Six-Month Scan

Vampire Feeding

As usual, the adventure started with people stabbing me in the arm with those durned rusty 10 penny nails they use to draw blood for testing. We got to the clinic about 45 minutes early, and they called me in almost immediately, so I was in and out in a hurry. I must be getting used to all of this, and hardly noticed when she stole my blood!

The CT Scan

Next up was the CT scan itself. I was again early for this, and they called me in very quickly. I went with a nurse to the prep area, where they start an IV used to inject a contrast dye that helps show any cancer growths. For the record, I HATE IVs, especially when the person putting it in does not believe in Lidocane! IT stung a bit, but she did a good job getting it in.

Then another nurse walked up to me, pointed to the wall in front of me and said "Stand Here" in a commanding tone. So, I got up, walked straight up to the wall and stood there! Just like she told me to. A lady in the prep room next to me chuckled that I had been given a "Time-Out", since that is what I made it look like! My nurse also laughed and said I had not been given a "time-out", they just needed my chair for another patient, and I was off to yet another waiting room, all wired up and ready to go!

After about a 20 minute wait, they called me back to the big donut! I asked if this one was Dunkin, or Krispy-Cream. The techs were slightly amused, and laid me down for the big ride.

Things went pretty quickly. They inject the dye, and again I had that familiar warm sensation from head to toe. (The tech told me I might think I was leaking something down my leg during this, but that did not happen!) Once the Dye had time to circulate through my system, they started the machine up, and back and forth I went until they had the pictures they wanted. I was up and out of there in short order, and back with Cheryl in the waiting area.

We were all done with the mornings appointments, and had time for breakfast before seeing Dr. Lai at noon.

The Answer!

Merry Christmas! I was called into Dr. Lai's waiting room about a half hour early! His assistant came right in to see how I was doing, but seemed unaware that I had already had a CT scan. She asked how things were going, then told me that the "boss" would be right in.

Dr. Lai came in and said I looked pretty good. He looked at my mouth, up my nose, checked out the work Dr. Yu had done, and told his assistant that I should be scheduled for another visit in three months! I was still waiting for him to tell me what the CT scan said, since it seemed like he was done with me, and no one had said anything about that yet! So, I asked him if he had looked at the scan yet, and he said he had. "To my eyes, there is nothing there!"

Finally!

I get to have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The official reading of the scan is done by a Radiologist, who reports in several days later, but Dr. Lai's opinion is pretty good, so we are very relieved by this good news! I have to admit that this whole scan-wait-answer sequence is nerve wracking! I have done it far too many times, and it never gets any more pleasant!

Dr Lai asked if I had had a chest X-Ray lately, and when I said no, he told his assistant to schedule one for my next visit, and he was gone!

Cheryl and I were very happy (and relieved) with this good news!

Dr. Keis

Our last appointment of the day was with my Oncologist, Dr. Keis. He was right on time at 2pm, and he walked into the room and, as Cheryl told folks later, "he almost hugged me". Dr. Keis had not seem me since the surgery, and it was his Chemo work that made the surgery a success by shrinking the tumor to the point where they got it all! He looked at my CT scan on the computer, which he has done before, and was a bit surprised at all the bone loss I have had as a result of all of this. Overall, he said I looked great, in fact I looked far better than many of his patients who had been through what I have! He looked at my eye area, and told me he did not expect the artificial eye to make a big difference in how I looked. He told me not to expect too much from that, and suggested that a smaller eye patch might be sufficient. "But it is your decision", he said.

Bottom line is that he is extremely happy with how I have done through all of this, and both Cheryl and I really like this doctor! He is always friendly, tells you what he thinks, and makes sure you are on top of what is going on, or will be going on. It was an especially nice way to end this day!

Back to Austin

With a great sigh of relief, we headed back to Austin just in time to hit rush hour in Houston. Fortunately, we know back roads that avoid the Interstate until the last possible time, so we managed to get out of town without much delay. We stopped for dinner and gassed up the truck, and were home by about 9pm

Off to Kansas City

Both Cheryl and I had things to do at work so we could unhook from all of this, and head off on our Christmas trip. We plan on driving up to KC early Saturday Morning, and will be visiting with family, and working on our house for the week.

Thanks to all!

Yet again, I have to thank all of you who have been sending both Cheryl and me your prayers, and well wishes. We are both sure that these all helped! May you all enjoy the blessings of the season, and have a great time visiting with family and friends during the next few weeks.

Our next stop after our Christmas trip is back to M. D. Anderson for work on the artificial eye. We plan on at least starting the process and see what the doctors think about it all.

Merry Christmas to you all!