CT scan complete Wednesday

Rob and I started to watch the news last night when Rob heard Nick singing in the monitor followed by him saying Mom - so I went up to see what he was up to. I went to sit in the chair beside his bed and was surprised to find that Nick was curled up in a ball on that very chair. He was talking in his sleep but did move from his bed to his chair so I placed him back in bed. After about an hour he stopped "jerk" moving in his sleep and settled back in until the rain started early this morning. Ellie came in at 6:45AM and asked if she could sleep in our room - which she then did - we came down for breakfast at about 8:00AM - thanks to the dark skies.
I couldn't eat breakfast because I couldn't eat/drink 4 hours before the scan but the kids ate their waffles and poptarts. I had to start drinking the prep 2 hours before the scan but finish at least an hour before. I took the advice from Margaret and mixed it with cranberry juice (I don't really drink juice so drinking 20 ounces left my tummy feeling un-easy). I opened the prep and was relieved to find that it really had no smell and after mixing it with the juice it also didn't have a taste. I finished drinking the prep and we headed over to Mom's - the kids were thrilled it was raining and they got to wear their raincoats. Ellie and Nick decided they were going to use recycled boxes and legos to make a city - they were very creative. When Nick found out I was going to the hospital alone he couldn't wait to get me out of the house.
I got to the hospital and checked in and it was kind of like I was having an entirely different experience than my first scan. I was told to wait in the women's waiting room (first difference). I was eventually taken back to the CT room by Clarence - once again weird experience because you keep walking down different hallways and turning further into this maze, far, far way from the general people. I was told Annie would be inserting my IV and running the scan and she was ready when I walked into the room. I was in a different room than my original scan - same big donut machine but also a machine hanging from the ceiling - stark white walls and very cold. Annie got me set up on the table with a giant wedge under my knees and a not quite plump enough pillow under my head. I told Annie I have rolling veins and she said every ones veins move - bad sign. Annie begins on my left side and tries to locate a vein and thinks she has one so she cleans my arm and inserts the needle before re-locating my vein. She then starts pulling my skin down to try to get the needle into my vein and asks me to pump my fist - none of this feels good. Annie finally admits defeat and says she can't get the catheter to advance and needs to try the other side and as she is moving to my right side asks what kind of chemo I had and if I have a port - another bad sign. We try again on my right side this time she kept her fingers in place on my vein but still had to pull my skin around to get the catheter to advance. She finally got the IV in and used about 6 pieces of tape to keep it in place - the same tape that eats my skin. I soon found out that the machine hanging from the ceiling was the interactive solution - they just hooked it into the IV and it had a long cord to be able to travel through the machine with me. Annie left me and the scan started - same automated voice command - breathe, hold breath, breathe - still don't understand why it can't be a human voice - like one of the three people watching me slide through the donut. Annie sent another person in to remove the IV - I wish she sent another person in to try the right side - I predict massive black and blue arms tomorrow. The IV was pulled and I was told Dr. Marsh would have the results in 24 hours and I have my appointment with him tomorrow morning.
I called Mom to find out if anyone was hungry for lunch but the kids had just had a snack - I picked up Foodstuff sandwiches for me and Mom - yum! Apparently when I called Nick told Mom it wasn't time for me to come back yet and when I tried to get in the house when I came back Nick tried to push the door shut - I guess he has missed hanging out with Grams. The kids showed me their city and Willy Wonka was being played - again. Ellie decided she was hungry and wanted a cucumber sandwich and Nick wanted a PB&J - Mom fixed Ellie's and I did Nick's. We ate lunch and the movie finished and Nick wanted to watch Mary Poppins. I told the kids we were going to leave because no one was relaxing and Ellie said she was going to relax if we made a "beach" on the floor - we laid down the sleeping bags and the kids did relax for a bit.
Eventually, we made our way back to our house for family dinner but we needed to stop at the store to pick up some fruit. While in the store the sky opened up and poured and was still raining pretty hard when we needed to leave but the rain made us cool off. Mom and Ellie worked on a fruit salad while I got the chicken marinating. Rob grilled for us and Dad arrived just in time for dinner. After dinner Dad and Nick went to play with Nick's trains and Mom and Ellie played some games. Rob and I watched the results from America's Got Talent and now we are just relaxing on the couch.
I am anxious to find out the results tomorrow - I did feel heat with the IV today and it was just in my pelvis - I am hoping it is just the amount of dead tumor down there. Today is the first day I noticed a positive change in my fingertips - they aren't all tingly and numb - I can sort of feel again. While showering today and soaping my feet I realized they have sort of become red like my hands were - strange. Visualising my healthy body, Tree