Sunday I went with a group of friends from church to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in downtown Seattle. There's a week left in its run, and I can recommend it highly for the entertainment value. My church choir had done our own very unique version of this Andrew Lloyd Webber musical two springs ago and we had purchased tickets this past summer to see how the pros do it. The Fifth Avenue version stars some fellow who was a finalist on American Idol and wears his hair a la Orlando Bloom in Lord of the Rings but that isn't necessarily a mark against him. Final verdict from all the attendees was two thumbs up, although we thought our own Potiphar and Pharoah/Elvis were just as good as the singers on stage.
This is the only youtube I can find of the current run, but it's indicative of the energy the entire cast brings to the production. Joseph at the Fifth Avenue Theatre
Then today it was up early and off to Group Health in Bellevue for a transvaginal ultrasound (another adventure with sound just to state the obvious). I'm going to give a "Guy warning" here so that if you are a guy and find talking or reading about this stuff distasteful, stop right here and just read the one word Executive Summary:
ICK!!!
The technician setting up the appointment had advised me to drink 32 ounces of water an hour prior to the ultrasound so my bladder would be full. I did as instructed and arrived at 8:20 for an 8:30 appointment, shall we say, primed and ready to go [this despite a pouring rain and bumper to bumper commute across the 520 bridge]. 8:30 arrived, and no go. Five minutes passed, ten minutes passed. I was getting very, very explosive. Finally at 8:45, I uncrossed my legs, stood mainly erect and made it to the check-in desk, where I enquired as to the delay. Now my voice is a chirrup these days, therefore, I lack the tone necessary to convey a real sense of urgency, so my words have to do it for me. What I recall saying is something to the effect that if they were not quick about getting me into the ultrasound room stat, all that careful preparation was about to go to waste. Immediately after I returned and gingerly lowered my body into my seat, the technician was out calling my name.
The first part of the procedure was a typical ultrasound, similar to the ones I had during my last two pregnancies, where ointment was spread over my abdomen and a hand held device was rubbed on top of my skin which, using sound waves, created a grainy, black and white reflection of the organs below my stomach. Once that was completed, I was allowed to dress and go to the bathroom (whew!) and then return for the transvaginal ultrasound. Apparently this is a technique used for most pregnancies these days and it involved an extremely long but thankfully skinny wand shaped instrument with an ultrasound camera on its tip, that you insert into yourself, and then the technician moves ii up, down and all around inside. It was quite uncomfortable during portions of this procedure and induced nausea at one point, albeit not severely. Here is what the result of one looks like:
Once this procedure was complete, I was free to go. My friend, D, drove me home after a great breakfast at her favorite greasy spoon. Nausea gone--Yum!
One last word of caution, do not order prescription refills from Group Health's automatic refill service unless you have more than a week of your original prescription left. It took a great deal of effort to obtain a 'filler' prescription late this afternoon from Group Health at their Northgate pharmacy, which will cover me while I wait for the main prescription to be delivered by 'snail' mail. Luckily a friend was able to do the phone work and help out in talking to the pharmacist-- because my voice is so far gone at this point, I even have difficulty ordering from a McDonald's drive in. I continue to be amazed at how very much I relied on my voice to simply transact the mundane business of life, until this happened. These days, I am a stick at conversation. But on the other hand, it has kept me from telling certain people exactly what I think of them, when pushed too far. So perhaps, it is a good thing as well.
And I still can write.
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2 comments:
I had a cyst removed, even though it was obvious it was benign, and the ovary along w/ it, and I've had a fibroid removed. So I've had a number of these ultrasounds. It's interesting that you inserted the stick yourself. At Fancy Hospital the technician puts a condom and lube on it and inserts it herself. And one of them told me that it really doesn't make a difference whether your bladder is full.
--Cancer Bitch
Yeah, the bladder did not have to be full for the transvaginal, only for the old style ultrasound where the technician rubs a wand on your abdomen--that one was done first. Then I could void and and the transvaginal was free, at least of that discomfort.
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