Tell Me Why, I Don't Like Mondays...Part One

This was my day yesterday.

Bone Scan
Oncology Appointment
Hit-and-Run While Riding my Bike

That's an exciting year for most people, but in typical Rob-fashion, I had to squeeze it ALL into one day.

The Bone Scan
I had an early morning 7 a.m. meeting for part one of my bone scan. As mentioned previously, Dr. Kottapolly found an unusual growth on my left hip bone. He said it was, in all probability, a sports-related injury, but with my history, it was better to be sure.

So I got to the appointment and met Kimberly, an older woman with a no-nonsense approach; very efficient, very focused, knew exactly what was going on and how long it would take. I liked her right off the bat.

She asked me to roll up my sleeve (let's go Left this time) and she gave me an injection of a radioactive isotope. This particular injection/isotope is attracted to the chemicals in calcium, so it circulates throughout the body, being drwawn to the calcium in the skeletal system. In a little more than 3 hours, the circulation should be complete.

I got the injection, went back to work, then came back to the outpatient center at 10.30. I laid down on the machine and went through a series of tests. The machine looks like this, which makes me realize just how prescient Gene Roddenberry was:


So I lay down and the machine feeds me into the imaging area, where the camera takes picture of the radioactive isotope in my body, now clinging to the bones. It's not a bad test, all-in-all, except the machine is REALLY close AND they strap you to the bed so you can't move...at all. Note for the Claustrophobic: This is not the test for you! To wit:

I have had claustrophia in the past, but sometimes you just have to suck it up and go with it. This was one of those times. That being said, a fan on one of these machines blowing cool air on the patient would work wonders.

When all was said and done, I got a series of pictures that look like this:

I'll be taking those images to my oncology appointment with Dr. Conroy at 2.15 today and my next appointment with Dr. Kottapolly, time and date TBD.

The Funny
I'm laying in the machine, strapped in to the slab, getting ready for the test. Kimberly steps out momentarily to get something, and the phone rings. I'm laying there, listening to the phone ring, then stop.

Kimberly returns, sits down at her station, then asks, "Was the phone ringing?"
"Yes," I reply.
"Why didn't you answer it?"
"HEY! I just got my radioactive powers. I don't know how to use them yet!"