In Medical News

Another day, another gastrointestinal test. This morning’s fun was a small bowel barium X-ray. And here’s what I learnt.

Sherman’s March to the Sea lasted 26 days. He had 62,000 men and they covered 250 miles from Atlanta to Savannah, destroying everything in their path.

How did I learn this at the radiology clinic? By walking up and down a hallway many, many times after drinking two glasses of barium goop. (This goop didn’t taste nearly as bad as I had anticipated. They must’ve improved the taste since the days when my mom had these kinds of tests because she used to complain endlessly about the taste of the goop.) I was told not to sit but to keep walking to get the goop moving down the chute. At the end of the hall was a National Geographic map of the Civil War. It was very informative. Thus, Sherman’s March.

The neat thing about the test is that I could see the screen where my X-ray appeared so I could observe my innards, and my spine, which looked oddly curved to me. I am now well acquainted with my small intestine. It’s rather bland.

My doctor will get the report next week.

And here are the two sides of Canadian medical care. This test had to be a private clinic because the waiting lists are too long at the hospital. I called yesterday and was told there had been a cancellation so I could come in today. That was almost too quick. And it was free, even though it’s a clinic. My other test has to be done at the hospital by my doctor, and he has a huge waiting list so that is not until October. My never-ending saga.