April 16, 2009

Today we went to the University of Chicago Medical Center for Sandy to have a CAT scan. Free parking on the street was full, so we went into the parking garage. I dropped Sandy off so she could make her appointment. It took about 30 minutes of driving in the garage to find a spot. I parked next to a woman who said she'd been driving in the garage for 50 minutes before finding a place to park.

I found Sandy waiting to have a blood draw. We waited and waited, then found out that the nurse who supposedly ordered it had forgotten to do it. It was time for the CAT scan, so we left. In the radiology department we learned that Sandy had to drink about 20 ounces of something called OmniPaque over the course of one hour before the CAT scan could be done. It wasn't tasty. During the hour, we went back to the blood lab and got the blood draw done, then returned to radiology.

The CAT scan took only about 15 minutes. Nurse Connie told me that Sandy's white blood count is normal, her platelets also in normal range. Good, because yesterday we were led to believe they were low.

Lunch in the cafeteria was $21, parking $11 (that's with validation). It was good to get home. Now we wait for the CAT scan results, to find out how the cancer is progressing.

Weather today is sunny and in the 60's. It's about time. Like everyone else we know, we were getting tired of cold weather and gloomy skies.

Sandy's hair is coming out slowly. She wears a wig during the day and a cap at night. She's been cautioned not to wear the wig near an open oven or near any other heat.

Now she's at home, sitting in a lounge chair in the sun. The kids are out playing and stop to say hi, then go on about their business. It's a good day.