Monday September 14, 2015-Bay Colony RV Resort

There has been a large gap in my posting, but it wasn't my fault this time. The Internet service went out on Thursday night and wasn't restored until today. Our mifi card is running low this month because of the usage at Mountain Views, so I wasn't able to access the Internet. Bummer...

I went to the doctor's office Thursday morning to have a battery of tests run, a nuclear stress test, an echocardiagram and a scan of my carotid arteries. I have been taken off caffeine and chocolate already, but in preparation for the tests I had to not have decaf coffee for 24 hours and to fast for six hours before the tests. Let me tell you, decaf coffee is not bad any more. Gone are the days of nasty Sanka, or after-taste coffee's and it was rather hard not to drink my normal three cups in the morning.

The nuclear stress test took the longest and of course, was the most strenuous, but it wasn't bad at all. The technician, V, as he asked to be called, inserted a virtually painless IV into the back of my hand to insert the nuclear material into my body. I was told to drink plenty of water to speed up the material in my body, and then the resting scan was made. After a short wait, I was put on the treadmill and walked for a total of 9 minutes until my heart rate was raised to 165, the desired rate for testing. I made it without passing out or even breaking much of a sweat. I didn't cry when he stuck the IV in and didn't whimper when I had to walk on the treadmill, so I was pretty proud of myself. 

After making it through the first test, I was pretty confident when I went in for the echocardiagram. A mean-looking woman gave this test, so I was quiet during the test. She used a wand dipped in a nasty gel that was hooked up to a machine to scan my heart. I couldn't see much on the screen so I guess she found my heart in there somewhere. She used a different wand but the same nasty, slimy gel to scan my neck for the carotid artery test. Both tests took less than 30 minutes and I was free!

Kim, my nurse daughter, came in for the echo and carotid tests and she later remarked that my heart looks better than hers, but she has a known heart murmur. 

I made a follow-up appointment for next Thursday to get the results of the tests. I was relieved that I didn't get a call to go to the hospital for any kind of corrective actions, so I feel pretty confident that I don't have any major issues right now. I guess I'll find out more on Thursday.

So long.