Posts
Today we had the first day of pre-testing at Artemis Hospital. Indian hospitals are very busy but also very productive.
We arrived around 11 AM, and began with blood work. They tested for everything and anything, vitamin levels, you name it.
Then we moved to the x-ray zone and mom had a chest x-ray done. She put the hospital gown on backwards and couldn't seem to figure out why it wouldn't fit right (LOL). During her ECG we met a Doctor who was very happy to hear we were Canadian and was a big fan of Justin Trudeau. We ended with a Pulmonary Function Test to check Mum's lungs.
While she did that I spoke to Ms. Meenu and Mr. Amrit Pal Singh (international executives of Artemis Hospital) and told them how long it would take for us to receive all of these tests in Canada. For an MRI, the average wait time is a month to a year depending on what the reason is, and for other tests it can range from 3 weeks to 4 months as well. All together, to have all of the tests completed that we did today, it would take a year or more to be fully prepared for this treatment. We love our country, but receiving medical care so quickly here is almost a shock for us.
After Mum's PFT (Pulmonary Function Test, to see how strong her lungs are) we headed to the cafeteria for lunch, where they had a Subway and various other Indian food shops, as well as a Costa Coffee. One thing we've learned is that cream does not exist in India. We asked Lis if cream is sold anywhere in India, and she responded with "what, face cream?" LOL, good thing Mum is okay with taking her coffee black.
After lunch Mum had a CT scan done to check the function of her kidneys. She drank two litres of water within 10 minutes, I never knew she could drink so fast.
We then went to meet Dr. Sumit Singh, the head of neurology at Artemis. His office was littered with various diplomas and awards. He evaluated my Mom and discussed her history of MS, her limitations and disabilities, and then discussed what he thought a probable outcome might be for her. He said that for memory impairment it is likely that the HSCT will prevent further decline, but that improvement from her current status is questionable. He said he can provide a more thorough explanation of the prognosis of this treatment and the potential outcome once Mom has an MRI done.
Tomorrow she is scheduled for an MRI of her brain and spinal cord, a CT scan, as well as our meeting with Dr. Gaurav Kharya, the Doctor overseeing the HSCT program at Artemis Hospital.
On a side note, the traffic here is nuts! I've never heard so many horns honk at once in my life. And there are just as many rickshaws as there are cars and scooters.
By the end of the day we were tired right out from all of the information we absorbed, but we are looking forward to meeting Dr. Kharya tomorrow.
Mum waiting outside the room for her kidney function test, she had just finished drinking her second litre of water.
This is Lis Wiberg, sitting chatting with an Indian man we met in the cafeteria.
We arrived around 11 AM, and began with blood work. They tested for everything and anything, vitamin levels, you name it.
Then we moved to the x-ray zone and mom had a chest x-ray done. She put the hospital gown on backwards and couldn't seem to figure out why it wouldn't fit right (LOL). During her ECG we met a Doctor who was very happy to hear we were Canadian and was a big fan of Justin Trudeau. We ended with a Pulmonary Function Test to check Mum's lungs.
While she did that I spoke to Ms. Meenu and Mr. Amrit Pal Singh (international executives of Artemis Hospital) and told them how long it would take for us to receive all of these tests in Canada. For an MRI, the average wait time is a month to a year depending on what the reason is, and for other tests it can range from 3 weeks to 4 months as well. All together, to have all of the tests completed that we did today, it would take a year or more to be fully prepared for this treatment. We love our country, but receiving medical care so quickly here is almost a shock for us.
After Mum's PFT (Pulmonary Function Test, to see how strong her lungs are) we headed to the cafeteria for lunch, where they had a Subway and various other Indian food shops, as well as a Costa Coffee. One thing we've learned is that cream does not exist in India. We asked Lis if cream is sold anywhere in India, and she responded with "what, face cream?" LOL, good thing Mum is okay with taking her coffee black.
After lunch Mum had a CT scan done to check the function of her kidneys. She drank two litres of water within 10 minutes, I never knew she could drink so fast.
We then went to meet Dr. Sumit Singh, the head of neurology at Artemis. His office was littered with various diplomas and awards. He evaluated my Mom and discussed her history of MS, her limitations and disabilities, and then discussed what he thought a probable outcome might be for her. He said that for memory impairment it is likely that the HSCT will prevent further decline, but that improvement from her current status is questionable. He said he can provide a more thorough explanation of the prognosis of this treatment and the potential outcome once Mom has an MRI done.
Tomorrow she is scheduled for an MRI of her brain and spinal cord, a CT scan, as well as our meeting with Dr. Gaurav Kharya, the Doctor overseeing the HSCT program at Artemis Hospital.
On a side note, the traffic here is nuts! I've never heard so many horns honk at once in my life. And there are just as many rickshaws as there are cars and scooters.
By the end of the day we were tired right out from all of the information we absorbed, but we are looking forward to meeting Dr. Kharya tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment