Swallow Test Part 2

 

this post is Continued from prior post, me in the waiting room , where I waited to be registered for a video swallowing test. FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT DON"T WANT TO READ THIS, I AM FINE, Test was good.

Robert , defused the situation of to move car or not move car and I watched as he handed an iPad, to first a man, then another to a woman and headed to me with a third. 

Since I suffer from Fear Of Others Thinking I am Stupid,  I had watched and listened carefully to the others instruction. 

I proudly poked the center that said click here to register and followed the prompts. It was the easiest I have ever registered to have a procedure. Of course I had pre-registered per the email asking me to and proudly zoomed through it all, while keeping an eye on the two that were struggling because they did NOT pre-register. At one point it asked if i wanted to receive updates during my stay by text, yes or no, I thought why not?  As soon as I clicked that up popped a note saying you have completed your register, your amount owed is 175.00. 

Please swipe card now. If you pay the entire amount now, you receive 20 % off and it is 140.00.

there were 3 choices, entire, partial and ask for help!  I dug out my card and then kept taking peeks to see if I could see anyone else swiping because I could not find the slot to swipe it through.

After checking all 4 sides of the iPad I feared telling the sweet and kind and FUNNY Robert I could not find it, Just as I decided to wave at him, I found a tiny little slit under a square and swiped the card.

This generated a text and when I clicked on it what to my wondering eyes appeared but the leader board showing 10 of us and how many minutes we had been waiting and we could see when we would be next.  Entertainment provided by the staff, I sat watching it wanting take a screen shot.

Sadly by the time I asked Google to remind me how to take a screen shot, there were only 2 of us on said screen shot.

See the San/HAN, that's me, as Lis/Num disappeared and 4 names ABOVE me came up, then THEY disappeared and still mine remained. Robert was training a very handsome young man to be TheManAtTheDesk, and he sent him over to me and he asked for my Social Security Card. I said I have never been asked for that before so I don't have it with me. We have Medicare Advantage Card and that is what we use.  New Policy, the govt wants proof the card that HAS MY NAME ON IT and My drivers license that proves who I am is really me. The wait was explained. they let me in without it.

Slow Forward 1 hour and 15 minutes, the rest are gone from the room, more are filing in and I asked Robert what was going on. He called the Video Tech and said no one answers. another 20 minutes wait and the sweetest and nicest Tech I have ever met, called my name.  She walked me 1/4 mile following many turns and I said please don't leave me alone, I would never find my way out. She was so sweet and kind I totaly forgave whatever made her late.

She sat me in a wheel chair, pushed me in the middle of a  C shaped thingy, and pulled out a tray with, a graham cracker with pudding on it, a cup of pudding, cup of applesauce, water and a very large round white tablet.

I thought Yay, an excuse to eat pudding and grahams crackers. WRONG! seems each thing was full of barium, which when I searched is metal removed from rocks and is so radioactive the woman that removes it wears FOUR pair of gloves to protect herself. 

I ATE IT AND DRANK IT.......... Oy Vey...

She made a video x-ray of each time I swallowed, all went well until The Big White Pill. it was stuck at the back of my tongue, which proved why I was there. I had told her grape skins, all skins from fruit and sometimes peanut butter stick at the back of my tongue and the skins have to be coughed up and spit out... 

She calmly said to her assistant turn it off, and let me see if I can get it to go down. She had me eat applesauce and take sips of water and it finally went down.

She had asked me a lot of questions and one was on a scale of 1 to 4, 4 being the highest how afraid do you feel when something gets stuck. I said 10. ha ha....The assistant left and she said come over here, i want to alleviate your fear because you are fine. I will show you why this happens and that you are NOT going to choke.  She showed me each video and boy did my skull xray look like a WITCH,.

the videos were amazing, she let me watch the water which was black flow down, and each video and last she showed me the pill.  if you look up at the top of the NOT me but made by me in PicMonkey using several things from the internet you will see two round circles of the epiglottis. That protects the windpipe, it is a shield, and stands up right to make food follow the way it should

Mine due to aging has a bend toward the tongue that creates a little pocket.

some foods get stuck there others donot.. when it is stuck, I can still breathe, there is no danger, I just have to swallow hard with food or water.

I felt so much relief  when she showed the wind pipe was not in danger.

She even gave me her business card and said call me if you have questions

I am waiting to see ONE MONTH when I go the the doctor that ordered it whether she will tell me or show me what the tech did..