Written yesterday…

Heading down 19 now. Don’t know if I’ll get this online today.

Luckily, I’m not too tired as I figured I would be. I’ve got a PB&J sandwich packed with me and a fruit cup. The only thing I don’t get is why I was instructed to take a sandwich lunch. Testing is 2 to 3 hours. If they start at 8:00 and I’m out at 11:00, then it’s lunchtime anyway. I’m guessing it’s part of the testing.

Can’t remember any dreams last night so I guess that’s a good sign. A few nights ago I dreamed that a deaf woman was interested in me, LOL.

Checked the portal yesterday to see if the results of my last test were there but it’s not. I won’t know anything until the 18th.

CPAP day is tomorrow, so I need energy for one more day! I just hope I can stand to sleep with the thing. It will be interesting to see how helpful it is…or isn’t.

Andy left a message saying that if I can make it, I’ll have to meet him at Gary’s clubhouse. He won’t have a car to get to our place and Gary already has a full house of visitors. I like this arrangement much better because our place is a bit small for three visitors and I’m his friend, not Gary’s or Judy’s. I still don’t know if I can make it that day but he seems to understand that it’s up in the air right now. I would definitely love to see him and I know he wants to see me.

Hate this cold spell we’re having. I’m in my hoodie and the car’s heater is on. It’s 47° now but supposed to come up to 75°. After a few warm days, it will be cold again. Might as well get used to it. It’s going to be this way till March with a few warm spells thrown in.

On the road again headed for KFC after 2.5 hours of testing.

They were pretty punctual and a guy named Mike brought me to a room and then Tom left to charge the car. He took my blood pressure which was a surprising 167/97! Maybe because I hate the tight electronic cuffs and I tensed up.

Then he injected the tracer through a portal in my hand. I felt a coldness creep up my hand and along my forearm, and he said that was good because that meant it was working.

He had me wait in the waiting room for 45 minutes. Fortunately, since the place was a maze, they had these green arrow stickers on the floor so I could find my way back to the waiting room. It was so cold in there too! I should have worn a sweatshirt.

After the 45 minutes was up, I was made to sit in a chair with a seatbelt of sorts that raised a foot or so off of the ground. I had to raise my arms overhead and place my forearms on a padded armrest that was at forehead level. I was told to breathe normally and hold still for 20 minutes. Not the most comfortable thing, but not too bad either. Every couple of minutes, the chair rotated an inch or two as pics of my chest were taken.

Next came what would be a much tougher time on the treadmill than anticipated after they stuck those things to my chest that the EKG leads attached to. Thanks, Hashimoto’s, for forcing me to get so out of shape by not having the energy to run.

“That’s a terrible disease,” Mike’s nurse Dan said. “Your thyroid is your body’s carburetor.”

So true and I hate knowing how limited I’ll likely be for the rest of my life because of it. It’s a shitty life sentence for sure.

My HR reached 150 even though the target was 139. It was tough because it was uphill. Instead of having you run, they gradually increase the speed and incline. While on the treadmill, they injected more of the tracer and took my blood pressure again.

After the treadmill, the removal of the IV which made me more comfortable, and a third and final blood pressure reading, I went out to the waiting room and scarfed down the sandwich and fruit cup I brought with me.

Then Tom returned and 20 minutes later I was brought back for the final phase of the testing. I had to sit in the rotating chair again with my arms raised by my forehead for more glamour shots but this time only for 8 minutes.

Despite having a meal bar and a fruit cup at 4:00 a.m. and the lunch I packed, I was famished. Yet by the time we got to KFC, major fatigue was setting in, and I couldn’t quite finish my chicken dinner.

More to come later.