Thursday, and another road trip!

Oh, before I forget, still speaking of the winds, remember me blowing off the patios out back on Monday? Well, after Wednesday's winds and storms, the patio is trashed again with leaves, tree seeds, small branches, etc., everywhere!

So, today is my stress test up at River District Hospital in St. Clair. So, no coffee (bad) and no morning medications (worse!) I cleverly (I thought, anyway) left two hours early, figuring on rush hour traffic. And, there was a lot on I-96, going into Detroit. But, on I-94 heading out of Detroit, there was hardly any traffic at all! So, I ended up being way too early with almost a 1/2 hour to kill. So, I drove by the old house on River Road, specifically to see how the front hedge I planted was doing.

Lu and I conceived of the front hedge idea primarily to cut down the road noise. I also thought it would be a little less dangerous if you had small kids (say, grandchildren) playing in the yard, since before they could have run right out onto North River Road (a very busy street). I was pleased to see the hedge is about four feet tall now and the gate (with the carved sea captain and his wife) still standing. One of the flowering trees I had planted near the gate was in full bloom as well. It was nice to see a plan come together!

I was amazed at the differences in St. Clair, itself, BTW. Building are gone, new buildings are up, the video store now sells lawn mowers, etc. Oh well, times change, I guess.

Back at the hospital, I signed in and got my IV inserted (this is a little one you walk around with all day - more like a chemo shunt than a regular IV). I got my radioactive shot and had to wait around for a half hour. Then you lie down and a machine slowly goes over your chest (and, I do mean slowly! Takes maybe 15-20 minutes) and takes, (what? An x-ray? A picture? Whatever!) of the blood circulating.

Then you wait some more (I think for the treadmill to be free) until its time for the actual test. She shaved spots on my chest to attach the EKG leads and got me all wired up. Then I got on the treadmill and started walking. At one point, the one technician asked me to not grip the bar as hard because it was interfering with the EKG. I told her I use a cane to walk normally and no way could I do this without holding on!

I get to my target heart rate (137) and then they gave me the next radioactive shot. You have to continue to walk (well, almost run at this point) for another minute to get the stuff pumped through you. The other technician said, "I think the next time you have a stress test done, you should ask for the shot." "The shot?" says I. She said, "Yes, they have a shot you can take that elevates your heart rate so you don't have to do all this walking." I said, "NOW you tell me?" She said, "Well, we can't go against what your doctor orders, but remember it for next time." I actually did know this because B___ told me. But, I thought I could do this and so I did.

Anyway, they take off all but three EKG leads and you go back and wait for the other machine to be free. When it's your turn, you go through the same long procedure of the machine slowly going over your chest, again.

I got out of there at 11:45 AM and could barely walk to the car. I called B___ to ask him to check my email to see if anything earth-shattering was going on. I mentioned how much pain I had and he suggested I call my doctor and have her call in a prescription. He figured by the time I got home, it would be ready and waiting. And, it was!

Back home, I decided going in to work was not an option. So, I took a pain pill, laid down in bed with my feet elevated and stayed there, most of the day. I did get up and grill some brats for dinner. When I was out doing that, a neighbor from the townhouses came over to sell me candy for her granddaughter to go to summer camp. I don't recall ever meeting her before, but she asked what became of my son and his girl friend that used to live with me. I said they'd gotten married and bought a house.

Later on Lu called to thank me for the Mother's Day card I'd sent. She said the latest problem she has encountered is she is allergic to the foam in her leg immobilizer! So, she has to put on that sock material (like before they fit you with a cast) and then the immobilizer so she doesn't get hives.

I either read, watched TV or dozed off and on during the afternoon and evening, but went to bed for real at 9:00 PM.