to the bed where I was getting ready to lie down. I should make every attempt to keep the pill down, he said, but if I had to throw up, I should do my best to get it all inside the trash can. Yippee. I had to wait 45 minutes or so, to make sure I wasn't going to 'regurgitate' the pill. I asked the intern to tell the guys how long I'd be, in case Renfroe needed to leave. He did so, and brought me another heated blanket.

The Dramamine I'd taken before leaving the house had done its job, and I felt fine. I read another magazine, and finally it was time to go. Renfroe was needed at work, and so had left. Chuck drove me home, much relieved that I was fine and hadn't had any nausea. I went home and went to sleep.