My First Tattoo

The day was dominated by another hospital visit to have a targeting CT scan for my forthcoming radiotherapy.  I'd received plenty of instructions to prepare myself for the scan, having to arrive 90 minutes before the scan so that my body was prepared.

First thing was to ensure my bowels were empty to limit any damage to that organ.  It required the use of an enema which would work within a few minutes.  Then I was asked to drink half a litre of water to fill my bladder over a half hour period.  For anyone with a sensitive bladder this is a challenging procedure, having to hold a full bladder through the subsequent scan.  

After a short discussion with the radiologist it was time to go in to the scanning room.  Another gentleman was sitting outside the room and a friendly enquiry found he had been there from 9:30 am and was still struggling to balance his bladder and bowel to satisfy the requirements to have the scan.  Worse was to hear that they had tried 2 weeks ago and this was his second attempt!  I asked the radiologist and she confirmed that this was quite usual. I hoped not!

Firstly they carried out an ultrasound scan of my bladder.  Apparently my bladder was too full, something that was rather surprising in recent years.  I was despatched to the toilet to remove some of the fluid.  

Back on the scanning bed, I'd never had so many ladies take so much interest in my nether regions!  Various tags were placed on my hips and groin area to allow the scan to register the position of the various organs with minute accuracy.  A cannula was inserted into my arm as the scan uses a contrast method.

With my feet in a clamp, knees over moulded plastic and head in a foam moulding, I was held in position to carry out an initial scan to make sure the bowel was empty and bladder filled sufficiently. All good, the scan could commence.  There were two parts to the scan, firstly without the contrast dye, then again after it was injected.  I've had this done before and it always surprises me how quickly the warm feelings spread to different parts of my body.

Thankfully, everything went as expected for the radiologist and the last thing that was needed was to mark my body so that the x-rays used in the radiotherapy could be targeted precisely.  This entailed putting three small tattoos on either hip and centrally in the groin area.  While unremarkable, I decided to try and capture an image of one of the tattoos as a memory of the day.  As I was leaving I was told to expect a call in the next couple of weeks to arrange the radiotherapy course.