My lucky day...

Up at 6:00 a.m. to be at the hospital by 8:30.  It is an hour drive from home to the hospital and...we had to stop for gas on they way.

Got into hospital gear and settled into my bed when Rick asked me if I was okay...nope!  Didn't want to be there...didn't want the test done...don't want cancer...want to go home.  Off to the CT room where they mapped the spots...marked my body.  The doctor can't find a special pen so I told him it was okay to use a Sharpie...I have lots of alcohol markers at home and a big bottle of solution that will remove the marks from my body.  This time I was face down on the bed...not too comfortable.  I really liked this doctor as he talked to me throughout the whole procedure.  I knew what he was doing and when he was doing it...so, no surprises.

Off to xray and then back to my spot in recovery.  A couple of minutes later the doctor arrives and informs me that my lung has collapsed and he needs to put in a tube to inflate it.  Back into CT and mapping again...then the tube put in...this time in the front chest...more freezing.  Have I said how much I love needles...NOT!   "Where did this fluid come from?"...not words you want to hear your doctor say when he is supposed to be sucking air from your chest.  Apparently...the fluid buildup was from radiation.  No wonder I was having so much trouble breathing! 

So...after sucking out all the fluid (thanks) and then the air pocket...back to xray to get a reference point for the followup.  One hour later back to xray and then the doctor telling me...so far so good and he was turning off the pump to see if I would leak.  One hour later back to xray to say I was doing fine and I could go home.  No offense but, seven hours at the hospital was enough for me.

Where does "My lucky day" come into it?  The nurses told me that it was not common for someone to leave the hospital after having their lung re-inflated.  Most people end up spending the night.  In fact, the last person they had stayed for a few weeks.

So...I will go on...just keep swimming.