The big picture

The couple of weeks flew between the oncologist appointment and Christmas. In between, work was hectic. Additional projects, big gaps in staff as use-them-or-lose them vacation days came into play, plus our magazine printer shut down two days for Christmas and two for New Year's. It just all tended to put a little more rock into Jingle Bell Rock. My CT imaging and full-body bone scan appointment were both scheduled for the morning of December 21, three hours apart. I had to be there at 7 am, which meant I got to drink my first bottle of berry-flavored barium at 4 a.m. Talk about a rude wake-up call.

Chilled was definitely helpful, but I couldn't down it in one chug. Took three good gulps. Two hours later I ingested the second bottle. Boy, have to wonder how awful the vanilla and banana flavors must be if berry was ranked tops.

There is nothing painful or invasive about these two tests. After the CT test, I left, grabbed some take-out breakfast and headed home for a few hours of wrapping Christmas gifts before returning for the bone scan. It seemed like a long process, but was probably about 45 minutes, laying flat on my back. I was reminded of the movie Independence Day, as the flat, wide black panel camera -- looking like the huge alien ship in the movie -- hovered about two inches over my face and began slowly moving down. I closed my eyes, peeking occasionally to check its mileage.

I was actually looking forward to, rather than dreading, the results of this particular test. What kind of information would it reveal? I've never had a broken bone -- yet -- but what odd little changes -- or mysterious things -- might be discovered. A long-missing roller skate key? There was evidence from when I was a toddler that I had bitten into the shell of my brother's miniature formerly live turtle. What other small animals might I have tried to eat before the age of two? What fossils might be residing in my organs?

All would be revealed on December 30 at my next doctor's appointment, along with the results from the lab on my tumor analysis. But first, there was work to be done, and a holiday to be celebrated with the kids in Des Moines, and a monster of a snow storm that would try to prevent that.