today i had to go back to the hospital. i knew that it was the stomach camera test day, but i wasn't too worried about it. or so i thought. my blood pressure was pretty high when they checked it. of course, it could have been the morning, too....

this morning when the bus came, hiro was completely naked (although sasha was dressed and ready to go!) and bentos weren't finished. (the bus was about 3 minutes earlier than usual. also, hiro was being a pain and wouldn't change his clothes!!) i went out and told them that we were really behind and that i would take the kids to school by car. so, hiro finally gets dressed, i finish up the bentos, then i put out the laundry, got tommy dressed and then we got in the car and took off. then i realized that i forgot the paper they had given me at the hospital about today's test, so i had to go back and get it. damn, that made me late! so, twenty-five minutes later we arrive at the school and i get hiro and sasha in the building and then tommy and i are on the road again! one quick stop at 7-11 to get: gum (soda flavor), chocolate pocky, anpanman chocolate on a stick (lollipop, kinda), a cherry lollipop, a small toy and a tea (for me) and then off again. only a few minutes late to the hospital, but all in all, not too bad.

we had to wait for a long time (kinda, it was nearly an hour) before the blood pressure check, and then a bit longer before the camera part. what an unpleasant venture that is. i had to drink a cup of liquid that was very disgusting. i had asked the technician if it tasted bad and she wouldn't say it tasted bad, but it was...not nice. and she was right, it barely had any flavor at all, but it had the strangest texture. it was almost like drinking silicon or something. well, what i would imagine silicon, or perhaps liquid plastic, would be like to drink. supposedly, that was to help the camera move around in my stomach. then i had to get a shot, which wasn't too bad (just a small sting) but then the tech had to massage the spot and that hurt! then more unpleasantness in the mouth! i had to take a spoonful of gel in my mouth, but not swallow it, for three minutes. of course, that was when tommy decided to ask me a lot of questions! lol after three minutes, i got to spit out the gel, and i could tell my mouth was quite numb. next was the worst part, next to the cup of nasty i had already had. they had to spray the back of my throat to numb my gag reflex. it stung, tasted awful and triggered my gag reflex, making me retch and make very undignified noises! finally, after three sprays, i was ready for the camera!

first i got on the exam table and lay on my back. the tech then shook my midsection to get the nasty shit i had drunk to coat my stomach. then on to my right side for more shaking. then on my front for one last shake, and then i was on my left side and ready to be violated. i got a funny white bib because i wasn't allowed to swallow and had to let whatever saliva just flow out of my mouth. then i got a white tube in my mouth and then it was on! the only painful part (and it was very brief) was when the camera was pushed past my vocal cords. then i retched again. i also retched a couple more times when the camera was bumping around in my stomach! eventually, though, i got kinda used to it and also tried to zone out and relax. i had a couple more episodes of a retchy feeling, but i managed to suppress them. i thought this would last for a really long time but before i knew it, and to my relief, they were done and the camera was out!

tommy actually didn't freak out and get unmanageable during the procedure. i think because he wasn't separated from me (but he also wasn't on the exam table) and maybe it was a bit interesting for him? i had broken out his toy just before drinking the cup of nasty, so maybe that helped. the last bit of waiting was the hard part. he loves to run the length of the waiting room chairs (on top of the chairs!) which is really annoying so first came out the chocolate on a stick, and then the cherry lollipop.

i got to see the pictures they took, first in the room where they were taken (the tech went over them with me) and then with the doctor. everything looks really good, very healthy, there was only on spot and i think they told me it had something to do with the gallstones. i don't know what, exactly, but everything looked good. i also got to see the results of yesterday's scan and my gall bladder is stock full of stones! it's amazing, actually, and having it out is probably just the best thing to do.

so, surgery is scheduled for the beginning of december. wish me luck!