Field Report: p.s. All Clear . . .

This is a post script to my recent Field Report.  It's about my lungs.  I won't keep you in suspense - the news was good.  :-)

Hard to believe that a year has passed and it was time for me to get a follow up Lung/Chest CT scan.  In January 2019 when I got the news that I needed a team for my kidney, the urologist also told me "there's a spot on your lung."  That was unnerving, to say the least.  Because I had had so many CTs in such a short period of time back then, I had to wait six months and then have a dedicated lung/chest CT, which I did last summer about this time.  The recommendation then was to have a followup in a year.

So, it's been a year.

I made the appointment, and on Monday morning, I got in the car and drove downtown to Northwestern for the test.  I could not believe how many people I saw without masks, even on the hospital campus!  Unreal.  Normally I would have taken the train down, but wanting a little more control over my environment, I drove.  I was a little late for my appointment because there was a bad accident on the Dan Ryan at 47th Street - it was just ahead of me.  All lanes were blocked for a bit, and then one lane of traffic was let through. 

I made it to the hospital, and parked on the 10th floor of the parking structure and got on the elevator.  It stopped a few floors down, and a woman with no mask got on.  I said, "do you have a mask?"  She said, "oh . . . no . . . "  As I was leaving the elevator I replied "well, you should."  I got on another elevator.  It stopped again and a young woman with her nose hanging out of her mask got on.  I said, "would you please put your mask over your nose?"  Which she did, saying she wasn't being inconsiderate . . . and then grandly sweeping by my as we exited, saying something about "antibodies," which I couldn't hear.  Ahem.  The new normal - out in force . . .

Once inside, they made me stop and use the hand sanitizer and wanted me to put a surgical mask on over my cloth mask.  I felt like all the masks in the dispensers could have been touched, so I asked if I could use my own, which they let me do, and then I headed up to the 17th floor.  There were more people there than I've been around since early March, but everyone was doing their best to keep social distance.  And everyone I dealt with was kind.  I apologized for having been late.  Usually they take you to a room, give you a key and a locker and a gown.  This time, the guy said, "Just take your bra off and put it in your backpack and then put your shirt back on."  Alrighty then.  I took my gloves off, used the hand sanitizer and did as requested. 

I put on another pair of gloves and headed out to wait, but mostly I paced for awhile - crossing my arms, of course, so my boobs didn't flap in the breeze.  :-D 

A CT is a pretty easy test, but I still close my eyes.  It's the same room and machine that I've been in many times for my kidney.  The test was over quickly and they showed me to the restroom to put my bra back on.  I hadn't planned on peeing, but of course, once I was there . . . and like I did years ago in Morocco, I blessed my former trainer for all the squats he made me do - I apparently still have quads of steel.  I did not have to sit down on the toilet at all.  :-D  

My return trip to the car was uneventful, with a solitary ride down from the 17th floor, a quick stop to pay for my parking, and a solitary ride back up to the 10th floor of the parking structure.  I got to the car, used hand sanitizer on my gloves, and got in and sat for a minute to decompress.  I decided that I would stop at the store on my way home - I really needed to go to the big grocery store.  I've been making do with quick runs to the fresh market for at least six weeks.  The drive back to the expressway was uneventful, and traffic was minimal.  I was back in my neck of the woods in record time, and I mega-shopped, stocking up on meat and chicken, as well as some fresh veg and a few treat items.  I was home by about 1:30.

I was exhausted. 

Usually test results are available in about 24 hours from Northwestern.  Due to COVID, I thought it would go one of two ways:  (1) maybe I would get them a little sooner, like by the end of the day; or (2) maybe it would take longer than usual to get them. 

Imagine my surprise when my doctor rang me at 3:30 with my results!  That was REALLY quick!

And the good news is that the one spot that's been there forever is still there.  In the same place and at the same size.  The second one is gone.  There's some inflammation in my left lung that is likely asthma-related and nothing to worry about.  They didn't even recommend another follow-up in 12 months!  So, great news for me, and a chapter of worry closed. 

I realized that I had been waiting to exhale ever since I had made the appointment for the scan. 

Even though I knew I was fine, there was a part of me waving my hands in the background and saying, "what if I'm not fine?!" 

But I am fine.  :-) 

Yahoo!!!!