Tonight's picture was taken in June of 2006. I happen to love this photo. Mattie went with his closest preschool buddy, Zachary to see Thomas the Tank Engine. From my perspective, this photo captured the innocence, energy, and joy between two friends.
Quote of the day: One swing set, well worn but structurally sound, seeks a new home. Make memories with your kid or kids so that someday he or she or they will look into the backyard and feel the ache of sentimentality as desperately as I did this afternoon. It's all fragile and fleeting, dear reader, but with this swing set, your child(ren) will be introduced to the ups and downs of human life gently and safely, and may also learn the most important lesson of all: No matter how hard you kick, no matter how high you get, you can't go all the way around. ~ John Green
As my faithful readers know, in February of 2012, on a CT scan of my bladder, some unexpected results were found. Since that point, every three to six months, I go to Georgetown University Hospital for a pelvic MRI. This afternoon, I had another MRI. To prepare for the MRI, you have to fast for five hours. No food or drink of any kind. Heading back to Georgetown, especially the MRI radiology department is challenging. Mattie had so many MRI's, I lost count. With Mattie, each MRI brought more bad news and illustrated we were losing his cancer battle. It is hard to separate Mattie and me sometimes, and therefore scanning of any kind can be upsetting.
I felt badly for the tech who was assigned to work with me. She couldn't find a vein to give me an IV. I need an IV, since this is an MRI with contrast. So I was then moved along to another tech! This tech tried to start an IV, and instead hit a tendon in my left arm. Needless to say, I can't bend my left arm now, and it is very painful. I could see this tech was getting frustrated. After his first attempt, he moved on over to my right arm. He couldn't start an IV in my right arm either, so he landed up putting an IV in my right hand. I try to avoid IVs in my hand, since it is super painful, my hand can swell and become black and blue for days. But there was no other choice.
So I came into the MRI already worn out from the IV experience. Georgetown changed its policy and now pelvic MRIs are given while lying on your stomach. Like Mattie, this is not a position I care for. So basically I had to lie on my stomach for 45 minutes, with my head side ways. I am very sensitive to motion and somehow being on my stomach and the MRI table moving, made me completely motion sick! While undergoing the procedure, you also have to hold your breath for 25 seconds at a time. I must have done this at least 20 times. So by the time this procedure was over, I was dizzy, light headed, and sick to my stomach. So the fact that I am writing anything tonight is a feat.
One of the beautiful things however is while I was undergoing the MRI, our friend Tim (who is a Hospital administrator) came to sit with Peter. This means a great deal to me. Tim has his own issues this week with his mom in the Hospital, so the fact that he came to support us I think speaks volumes about Tim and our connection. It is very special to have a friend who wants to be there for us during these stressful moments and I assure you that getting an MRI is stressful for both Peter and me given our history with Mattie.
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