Day Two Evaluation: Original Date Feb15th, 2007

Thursday started earlier than Wednesday for me. I rolled out of bed at about 5am and got cleaned up. After treatments and getting ready we left the house at about 7am.

We rolled into the hospital - which was a different facility than the place we went on Wednesday - at about 7:40am.

8:20am Radiology Bone Mineral Analysis (aka - Bone Density Scan):

They said that you could not take ANY Vitamins and/or Calcium Supplements the day of the test. To eat a LIGHT breakfast, but to refrain from ANY food containing calcium, milk, cheese. Also they recommended that you wear clothes that were comfortable with no metal zippers, buttons or snaps.

As for the test itself, they had me lay flat on my back with a pillow under my head. Then they put a big square pillow beneath my knees and legs to lift them up. They did a scan of my spine - in my midsection. Then they had me roll onto my left side and slide with my back all the way up against this metal slide thing. They took a scan of my spine in that position as well. From there they had me lie on my back again and put my legs in a few different positions and scanned my hips.

I asked about what the pictures were supposed to look like because I was curious. She said the black areas were tissue - the really white areas are where the bone is dense and the gray areas are where the bone is less dense.

According to my test results - My spine is normal but I am slightly into the Osteopenia range in my hips.

10:30am - Radiology CT Chest:

This was a CT scan of my lungs. They did NOT use contrast of any kind. Typical CT Chest Scan. They lay you flat on your back arms up and they have you breathe normal then on occasion a voice prompts you to take a deep breath in and hold it. You hold your breathe for roughly 10 seconds each time you do it. If you are unable to hold your breath for 10 seconds they will adjust the timer for you. That test lasted about 10-15 minutes in total.

1:00pm Cardiology Echocardiogram w/Contrast:

The test was really not bad the more unpleasant thing was the fact that the room was bitter cold and you are lying with a dinky gown covering you. The point of this test was to show them whether or not I have a hole in my heart.

She took several pictures of my heart using a device similar to what they would use for an ultrasound. She ended up having me lie in about 4 different positions to get images of my heart. It was also interesting to see that when I would breathe in you could barely make out where my heart was, but as I was breathing out it became more clear. So the lung wasn't in the way when I wasn't inhaling I guess. After that I had to lay flat on my back and she rubbed around the base of my sternum and my throat - right between each clavicle. When she was around my clavicle she turned on an audio feed and you could hear my heart beat.

The contrast part of this was Saline and Sterile water combination. They had to start an IV - with a 20 gauge needle. They injected the contrast twice to make sure they got what they needed. The tests showed I did NOT have a hole in my heart but they did show that I had some type of pulmonary filtration or something similar to that - I can't remember what she called it. She said that it is not normal - but is probably typical for my diagnosis with the CF and needing transplant.

2:00pm - Pulmonary Med ABG O2

Arterial Blood Gas – for those that don’t know – involves getting a blood sample from an artery NOT a vein. Due to the nature of arteries and the fact that they are surrounded by nerve endings this test has the potential to be very painful. Overall the experience was not bad though. The lady that tried initially stuck my twice but was unable to get a sample because the artery was shifting on her. Even though she stuck me twice it was not bad. It was uncomfortable but not overly painful. At the first hint of sharp pain she removed the needle each time. She ultimately got her boss to come in and get the sample. He also had to stick me twice, but he did the same as the original nurse. If there was any indication of pain he removed the needle or readjusted it so it did not hurt. He got all the blood he needed the 4th time around. The strangest thing with that blood test to me was that I could feel the blood going every time my heart would beat. It was somewhat bizarre.

The test results for that were as follows. O2 levels NORMAL is in the 90s - MINE on 2 liters of O2 were 86. CO2 levels NORMAL between 35-45 MINE on the high end of normal at 43.

I met another transplant patient this day as well. The man was telling me about the blood gas and who he liked doing his - he had a single lung transplant 4 yrs ago. They were from Tennessee - the same area most of my family is from, so it was nice to talk to them a bit.