Hospital Tales #7 – The PET-CT

   During Ricki's hospitalization, I often took her in a wheelchair (oxygen included) around various hospital corridors. We were familiar with most:

Imaging area - from her repeated x-rays, ultrasounds, and even 2 CT's

Intensive Care Unit- from when she was there

Surgery suite  - from her heart surgery at 3 months of age

Cardiac area – from the clinic before her heart surgery, as well as the heart scans she has done repeatedly

Clinics area- from the psychiatric clinic

   Just about the only area  on the ground level of the building which we had successfully avoided was the cancer patient's area. Which was fine with us.

[image: PET scanner]

   Then the doctor informed me that there had been a few "questionable-looking" nodes on her second lung CT, and he wanted to do a PET-CT full body scan in order to rule out any problems with the nodes. I agreed, and was pretty calm. There was no reason to believe that she had the big "C"; it was just a precautionary test. (And in the end, thank- G-d, the test came back clean….).  "Well", I thought, as the orderly wheeled Ricki into the special PET scan area, next door to the cancer area, "I guess we're 'meeting' this area as well." But I was still pretty calm. I did wonder what percentage of the people waiting there had cancer…. But hopefully all would be OK for Ricki.

    THEN I saw the sign on the wall. Pictured was a young, vivacious-looking woman. Next to the picture was the text:

     "This area is dedicated to the memory of so-and-so, mother, wife, and a great person."

    THAT’S when I stopped being so d____  laid-back.

    They are checking Ricki for CANCER.

     CANCER which kills the young.

I am grateful that Ricki's test was clean. I can only pray that the others there also had clear results.