bodies, bodies, bodies

It's been at least twenty years ago that I saw "Bodies: The Exhibition".

The traveling science show was in Atlanta and my BFF had invited us to come see it with her family.

Science!!!

Jeff likes the macabre, so we went.

I was fascinated by all the anatomy and the different ways the physiology of the human body had been displayed.

One display had just the nervous system, with no bones or musculature.

Amazing!!!

Then there was a room with bodies that had been sliced either vertically or horizontally, allowing one to see the relationship of the organs to each other.

Amazing!!!

I recalled being fascinated by the body when I took physiology in high school from Mr. Bill.

That exhibit in 2005 brought it all to life!

So why bring that up now?

On the 18th, I had a long-awaited CT scan at the Savannah VA Center to determine what was causing the intense pain in my right thigh.

Janet, the radiology technologist, was very kind and mindful of the pain I had been experiencing for the last three months.

The entire scanning session took only about fifteen minutes.

She told me that my new PCP, RN Tiffiny Duchene, would have the results later that afternoon.

However, I would not be able to discuss those with her until December 10th, and that would only be a phone appointment.

Say what?

So, today, I logged in to the VA website and looked at the Computed Tomography scans taken that Thursday.

I looked at all 580 of them.

Each scan was a reconstruction of the internal structures of my body, based on the angles of the X-rays bouncing through those structures, whether they were skin, organs, or bones.

Amazing!!!

The images reminded me of the physical cross-sections I'd seen at that exhibition so long ago.

I studied the images, trying to understand what they revealed.

I've selected three sets of six that show what has happened to me.

In this first group, focusing on the right thigh (on the left side of the images), there is nothing that seems out of order compared to the left thigh.

In this second group, here is something extending upward on the right thigh that is absent on the left thigh. 

In other words, there is an extra mass there that should not be.

This final group shows a clear breach extending from the right side of the abdominal cavity all the way to the top of the right thigh.

Might that weakness in that abdominal wall have anything to do with repeated surgeries on that side of my body?

Might that have anything to do with adhesions formed within my intestinal area from air exposure during surgeries?

The imaging provider at the Charleston SC VAMC, Jeffrey T. Waltz, signed off on the images on November 18th at 1:32 PM, just 90 minutes after I had the CT Scan here in Savannah.

Amazing!!!

His diagnosis was my body wall had a "fat-containing right inguinal hernia".

That isn't anything which will resolve itself; surgery is the only option.

But I'm not even going to be able to discuss this with my PCP for three weeks?

I've sent an email to her and to the group in Charleston.

I've already been dealing with this pain since mid-August.

Acetaminophen is my only option for pain relief, because I'm on a blood thinner (Eliquis), but that drug is toxic to the liver if taken over an extended time.

How much longer will I have to wait until surgery?

I need help now.

Right now, the option of having to wait until after the new year begins to have this resolved is very depressing.

I hope my doctor will contact me soon with a better option.