Glowing Blood Vessels are the Order of the Day for this Planetary Pilgrim

Today I had a  test called a "multiple uptake gated acquisition scan", or MUGA scan for short. This test took place at St. Mary's Hospital in Kitchener. First they took a couple of vials of my blood, sent it someplace to add a substance to it, and injected it back again into my vein.

Then I lay on a stretcher that took me in and out of the scanner, while it took a picture of how my heart works. It took 30 minutes to take this image, or series of images.

The reason for this scan is to ensure that the muscle in my heart is strong enough to withstand any side effects caused by certain type of chemicals used to combat breast cancer through chemotherapy. While some of these substances can be excellent in combatting this disease, they can also be hard on heart muscle.
While I lay having my test, not moving for over 30 minutes, I became aware of every breath, of every itch in my body. I was also reminded of the man some years ago who was forgotten in a CAT scan room, while staff left the building. No such thing happened today, or has ever happened at St. Mary's, I am sure!!!

Being a STARTREK fan, I was also reminded of Lt. Commander Leonard McCoy, also called "Bones". He was the doctor in the original STARTREK series. I may need to remind readers that this is a Science Fiction series that takes place in the 24th Century. Dr. Mc Coy's knowledge and practice of medicine is quite different from ours today. He is also well versed in historical medical practices, and often refers to the medical practices of our time (which is four hundred years ago, for him) as medieval and  barbaric.

I listened to the plan to take some vials of my blood, mixing in a special substance, and injecting it back, to make the pumping action of my heart more visible to the scanner. I could not help but remember Dr. Mc Coy's description of our methods in this century!

And yet, we now live in the 21st century. I am grateful for the amazing discoveries that make the workings of my body visible and clear to the physicians who are working with me toward healing. It is the stuff of science fiction indeed, and it is available to me, free of charge, thanks to the good work of leaders who believed that health care service is a right, not just the privilege of a few.

It is time I got going. So, never fear, Dr. McCoy. We will catch up with you, surely, on the way to Santiago!