Overdue update
18 May 2004
Visit with the Registrar at Wellington Hospital
15 July 2004
CT Scan at Wellington Hospital
24 August 2004
Follow up visit with the Registrar, Dr Anna Nicholson at Wellington Hospital
23 November 2004
Had an uneventful visit to Wellington Hospital for a physical check up. No strange lumps and bumps detected. An appointment for a CT scan was made for early February 2005. This was to include the abdomen as well as the chest.
When we arrived, Robyn asked if she was meant to have a blood test before this visit as she hadn't had one. The doctor said she might as well have one done before heading home, so up to the Laboratory we went. The lab technician had a real challenge finding a vein in her arm until Robyn suggested finding one in the top of her hand. This was still difficult to do, but was eventually achieved. The lab technician said that Robyn should ask to have the blood taken from her hand in future, instead of mucking around with arm.
Have a look at your arms and the top of your hand now. Do you see veins ? Well you can't see any at all in Robyn's arms or hands. They have disappeared under the surface. Not uncommon for cancer patients who have had treatment.
7 December 2004
Robyn rang me at work to say Anna Nicholson had run her regarding the last blood test. One of the tests was a "bit higher" than it should be. She didn't give much information over the phone, except to say not to be too alarmed. She advised that the CT scan appointment scheduled for February would be brought forward to January sometime.
This news created a sickening feeling in my stomach. "Don't be too alarmed". But hey, what did all this mean ?
8 December 2004
New CT appointment arrives in the mail. Only it is not for January, but Monday 20 December at 9.30 am. What is the significance of that ? Probably nothing more than a slot was available, or to beat the Christmas / New Year break .... but what the mind starts to think is quite different. Is there some unsaid urgency about this ? Why ? What does it mean ?
Then the rational thoughts start to come. What will be will be. Deal with it once the results are known.
Not knowing is the hard to deal with bit.
The instructions for taking the Ioscan were a bit different this time. Some had to be taken the night before. Slightly different instructions gets the mind working as to why. Two lots had to be taken as we drove down.
Tuesday 14 December 2004
Robyn had bloods done at Masterton Hospital's laboratory.
Monday 20 December 2004
Shane was able to stay home with the boys today and Robyn met me at home around 7am. It was an early start for her as she had a 20 minute drive in to our place. I'd packed up some egg sandwiches and ham sandwiches as Robyn had not been allowed to eat since last night. From previous experience we figured that if things ran late, she'd be absolutely starving when the procedure had finished and would need to eat straight away.
Got to Wellington in plenty of time. Parked as usual in the Cancer Centre carpark.
There were a few people in the CT waiting area.
One of the staff took Robyn to a cubicle to put a line in. No luck. She also had to have her last Ioscan drink a certain time before the procedure. That would have to wait and Robyn would have to wait for a doctor to put the line in.
More waiting. More chatting. More reading.
A staff member took Robyn through to the CT scanner. She reminded them that she had no line in. Remember, if you are going through the health system, you need to know what should be happening to you. Health professionals have lots to think about and can forget things that are meant to happen.
So Robyn had to come out to the waiting room again and wait for the doctor to come and put a line in.
The doctor arrives. Robyn said he had an accent. He said he was new to the hospital. He tried to get a line in. No success. He told Robyn that she was the most "difficult" patient he had ever had. He said he would have one more attempt in her hand and if that didn't work, he would have to get an anaesthetist to do it. Success. Sort of. He dug around and got the line in. Robyn said it hurt - stung.
Back out to the waiting room. One or two patients who were after Robyn had gone before her now.
More waiting. A couple of patients had come through Emergency for a CT scan. No problem. Those people need to be done - life and death. This was not.
But the line did hurt. Robyn did not really complain but looked in discomfort. I don't know how she could display such tolerance. Thank goodness for games on cellphones. My phone was well charged and she played some games on it to pass the time.
A businessman sat near us. The staff member couldn't get a line into his arm either and he was waiting for the doctor.
Finally Robyn went in. She reminded the staff member that she hadn’t had her last lot of Ioscan. Quickly had that.
Her appointment was 9.30 am and it was now around 11.15 am. She was starving. So was I.
The procedure did not take long but was not without its own incident. First a scan was done without using the IV contrast. Then the scan was repeated after the IV contrast had gone in. The contrast gives the patient a warm sensation and it feels like they've wet themselves, although they haven't. After the procedure, when the line was about to be removed, one of the radiology staff said it looked like the contrast had leaked into surrounding tissue. Another staff member agreed. The doctor looked and said it was fine and no leaking had taken place, despite the radiology staff being adamant. Robyn said it had leaked a bit. She could see it. The doctor said that in "the old days", a leakage was not a good thing to happen, but nowadays nothing untoward would happen.
Robyn's hand was well and truly bruised and because of the suspected leakage, she was to sit back in the waiting room for 20 minutes with an ice pack on her hand. If she was concerned about anything when she got home, she was to ring her GP.
The businessman waiting for the doctor to get his line in would by now have been a bit freaked out at hearing what had happened to Robyn !
Only about 10 minutes had passed before a staff member came and removed the ice pack and said Robyn could go. So much for a suggested 20 minute wait !
As we were heading down the long corridor, Robyn got upset about what had happened with contrast and the possible consequences. What damage could it do ? It was all too much really. The original blood test result, a long wait for the procedure, leaking contrast and intense hunger.
We had lunch in the car park, which also doubled as time to see if anything was happening to Robyn's hand. It felt swollen and tender. We stopped at a service station and bought an ice block which we wrapped in a tea towel to put on her hand, but it wasn't soft enough and she ate it instead !
This time travelling home, she experienced no headaches or queasiness. I put this down to being able to eat and drink straight away instead of driving around looking for a place to eat.
So what was going to be a 5 hour round trip, turned out to be a 7 hour round trip.
Thursday 23 December 2004
Shane was anxious to know the results of Robyn's scan. His bosses pre-teen daughter is currently undergoing radiation treatment at Wellington Hospital for a brain tumor and I think with all that going on, he just wanted confirmation about Robyn's health.
Consequently, Robyn rang Wellington Hospital and spoke to Anna Nicholson. Anna said she was going to ring Robyn that particular day, but had not gotten around to it because she was so busy. Anna said that the scans "looked OK".
While it was good to hear that, it did not tell us if the consultant had looked at the scan or if only the registrar had.
Also she did not say if the last lot of blood tests had shown good results.
Tuesday 18 January 2005
Next appointment to see the consultant and / or registrar at Wellington Hospital.
The following photos were taken early December 2004.
Robyn with her new curly hair
Robyn, Fergus (2), Shane and Lachlan (4)
Visit with the Registrar at Wellington Hospital
15 July 2004
CT Scan at Wellington Hospital
24 August 2004
Follow up visit with the Registrar, Dr Anna Nicholson at Wellington Hospital
23 November 2004
Had an uneventful visit to Wellington Hospital for a physical check up. No strange lumps and bumps detected. An appointment for a CT scan was made for early February 2005. This was to include the abdomen as well as the chest.
When we arrived, Robyn asked if she was meant to have a blood test before this visit as she hadn't had one. The doctor said she might as well have one done before heading home, so up to the Laboratory we went. The lab technician had a real challenge finding a vein in her arm until Robyn suggested finding one in the top of her hand. This was still difficult to do, but was eventually achieved. The lab technician said that Robyn should ask to have the blood taken from her hand in future, instead of mucking around with arm.
Have a look at your arms and the top of your hand now. Do you see veins ? Well you can't see any at all in Robyn's arms or hands. They have disappeared under the surface. Not uncommon for cancer patients who have had treatment.
7 December 2004
Robyn rang me at work to say Anna Nicholson had run her regarding the last blood test. One of the tests was a "bit higher" than it should be. She didn't give much information over the phone, except to say not to be too alarmed. She advised that the CT scan appointment scheduled for February would be brought forward to January sometime.
This news created a sickening feeling in my stomach. "Don't be too alarmed". But hey, what did all this mean ?
8 December 2004
New CT appointment arrives in the mail. Only it is not for January, but Monday 20 December at 9.30 am. What is the significance of that ? Probably nothing more than a slot was available, or to beat the Christmas / New Year break .... but what the mind starts to think is quite different. Is there some unsaid urgency about this ? Why ? What does it mean ?
Then the rational thoughts start to come. What will be will be. Deal with it once the results are known.
Not knowing is the hard to deal with bit.
The instructions for taking the Ioscan were a bit different this time. Some had to be taken the night before. Slightly different instructions gets the mind working as to why. Two lots had to be taken as we drove down.
Tuesday 14 December 2004
Robyn had bloods done at Masterton Hospital's laboratory.
Monday 20 December 2004
Shane was able to stay home with the boys today and Robyn met me at home around 7am. It was an early start for her as she had a 20 minute drive in to our place. I'd packed up some egg sandwiches and ham sandwiches as Robyn had not been allowed to eat since last night. From previous experience we figured that if things ran late, she'd be absolutely starving when the procedure had finished and would need to eat straight away.
Got to Wellington in plenty of time. Parked as usual in the Cancer Centre carpark.
There were a few people in the CT waiting area.
One of the staff took Robyn to a cubicle to put a line in. No luck. She also had to have her last Ioscan drink a certain time before the procedure. That would have to wait and Robyn would have to wait for a doctor to put the line in.
More waiting. More chatting. More reading.
A staff member took Robyn through to the CT scanner. She reminded them that she had no line in. Remember, if you are going through the health system, you need to know what should be happening to you. Health professionals have lots to think about and can forget things that are meant to happen.
So Robyn had to come out to the waiting room again and wait for the doctor to come and put a line in.
The doctor arrives. Robyn said he had an accent. He said he was new to the hospital. He tried to get a line in. No success. He told Robyn that she was the most "difficult" patient he had ever had. He said he would have one more attempt in her hand and if that didn't work, he would have to get an anaesthetist to do it. Success. Sort of. He dug around and got the line in. Robyn said it hurt - stung.
Back out to the waiting room. One or two patients who were after Robyn had gone before her now.
More waiting. A couple of patients had come through Emergency for a CT scan. No problem. Those people need to be done - life and death. This was not.
But the line did hurt. Robyn did not really complain but looked in discomfort. I don't know how she could display such tolerance. Thank goodness for games on cellphones. My phone was well charged and she played some games on it to pass the time.
A businessman sat near us. The staff member couldn't get a line into his arm either and he was waiting for the doctor.
Finally Robyn went in. She reminded the staff member that she hadn’t had her last lot of Ioscan. Quickly had that.
Her appointment was 9.30 am and it was now around 11.15 am. She was starving. So was I.
The procedure did not take long but was not without its own incident. First a scan was done without using the IV contrast. Then the scan was repeated after the IV contrast had gone in. The contrast gives the patient a warm sensation and it feels like they've wet themselves, although they haven't. After the procedure, when the line was about to be removed, one of the radiology staff said it looked like the contrast had leaked into surrounding tissue. Another staff member agreed. The doctor looked and said it was fine and no leaking had taken place, despite the radiology staff being adamant. Robyn said it had leaked a bit. She could see it. The doctor said that in "the old days", a leakage was not a good thing to happen, but nowadays nothing untoward would happen.
Robyn's hand was well and truly bruised and because of the suspected leakage, she was to sit back in the waiting room for 20 minutes with an ice pack on her hand. If she was concerned about anything when she got home, she was to ring her GP.
The businessman waiting for the doctor to get his line in would by now have been a bit freaked out at hearing what had happened to Robyn !
Only about 10 minutes had passed before a staff member came and removed the ice pack and said Robyn could go. So much for a suggested 20 minute wait !
As we were heading down the long corridor, Robyn got upset about what had happened with contrast and the possible consequences. What damage could it do ? It was all too much really. The original blood test result, a long wait for the procedure, leaking contrast and intense hunger.
We had lunch in the car park, which also doubled as time to see if anything was happening to Robyn's hand. It felt swollen and tender. We stopped at a service station and bought an ice block which we wrapped in a tea towel to put on her hand, but it wasn't soft enough and she ate it instead !
This time travelling home, she experienced no headaches or queasiness. I put this down to being able to eat and drink straight away instead of driving around looking for a place to eat.
So what was going to be a 5 hour round trip, turned out to be a 7 hour round trip.
Thursday 23 December 2004
Shane was anxious to know the results of Robyn's scan. His bosses pre-teen daughter is currently undergoing radiation treatment at Wellington Hospital for a brain tumor and I think with all that going on, he just wanted confirmation about Robyn's health.
Consequently, Robyn rang Wellington Hospital and spoke to Anna Nicholson. Anna said she was going to ring Robyn that particular day, but had not gotten around to it because she was so busy. Anna said that the scans "looked OK".
While it was good to hear that, it did not tell us if the consultant had looked at the scan or if only the registrar had.
Also she did not say if the last lot of blood tests had shown good results.
Tuesday 18 January 2005
Next appointment to see the consultant and / or registrar at Wellington Hospital.
The following photos were taken early December 2004.
Robyn with her new curly hair
Robyn, Fergus (2), Shane and Lachlan (4)