MUGA

Yesterday was MUGA Day. MUGA stands for multigated acquisition. And what does that mean? For me, it meant a heart scan. I've described the procedure before, I'm pretty sure. I went to Kaiser, where a nice man named Allen began by giving me an EKG. He said my heart was racing. Well, we determined it could be a number of reasons, but being in chemo was one of them. How reassuring! After the EKG he drew some blood and put a dye into it. I rested for about 20 minutes and then Allen came back and reinjected the dye-infused blood into my arm and reattached the monitoring devices to my chest and abdomen. Then he positioned that white square camera over my heart and away we went. The MUGA measures how well my left ventricle is working. Each procedure took about 7 minutes. I could actually see a moving picture of my heart on the computer screen! This is a noninvasive procedure and is considered quite safe. And is necessary to make sure that chemotherapy is not killing me. He did the scan twice, and I was done. As Allen worked we talked about one thing and another. I guess it started with the weather. He likes Southern California weather better than East Bay weather. He grew up in the Valley (San Fernando, of which I have previously written). I told him I grew up in Whittier. Wouldn't you know it, he took a class at Rio Hondo Jr. College, which is in Whittier. I also took some classes there, only about 20 years earlier than he did. Well, one thing led to another and I mentioned my blog. And then we talked about schools. His children go to a local school. And then we figured out that we are neighbors! Such a small world!


Andy and Becca will be returning from Europe soon. Becca has been sick. I was afraid it was the swine flu, but after consulting with a doctor they determined it was sinusitis. I'm hoping she will get back to Ann Arbor without any problems. And I am looking forward to Andy's return.


Sonia has been here with me to make sure I don't get into any trouble. I'm such a dull person. No fear of that. She leaves tomorrow for Chicago and then on to the East Coast and then Zurich. Oh those Fulops! Can't keep them away from the Continent!


Next week I have chemo again, assuming I passed my MUGA and all my bloodwork is good. After that there will be only two more big chemos. Then one chemo drug every three weeks for a year. And the radiation. Musn't forget radiation. I am progressing at a rapid pace. I didn't realize how fast the time would go. It is still exciting for me to be in this "predicament." The adventure continues.