On Tuesday, March 18, 2008, I wanted to ask Dr. Chanie about my left foot that has been swollen for over six months.  He said he wanted to look at my photos from Nicaragua and said I had fantastic photos and the panoramic were really great and my blood test results were great.  I finally said he needed to check out my foot.   I told him Cindy, the nurse, had suggested an ultra-sound on my foot.  Next thing he gave me a form and said to go to the imaging room for an X-Ray of my foot.  So off to the Imaging Division and there the operator put me on the table and proceeded to explain how they now have a plate that is reusable.   Somehow the photons are generated on the plate and then the plate is put on a machine that uses a laser to read and digitally produce a picture of the area.   After a successful image is taken, the plate is de-magnetized and the plate is ready to be used again!

So next I went back to my doctor and Sandy was there for the other research project I am on.  They took about six vials of blood to send to the University of San Francisco Medical Center for research into aging.  They also do a questionnaire about one’s habits over the last four month, how much sex, now much drinking, how many illegal drugs taken and psychologically, how one feels about ones self and life in general.    As we were finishing Dr. Chanie came in and told me he had set up an ultra-sound for 10:30 A.M. in the Imaging Division on Wednesday.   I wasn’t happy but decided to get the tests over with.

So on Wednesday, March 19, 2008, I went to the Veterans Administration Hospital for my 10:30 appointment.  I thought it would be about 30 minutes maximum.   Well I had to take off my clothes and lie on a table and it took the ultra-sound operator an hour and a half to do the test.   They started at the groin on each leg and worked down past the knee.   Finally they did the left foot that was swollen.    The person doing the testing said a doctor would do the final review and let my doctor know what if anything, was going on.    She said as long as there aren’t any blood clots; one is safe.  If not, some type of action needs to be taken.   Hopefully since my foot is better since I am wearing a stocking to force the blood back up the leg, that will be enough to fix the problem.   Time will tell.