Final Day of the Assessment

As we head out bright and early, we are thankful that it's the last day of the assessment week.  It tends to get a little tiring.....but good practice for what will hopefully follow.

First at 7.30 am we are at the University of Alberta Radiology Department and Pete begins with a CT Chest Scan (many precise pictures of the structures inside the chest), followed by a 2-part Nuclear VQ Chest Scan (of the Pulmonary air flow and blood flow of the lungs).

Then 3 different x-rays need to be done, a Chest X-ray (of the structures inside your chest - lungs, heart, blood vessels, etc.), Thoracic X-ray (of the 12 chest bones) and a Lumbosacral Spine X-ray (of the 5 bones of the lower back).  This all takes about 4 hours....

Now we head back to the Hys Centre's Cardiology Dept. and at 1.00 pm Pete has an Echo Cardiogram (Ultrasound of the heart).  Here's he's gone for another hour and finally there's a bit of extra time where we can grab something to eat. This fasting for many of the tests makes a person hungry and looking forward to that cup of coffee.

At 3.00 pm Pete has his final test, a Carotid Doppler's exam (ultrasound of the 2 carotid arteries in the neck).

We are finally home about 6.30 pm and yes, it's been a long busy day.

Now we wait till all the results come in to the Lung Team who will meet on Wednesday morning and decide whether they will accept Pete into the Lung Transplant Program.  They all seem very positive, but there is a certain protocol that they must follow.  It's our prayer that the results will dictate a "yes".