Heart Test - EKG and RBC

I had my heart test today to make sure I'm strong enough to have chemo.  I won't get the results till tomorrow but I'm not worried about it and neither is my oncologist, he says the test is just a matter of "crossing t's and dotting i's."  I went into the hospital this morning and did lots of waiting, then they took some blood (to add radioisotopes to and use in my test) and I did some more waiting.  Here are some of my boredom pictures after I got tired of all the distractions I brought...

The pink bracelet I'm wearing is from my ward.  In addition to me, there is another gal who's been fighting cancer for over 5 years and of course there are other women fighting various life trials.  The sweet relief society made these bracelets for us to all wear in support of one another (the other side says "fight like a girl").  I was alone at my appointment today (by choice - no need to worry or offer to come with me the next time, lol - sometimes I just like to be independent). However, while I was sitting there looking at my bracelet I was reminded that even when I'm doing something by myself, I am never alone.  When I got home from the hospital, I read my weekly e-mail update from our Relief Society and this was part of it:

Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with all the sisters of our ward, but especially at this time, we are mindful of Heidi Green.  Heidi, you have hundreds of cheerleaders rooting you on as you so courageously fight this cancer that has no idea who it's up against!!  We are inspired by your strength and your humor.  You are a bright light to all of us and we hope we can be that bright light to you in the coming weeks and months ahead. 

Cancer most definitely is crap, but this crap has nothing on you!!  Fight Like a Girl!!  SISTERS TOGETHER!!  We will be with you and here for you every step of the way!!  xoxoxo!!

As I have seen pink bracelets everywhere I've gone this week, it's been incredibly difficult to keep my emotions in check.  The support and love you have for one another is overwhelming.

Yes, it totally made me cry.  I am very blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful people... to my amazing ward, neighbors, friends and family - thank you all, I love you and please know that I'm so grateful for you and praying for all of you in return as well!!

Ok, moving on to my test.  It was called an RBC nuclear scan and they also did an EKG test.  The electrode you see in the first picture was for the EKG.  They put one under each collarbone and one on the side of my abdomen, hooked them up to some cords and then hooked the cords to a machine.  For the RBC, they added a radioisotope to the blood they'd previously drawn.  This process tags the red blood cells and then they inject that blood back into my body.  I layed on a bed and a scanner detects the radiation and charts how it moves through my heart.  They scanned me from two different angles and each scan took about 10 minutes (they had to wait for my heart to beat 500 times for each test).  I went home after being at the hospital for over 2 1/2 hours and then a few hours later I got another call that they didn't get enough images so I needed to come back in... uuuggghh!  Luckily, I've got babysitting age kids so I could rush back to the hospital as soon as they called and get back home before dinner.  Even more luckily, the radioisotope is in my body for 12 hours so I didn't need to get any more blood draws or injections!  Four more scans later (another hour, give or take) and I was finished. 

Big day, but one more thing checked off my list!  Tomorrow is a complimentary "Look Good, Feel Better" class given by the American Cancer Society to help women with makeup and beauty tips that help counteract the side effects that accompany chemotherapy.  Fun!! :)