CT Scan

Today is Wednesday, June 21, 2023 and while there were initially three appointments scheduled for the day, I ended up having four! Let’s back track and start with my usual wake up time of around 5:00 am, then my routine of getting dressed and ready for the day. There was no breakfast for me today since I had to be fasting for the first appointment of the day…my abdomen and pelvic CT Scan at 7:30 in Amiri Hospital. For those who may not have already known, there is a link between underlying malignancy and dermatomyositis in adults. So given this association, it is common for doctors to consider screening patients for underlying malignancy. During my stay in the hospital, my doctor had already requested for a tumor marker test which is a test that measures the amount of substances called tumor markers in tissue, blood, urine, or other body fluids. Luckily, the results came back and I was in the clear. We still have to continue doing other screenings in the next couple of months and today was time for the abdomen and pelvic contrast CT Scan. Once we arrived, the technician asked me to drink a lot of water. So I drank, and drank and drank as much as I could. I was taken into the CT room at 8:00, changed into the hospital gown, then they helped me lay down to start. Before we started though, the technician had to insert a cannula into my arm…uuuggghhh another needle going into me! The reason for the cannula is because it’s a CT scan done with contrast. Contrast refers to a substance injected into the IV that causes the particular organ or tissue under study to be seen more clearly. The whole process took around 20 minutes…I got dressed and we headed out. Just as we were able to leave the radiology department, the technician came running to us and said unfortunately we’re going to have to repeat a small part since the imaging wasn’t too clear. I had to drink more water. I drank the water, changed, and got back on the machine for round 2. Thankfully this time around it took around 5 minutes or so and we were done.

I had to pass by my rheumatologist’s office to pick up the paper work needed for my bi-weekly bloodwork the following day, then we’d be off to my next appointment. But when we arrived at her office she asked us to come in and this turned into the ‘additional’ appointment for the day. Which was completely fine by me…the more time I get with my doctor reassuring me of the next steps and answering my never-ending list of questions, the happier I am. My doctor will be traveling for Hajj so today will be the last time I see her for a while. She gave me all the necessary paper work required for my upcoming bloodwork and she assured me she’d be following up with me on the results. We talked about what steps to take in case I get a flare up and what to be careful of the most…getting and infection. I asked her to pray for me.

By 9:45 we were in the car and heading to PMR for my next appointments…PT first at 10:00 then my OT right after at 11:00. Even though we didn’t get a chance to have a physio session yesterday, my PT was happy with my progress from the first two days with her and we picked up right where we left off. I was a little exhausted from the morning in Amiri Hospital so I felt a bit fatigued as we were going through the exercises. We managed to complete everything she wanted to work on today and we were both satisfied with the level of my performance for the day.

At 11:00 I was introduced to my OT who will be working with me for the next two months and honestly, what have I been saying…I’m truly blessed that each new doctor entering my life on this journey has been absolutely remarkable! Her confidence in her work immediately comforted me and made feel relaxed and contented. Within the first 10 minutes with her I felt instant relief in my muscles and joints…a feeling I’ve been waiting for for a very, very, very long time. There was a lot of stretching done today to help ease the tension in my muscles, but there was also a lot of work on my part with exercises she wanted me to complete. As you can imagine, by 12:00 I was drained and so ready to go back home.

Although I’m a non-napper in life, the second I saw my bed I just wanted to crawl into it and shut off for a bit…which I did and I ended up napping for an hour! Cleary the appointments of the week are catching up with me and I’m really looking forward to the weekend. Just as all of you are I’m sure!

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s update…

اللهم الطف بي في تيسير كل أمر عسير، فإن تيسير العسير عليك يسير فأسألك التيسير والمعافاة فى الدنيا والآخرة.