I had a bad night's sleep which was rudely interrupted by the alarm at 6.30am this morning. The dreaded day had arrived, camera swallowing day! It didn't help that we were off to yet another hospital, number five in what is turning out to be a tour of all the NHS hospitals in the area. We had a horrible journey. The traffic was bad, we got lost and only just got there in time.
I had more or less decided that I wanted to be sedated but when I met the Consultant he changed my mind for me. He said all the sedation could do was to make me calmer, it wouldn't make the swallowing or make the discomfort any easier. Sedation means a cannula, which is not one of my favourites, and I'd be hours in recovery afterwards. So I agreed that he could just get on with it.
The spray they used in my throat was foul, probably the worst bit of the experience. Then they fitted a mouth shield to protect my teeth and the camera went down. It wasn't too bad at all. They were very pleased with me, they said I was the best patient they'd had in ages. I could feel the tube, especially when it reached my stomach, but it was more discomfort than pain. It was soon over and I was pushed into the recovery room for a rest while the Consultant prepared my results.
I am very pleased to say there was no signs of cancer at all. What they had picked up on the PET scan was just thickening of the gullet caused by radiotherapy damage. I do have the beginnings of a hernia and some polyps in my stomach, but I am told they are nothing to worry about.
So we are now back home with a copy of the report and the gruesome photos of my insides. I shall be keeping them as a souvenir of the day I swallowed a camera.
