End Stage Renal Failure & Disabled Person Parking Placard, CT/CAT Scan

Today we went to the DMV and got my Disable Person Parking Placard.

This will enable whoever I am riding with to park in the blue handicapped space when I display the Disable Person Parking Placard, as I have temporarily given up my car keys. This will save me from having to make the longer walk when a handicapped parking space is available.

I am not driving because of my health situation. Brother Eric is exercising my Scion XB. I have asked him to maintain it at the Toyota garage facility where he works, as well as touching up the dings as they occur.''

My primary care doctor, who is also my nephrologist, filled out the required DMV form for the Disabled Person Parking Placard, classifying me as "permanently disabled" due to "End Stage Renal Failure" (ESRF).

Yesterday we went to Kaiser diagnostic imaging lab in the basement of 1526 N. Edgemont Ave. Got a CT (CAT) scan to look at my aortic root to see how large it is in preparation for my valve job in January.

A "contrast dye" is given to me through an IV in the arm, EKG leads attached to my chest, and then I am run through the big hole in the CT machine where a rotating x-ray tube and x-ray detector take multiple pictures of my insides and a computer creates a very detailed composite 3-D picture of my insides.

The EKG detects when my heart is beating/not beating, as the movement would cause a distortion in the picture. Also, I am instructed to hold my breath to stop any other movement.

I now know that I am allergic to the contrast dye. My tongue and lips got fat. I was given 50 mg Benedryl to counter this allergic reaction. This has been noted in my charts, the next time I will be pre-medicated the day before being given the contrast dye.

At least I did not go into anaphylactic shock after being administered the contrast dye. Extreme case would show within 15 seconds of administration, lesser symptoms of allergic reaction some time afterwards, as in my case of fat lips.