Pre-Transplant Testing Day 1

Today, Monday February 10th 2014 was my first day of pre-op testing at Vanderbilt for my upcoming liver transplant.  Mom, Matthew and I left Jackson at 5:15 a.m. (I got up at 3:30 a.m.!!) and made the drive over to Nashville.  My first appointment was at 8:00.

First on the schedule for the day was a pulmonary function test.  This proved to be pretty easy and painless.  I just sat in a glass booth and had to take lots of deep breaths and inflate and deflate my lungs over and over.  The worst part was that I felt a little light headed, but that was no big deal.  As I struck up a conversation with the respiratory therapist, I came to find out she also suffers from Crohn's, as does her son and daughter.  We had a nice little chat about that and she was so friendly and told me she'd be praying for me.  I told her the same and silently thanked the Lord for another confirmation that He is ordering my footsteps and placing people in my path to encourage me and remind me that I'm not alone in this!  

Next on the list was a bone density test (aka Dexa scan) in the radiology department.  I've had about 4 of these done over the past few years so I already knew what to expect.  It's just a simple scan of my hip bones which takes about 10 minutes.  Easy peasey!  I actually almost fell asleep on the table because I was so relaxed and SO tired from the early morning we had.  

I've never seen the hospital waiting areas so desolate!  Thankfully, I got right in with virtually no wait time!

I was in and out of my first two appointments before 9:00, which was WAY ahead of schedule.  My next appointment wasn't until 1:00, but I called over and asked if I could be seen sooner and they worked me in.  No sense in sitting around wasting time!  Let's get this stuff DONE!  Plus, I was getting hungry since I wasn't allowed to have anything to eat or drink until after my last of the day.

As we were driving to the next appointment, I saw this sign at a gas station of all places!  I love what it says and again I felt like it was put there specifically for me to see!

My final two tests were at the imaging center.  The first was an ultrasound of my abdomen, where the tech looked at all of my internal abdominal organs---my liver, kidneys, spleen, pancreas, etc.  She also looked at all of my ducts and spent quite a bit of time searching for my gallbladder before she realized I didn't have one!  =)  This appointment took the longest of all, probably close to an hour.  It was totally painless of course and the worst part was all that yucky gel and goop they had to spread over my belly.  I'm STILL finding that stuff on me!

Last was my CT scan with contrast.  Again, I've had tons of these done so I already knew what was going to happen.  They started an IV and injected my veins with contrast, which is the weirdest feeling EVER.  Your entire body feels warm and tingly but not so much in a good way.  It's just weird.  The worst part is always getting an IV started because I have such teeny tiny horrible veins.  But, the tech got it on the first try and it was smooth sailing from there.  The contrast burns pretty bad as it goes into your arm, but that only lasts about 30 seconds.  The scan took 7 minutes and just consisted of me taking deep breaths and holding them while I was inside of the tube.  

By 11:30, we were completely DONE for the day!!  Woo hoo!  So, off to Opry Mills outlet mall we went!  First stop was lunch, as we were all 3 starving.  Then, we hit several stores before calling it a day.  Poor Matthew was really hoping to spend a few hours minutes browsing Bass Pro Shop, but we ran out of time.  There's always tomorrow!

We checked into our hotel around 3:00 and I immediately got on the iPad and Skyped with Kyndall.  She was excited to share with me all that she and Nonie had done today and I was glad to hear she isn't missing me and Matthew too much.  I told her I was at the doctor and she asked me if I was sick.  I told her I was just getting a check up and she seemed satisfied with that answer.

Now, Mom and I are getting ready to head out to my once-a-month Crohn's support group meeting (Girls with Guts) which just so happened to fall on a night that we're here in Nashville.  Normally I have to make a special trip over for the meetings, but it worked out perfectly that the February meeting was during our stay here.  

Tomorrow will start bright and early at 8:30 a.m.  Here's what's on the agenda:

• 8:30  Appointment with Liver Coordinator for Education
• 9:30  Appointment with Transplant Social Worker
• 11:00  Appointment with Transplant Nutritionist
• 2:00  Appointment with Transplant Psychiatrist