Glowing

It has been another good day.
I arrived for the MUGA scan just before 0800, the clerk performed a wonderful verify and validate and the first good thing was that they did not ask me to change into one of their horrible patient gowns, we'll save that for tomorrow.
The nuclear scan part of the radiology clinic I was sent to has it's own smaller and quieter waiting area with it's own washroom, second good thing.
As someone who has always closely guarded my weight (not even my husband has been privy to this information) I am finding it interesting that now this number is something that everyone seems to require and they have no qualms asking what it is out loud in front of whoever might also happen to be around. This a.m. it was required to determine the dosage of whatever it was they injected me with when I first arrived, to 'prepare my blood'.
Third good thing is that she was very good at giving needles and I barely felt this one.
After a waiting period of about 15 minutes I was taken back into the nuclear scan room and positioned on the table and a slightly larger IV was initiated in the same arm, just above where the previous injection had been given. Some blood was removed, a radioactive tracer was added to it and then the blood was re-injected back into the vein. I was placed on a cardiac monitor and the scan began, ten minutes on the left side of my heart followed by five minutes on the right side. I was done within an hour and it wasn't bad at all.
I was a little startled when I went to leave though. The tech asked how I was travelling to the States and when. With my reply, she asked me to wait, then provided me with a note for the border guards. Her reasoning was that their radiation detectors are quite sensitive and if there happened to be any residual radiation they will be looking for a source. If questioned, apparently my note may help avert an 'international incident', it may also help if they question the needle marks on my left arm, which are increasing in number as the week progresses ;)
I was told to allow two hours for the MUGA scan so I was left me with some extra time to return home and continue with my Mom's wash and also complete some forms for insurance and the initial questionnaire for the pedometer research study.
Lunch was a treat with my co-worker/friend Robin again, but this time it was 'my treat'.
We discussed many things, mostly work related and it felt just like old times, nothing changed ;)
Before we left we discussed the wig-fitting briefly, Robin was thinking I should go for a blonde look, I wanted just to be able to 'look' without cringing, let alone try to rock a blonde look. Apparently, she was not satisfied with my response and told my co-worker Sonia that she thought I was beginning to look a little matronly and to see what she could do about that when she came to help me choose the wig. Well, with that comment ringing in my ears there was no way I could now go for a staid, conservative look! I have a hunch Robin planned it that way.
The wig cap the stylist placed on my head did not raise my expectations as to how successful I was going to be, nor did the first two wigs she had me try on. Then came the 'Natalie' wig. I tried it on in a frosty blonde, a light red with blond highlights and in a brown. Elizabeth had also arrived by this time and the unanimous choice was the red with blonde highlights. The stylist quickly and efficiently trimmed the wig around the front to frame my face better, provided me with a wig stand, brush, shampoo and conditioner, took me to the counter to pay and I was now the new owner of a wig.
In fact, 'Natalie' wore it out of the salon and no one even seemed to be the wiser, do you think I really managed to pull it off?

Take care.