Day Four ~ Thursday, April 15, 2010
We got to sleep in a bit today (which of course I didn't). :) We met with Dr. Olson for our follow up appointment at 9:00 a.m. It was a long and deeply intense appointment. Looking back I wish I'd had a recorder because it was simply too much to take in. It was shocking to hear how many things they had found medically wrong with me in a few short days. Some things were more severe than others of course. The big ticket item was that on the chest CT she had noticed that veins or vessels that were supposed to be small were large and vice versa. This was apparently a red flag for a bigger problem. She said I needed an MRA w/o contrast and a cardio stress test. She showed us what seemed to be a hole in my heart, but said it was difficult to detect. She also explained that anytime I exerted myself my O2 would drop in the low 80s. My years of coping made it harder to detect because I apparently did not react to my stats in the typical way. She looked me in the eyes and called me a hot mess but promised they were all over making a plan to change things!
Mom and I were both in a bit of a fog walking away from that appointment. My whole understanding of my medical status had just been shattered. I wasn't upset or even scared at the time, I think I was just frozen with too much information. We were talking with scheduling about the cardio tests when I realized I was almost late for my bicycle lung function test on the 3rd floor :(.
This test was by far the hardest thing I went through at National Jewish that first week. If you recall, the impedance probe had not been removed at this time and was getting more uncomfortable with each passing hour. This particular test required an A-line which is an IV in the artery in the wrist to pull blood gases throughout the session. It took 4 people more than 12 tries (I spaced out) using both wrists to get the A-line started. My heart rate was so high at that point they almost discontinued the test. Next, they put a mask over my head and strap it to monitors. Finally, I was supposed to pedal as hard and fast as possible for X amount of time. What a gift it was to leave that room and see a text from Debbie telling me some silly something! Thankfully, when it was over, it was time to have the impedance probe removed! What a relief! Then we had a short break for lunch while they worked on fitting the new tests into my schedule.
During lunch I received a call from Gina, my scheduler, saying God had worked yet another miracle and MRA schedule had opened up! They were ready for me right away. Everything else had been worked out as well. It was clear that God was not only with me, He was moving mountains for me!
If ever there was a time for a friendly face, this was probably it and I got it. Kevin from radiology was waiting for us as we stepped off the elevator. He took my labels and asked us to sit for just a minute while he grabbed the paperwork. It was perfect timing, because while we waited, Donald Sutherland, the actor walked through! For real! It was pretty neat seeing him in person. Kevin returned and prepped me for the MRA w/o contrast which meant yet another IV. Altogether, I was in the "tube" for 3 1/2 hours. They called in the radiologist, pulmonologist, and cardiologist to try and help with the imaging so they could figure out what was going on with my heart.
I rounded out the day with a tailored barium swallow test and a speech consult with the therapist Heather Hughes. These appointments were related to the reflux and the VCD. I learned that a speech therapist can help me retrain my vocal cords so they will be more controlled.
That night I ran a bit of a fever. We went out for dinner and right back to the house. With it being such a big day for information, Mom was catching up on a lot of phone calls. I remember sitting on the couch listening to her recount the day just feeling so confident that this is sooo God's plan. I didn't get it. I wasn't enjoying some of it. But it didn't matter, somehow, someday, something good would come from all of this.
