Thursday, January 13, 2011

Testing has begun again....

This post may be a jumble of thoughts - lots going on inside my head at the moment. (I'm sure I'm not the only one)

Weight loss - 29.6 kgs (so, so close - 30kgs was a goal, so it's important for me to get there.)
I have a Doctor's appointment and weigh in next week, so I'm certain that I'll be able to reach it by then - yay.

BP - holding steady at 111/73. At it's worst it was 210/110. Before July, it was in the vicinity of 165/95....with medication. I've since been told by my specialists that this is NOT an acceptable BP while on medication and my old GP should have done more. I had no idea. I blindly trusted that all was okay.

Exercise - as you all know, things have been chaos around here with the raining and flooding.
I haven't had the chance to do any exercise...or so I thought. I've been constantly sweeping / vacuuming water under our house for the last week or so. It takes about an hour to cover the flooded area.....and within a couple of hours the water is back again, so the boys and I have been doing this many times during the day. (Mark takes over at night) I lost 1.2kgs this week, so it must have counted for something :)

Appointments - CT Scan yesterday. The last MRI I had showed enlarged Lymph nodes in my chest (just something else to worry about, sigh) so the CT scan was a follow up to see what those Lymph nodes are doing.

Do you believe that people come into your life for a reason? Due to the PTSD, I have major anxiety associated with any sort of testing etc. I've been on a type of anti-anxiety medication for two months now and it's working well.

When I showed up for the CT scan yesterday, they took me out the back, asked me to change into a gown and told me I would be cannulated.
Hang on? I wasn't prepared for that. I had been psyching myself up the CT scan, never imaging that I would need to have Contrast injected into my veins. This was too much like the MRI's :( I had to sign permission forms, we talked about side affects. I started to struggle.

An older man came out from his CT scan and sat beside me. Whether it was the look on my face or just his intuition, he calmly said to "ah, this is nothing! You won't feel a thing and it will be over in minutes. I've had tonnes of these."
He was a straight shooter. Possibly a country boy :) He showed me his cannula and we started talking about veins LOL
I told him I'd recently lost a lot of weight (I don't normally tell total strangers that sort of thing LOL)....and he told me he had too. He told me his starting weight.......and it was the same as mine. How strange is that?!? He repeated it a couple more times for emphasis and shook his head as though he couldn't believe it. I know that feeling.
They called me in and I gave that man the most heartfelt THANK YOU I have ever given anyone.

He was right. It was over in minutes. I didn't feel a thing and I walked home from the hospital afterwards.




5 Comments:

Blogger PJ said...

Oh Rach, I didn't expect to be crying so early in the morning! As tough as it is going for your tests, what a beautiful experience you shared with your lovely 'stranger'.

And don't underestimate incidental exercise - I think it's the best kind! My favourite kind is swimming in the ocean.

January 13, 2011 at 7:46 AM  
Blogger Elizabeth Em said...

People (angels) come into our lives when we need them most... I can't imagine what you're going through with the PTSD but I have suffered panic attacks and they were bad enough... I'm glad you have a GP and other professionals looking after you who care about you personally, not just getting through their queue!

You're so close to 30kgs! Are you giving yourself a reward? New outfit or something?

January 13, 2011 at 8:58 AM  
Blogger KatherineB said...

Again, you've had me in tears. I believe you have a guardian angel Rach and that man was there for you. Amazing isnt it. DOn't underestimate the power of movement - you've been working your butt of with this flooding and its nice that you were rewarded with a loss. Do you weigh yourself first thing in the morning. I remember on weigh days I wouldn't eat until I was weighed (which was early) - LOL Things we do hey... Great work Rach - so proud of you!

January 13, 2011 at 9:14 AM  
Blogger Hala said...

Oh Racheal you bring me to tears and I'm at work!!!! You cant belive how proud of I am of you!! I think of you every day!! You are my inspiration!

January 13, 2011 at 9:20 AM  
Blogger Marilyn said...

Yes, that man did come into your life for a reason...he was there for you when you needed support just the same way you are always there to give other people support when they need it! You are an inspiration to so many people & I am so proud that you are my daughter xo

January 13, 2011 at 10:37 PM  

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