It’s been a rather stressful morning, as today my yearly check up was due. It’s nearly a 100 mile round trip to Addenbrooke’s Hospital for me, and I wasn’t looking forward to it.
As soon as I got onto the A14 I read ‘Queue ahead’ on the overhead gantry. In fact most of the gantries had the same wording on them, but I soldiered on and looked out for the queue. There didn’t seem to be one, and I completed the journey there in just over one hour (after allowing the usual two hours for traffic problems). The multi-storey car park was almost full at 09:45 but I queued up behind a line of cars and eventually found a parking spot on the top floor.
Covid has changed Addies somewhat. They’ve taken away most of the chairs in the entrance foyer except for a few suitably spaced for those awaiting hospital transport. As I was so early I queued up to buy a cup of tea but there was nowhere to sit and drink it; the few chairs available in the cafe were all full, as they had taken over half of the seating away. I went back outside with my tea and found a bench.
There wasn’t much of a queue for the ultrasound scan itself. I sat in the waiting area and felt my pulse rise with nervousness, as I knew only too well that I had used up all my treatment options. Lying on the couch whilst the nurse applied gel to my neck, I looked at the ceiling, crossed my fingers and wondered if the Grim Reaper was sharpening his scythe. The radiologist always takes his time, never says a word until the scan is finished, and goes over the same areas a few times with the probe. I tend to lie there, look on the black side, and wonder what horrors he can see on the screen.
However, I received the good news that my scan was normal, and all the lymph nodes in the surrounding area looked normal as well. I breathed a sigh of relief and went away to queue up for a blood test.
The blood test area was situated near the Oncology/Haematology Reception area, which was a new place for me as I had usually gone to Outpatients in the past . My heart sank at the queue to sign in at Reception. There were not many empty seats in the waiting area, and I prepared myself for a long wait. However, after checking in I was directed to a small room just off the Oncology corridor, went straight in, and had my blood taken. No queue!
Then it was just a question of standing in the queue to pay for parking and then joining a queue of cars all doing 50mph past the road works on the A14.
Thank gawd that’s over with for another year!
dgkaye said:
So happy to hear the good news Stevie xx
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Stevie Turner said:
Thanks Debby. x
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OIKOS™- Art, Books & more said:
Congratulations, Stevie! You cant imagine how i hate visiting hospitals. But sometimes humans are in need to do this. ;-/ xx Michael
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Stevie Turner said:
Indeed. I hate going to Addenbrooke’s, but as my old mum used to say…”Sometimes in life you have to do things that you don’t want to do.”
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OIKOS™- Art, Books & more said:
Reblogged this on OPENED HERE >> https:/BOOKS.ESLARN-NET.DE.
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Stevie Turner said:
Thanks Michael.
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Phil Huston said:
My hospital and doc crew are 7/10 of a mile away. But it’s still torment. And the every couple of years MRI is a real joy! Glad your scan was good. I hate that, waiting for the machines to stop, thinking they found something dreadful…
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Stevie Turner said:
I hate MRIs and luckily just have ultrasounds now. Are you a cancer survivor too?
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Phil Huston said:
No, but I’ve had some scares and some unusual scans. several years ago I got a scan for diverticulitis, which even I knew I didn’t have but it was a chance to hit the insurance. In that process they found something on my adrenal gland that wasn’t cause for alarm except to my cardiologist who says if that thing gets wacky your blood pressure will be impossible. So they look at it every three years or so and nothing changes and they say it’s not an abnormality. Who knows, As long as it stays the same. I got a lot of ultrasounds for another issue, one for my knee, one for my liver, kidneys… Whenever they feel the need to pay somebody’s kid’s tuition I get a test.
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Stevie Turner said:
At least if there is anything abnormal to be found, you’re under observation and they’ll find it.
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robertawrites235681907 said:
Oh my, Stevie, it sounds like a very long and tiring day. I am glad you sonar result was normal and I hope all is well with the bloods too. My mom also goes through this every year but its not nearly as difficult to get to the hospital she visits.
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Stevie Turner said:
Thanks Robbie. It’s an annual torment.
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Clive said:
Glad to hear it all went well for you, and the long round trip proved a success. I spent far more time on the A14 than I ever wanted to when the girls were younger – Dad’s taxi to university and tennis tournaments. Awful road!
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Stevie Turner said:
They’re all awful, lol.
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Clive said:
That road has a special place in hell. And a world record for the number of speed cameras.
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davidprosser said:
I”m sure I felt the sigh of relief over here in North Wales. I’m so glad things went well and the pressure is off. Nothing to worry about now apart from the usual traffic signs next year’s day trip/
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davidprosser said:
Huge Hugs
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Stevie Turner said:
Thanks David. Yes, a relief indeed.
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Darlene said:
So pleased to hear about the good results even though it was a time consuming event. xo
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Stevie Turner said:
Thanks Darlene. I was lucky today!
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beetleypete said:
Seems to me you had a result all round, Stevie. Lady luck was definitely smiling on you. Great news about the scan result too.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Stevie Turner said:
Thanks Pete. I’m rather relieved to be sure!
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