meximick's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ct scan Even if you're healthy, there's nothing like being alone in a sterile, empty hospital at night to make you feel sick. So it was 6pm last night when I got to the hospital for my CT scan of my lumbar-sacral region (my lower back). I was just going to write an awful joke referencing the words "lumber" and "sac", but I would have felt it inappropriate.BTW, go HERE and buy this set from somewhere and listen to the song "Lazy Line Painter Jane" because it's mellow and quite rocking in a quiet, melodic way, like much of Belle & Sebastian's music. I think it's odd that many diaries I read contain something involving love for Belle and Sebastian. Odd and cool. So anyway, back to the hospital... My appointment was for 630p, but I was hoping I could get in a quick scan and be gone. The whole place seemed deserted. The hospital lacked the sound of busyness that I had become accustomed to when I was a nursing assistant in a hospital back home. After finding the correct department, I sat and waited until 7:00p. A tech (let's call him Habib) came and directed me to the changing room to get into a pair of paper throwaway pants and a hospital gown. Attemping to make a weak joke, I asked him if he had anything in a 32" inseam, but he didn't get it. As I minced down the long corridor to the CT scan I had my hands behind my back to keep my hospital clothes from falling off. I was directed to lay down on the bed of the machine. The bed itself was set up to pass through the center of what appeared to be a large, square donut shaped apparatus. Habib got me situated for the scan, and told me to remain still. The bed raised up and I was slowly moved into the scanner. As Habib manned the controls behind a shielded wall panel, the bed stopped as laser crosshairs aimed at the bridge of my nose. Through a window, I could see the inside of the scanner as it churned, constantly spinning. The room was filled with a constant hum, punctuated by the loud beep of an unattended heart monitor whose leads had been left on the floor. Habib's voice came from a nearby speaker, stating, "Hold still. Don't move." I concentrated on not moving. And I was staring up at the scanner display, at the ceiling, at the fucking monitor that just kept ceaselessly beeping, and at the inside of the machine as it spun. And all the while, all I could think was: thank God I'm not really sick, because i don't think I could handle being in a hospital longer than 3 hours.12:47:07 - 2000-11-01 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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