Today was a bit busier, but everything was still pretty familiar. I began on the dreaded third floor expecting to have a blood gas drawn. I was delighted when it was Tom that called my name. I was even happier when he took me back to the room and said we were just walking and skipping the blood gas!! Yay for good news on the third floor! To make it even better, he said that when I walked, my oxygen level increased - which was what it was supposed to do for once! More good news!
Down the hall I was placed back in the box for the breathing tests. Everything there went as expected. I had some trouble on a few of the tests, but Brenda didn't seem as frustrated with me as she has in the past. ;)
Next I had a chest CT and then a new test to me called an ENO - exhaled nitric oxide test. It checks for inflammation in the lungs, bronchioles, and smaller airways. It was a very short test and given in a neat way. I had to blow into a machine until a picture of a cloud smiled. LOL. Pretty cute - huh? It showed that my airways are still quite swollen or inflamed even with the meds I am taking.
My final appointment was with Julie in speech therapy. She was great. She reviewed everything we had done with Heather back in April. I talked with her about the voice therapy at UK and she understood why I didn't wish to return. She performed a search on her computer for me and found a list of great therapists in my area that I could call when I get home. Surely I'll have better luck with one of them. She also explainly what should happen in a therapy session for VCD. I left feeling better prepared to help myself.
