Well, now I know.

Sometimes in life we have concerns and fears that are unreasonable, other times they are completely valid. Yesterday one of my great concerns was validated. Probably, in the scheme of things, it's not that big of deal, but I would like to avoid that kind of experience if at all possible. Lucky for me I have a chance to repeat it Wednesday!
When I went in to deliver Emily via c-section (almost 7 years ago) part of the surgery prep was to swab me down with Iodine. I had informed them that my Dad is horribly allergic to Iodine (as in anaphylactic shock) and that I had concerns. But they chose to go with the Iodine anyway. After having a large portion of my body covered in blistering hives, I can now state that I am truly allergic to Iodine. Thus far, I haven't had to compromise on the Iodine issue. I simply state that we will not go there. Yesterday that all changed. The doctor convinced me that IV Iodine and topical Iodine are not the same thing and that he would REALLY like me to try for the CT contrast. The big deal is that they need to know if there are any other 'hot spots' of cancer cells and the CT with contrast is the best way to check. Being very motivated to have as much information as possible so we can beat this thing, I said OK. They gave me a little bit of Benedryl in my IV prior to the test to guard against a reaction - ha! It is fortunate that they took that precaution, but it did not allow me to go through the procedure unscathed. When they started my contrast my throat immediately tightened. I was trying to stay calm, reassuring myself that, yes, I could still breathe. And swallow - kind of. When they came to check on me I alerted them to the fact that not all was right and they commented on how red I appeared. When I got up from the scanning table they had me check the mirror to see if I felt I was a different color than when I came in. YES! Bright red head to toe and swallowing was getting more difficult - not easier. After 'observing' me for another 20 minutes or so and forcing insane amounts of water down my throat, they called the doctor to order more Benedryl. Finally, my throat relaxed enough that I was somewhat OK with going 'home'! We didn't get back to the hotel until after midnight - making it a more than 12 hour - relatively exciting - day. I am supposed to have another CT scan with contrast today, but we have to reschedule it for Wednesday so that I can go through 'pre-treatment' with steroids to avoid, hopefully, a similar reaction on the next scan. Yikes!

Overall yesterday was a good experience and I am glad we are down here with doctors that are informed and caring. I could do without the extra excitement though!
Since I have today 'off' now, we are going to go and enjoy the day with the kids - perhaps at the zoo. I could use a fun distraction - and some more pictures for scrapbooking!

Thank you all for your prayers.
Triann