Not So Bad

The worst thing was the IV port.  Took two tries and I ended up with it in the back of my right hand.  Once that was in and secure, the testing wasn't so bad.

I had visions of being on hooked up to an IV stand on one side, a bank of machinery on the other, while the treadmill was cranked until I puked or passed out.

The monitoring was remote, so I wore a transmitter.  The IV was just one squirt into the line that was taped to my hand when I hit the appropriate heart rate, and, while I was working fairly hard (if I remember correctly, it was 3.5 MPH at 14 degrees incline), I could've gone  a little longer or a little faster...but not steeper.  When she told me the next increment was 4.2 MPH and 20 degrees, I said, 'You've just talked me into stopping here.'

It only took about 10 minutes.

It was a little unsettling to watch her put the syringe holding the substance that she had just shot into my veins via the IV back into a lead capsule.  I mean, really?

Then all I had to do was to sit and consume peanut butter crackers and water and read some more of Beth Moore's Breaking Free while I waited  for the isotopes to distribute through my bloodstream.

I actually started reading that book back when I had mono a year ago.  I only got half way through it and got busy again; so I thought I'd take it in today and read while I sat around. I really need to go back and read it straight through.  There is some incredible, amazing stuff in there.  But I digress.

Anyway, the next step was to lie perfectly still on a really hard pallet while a big camera took pictures of the little glow dots moving around my heart.  Good time to pray for a couple of friends who need healing.  The technician told me there were no blockages evident, so I don't have to go back tomorrow for a repeat 'at rest' picture.

The echocardiagram technician said that I should hear something from my doctor within a few days; she said if everything looks normal I'll probably just get the 'happy letter' in the mail. I'm taking that as a hint that she didn't see anything out of the ordinary, either.

So I'm back to thinking the problem I've been having may have more to do with my upper GI tract than my circulatory system.  But I'm feeling better there, too...for the first time since the trip to the ER a couple of weeks ago, I actually felt hungry today.

So the fast has gotten tougher all of a sudden.

Not something I'd want to do too often, but it really wasn't worth the dread after all.