Fitting- Who Knew?

Spending a whole morning at the hospital is not my idea of fun, but obviously necessary. My day began with a subway ride to the downtown hospital. This was my first trip to this wonderful hospital alone. During the last course of treatments for Chemotherapy and Radiation, I always had someone with me. This was quite strange....going through the hospital alone. I was left with too much time to remember my last visits and I must say, I didn't feel too good about it.

The MRI was virtually uneventful. I have had so many over the years that I have become quite immune to the contrast dye, the sound of a jack hammer and the cold. Next on the list of things to do was patient education for the fitting of the "mask". As it turns out, it isn't exactly a mask. I had to have a dental impression made of my upper teeth. That was their first mistake...I gagged and drooled and was slightly less than comfortable. Once the impression mold was dry, I had to pry it out of my mouth myself without pulling out all my teeth. The technicians then screwed the bite plate into a halo type of frame. This contraption was then fitted over my head, the bite plate was put back in my mouth to stabilize this hunk of metal. It was tightened (really tightened) with velcro straps that pushed the top of my head down to the roof of my mouth, along with the sides of my head feeling like it was in a vice.

It didn't end there. I was then told to lie down on the padded table ever so slowly, so that the technicians could line up the contraption with the bolts already hooked into the table. I was then locked in and couldn't move or talk if my life depended on it. My head was only supported by a custom putty backing, but virtually remained in mid air, supported fully by the bite plate and the bolts in the table. A clear helmet with holes was then hooked onto the frame and this is what is used to measure the fitting so that it lines up each time I wear it prior to beginning each radiation treatment. Measurements are taken....helmet removed.

I was released from this to have a much needed bathroom break. Then I had to have the contraption fitted by another technician to make sure everything lined up the same way. Once that was completed, I was moved into the CT Scan Simulation room. The contraption was removed and then put on again for the scan. Everything was aligned and I was good to go.

Radiation will start next week. I'm not looking forward to it, but I am looking forward to the really bright light at the end of the tunnel.

When I was told of this fitting procedure, I didn't think too much of it except for the supposed mask part. Now that I have been through this "fitting"....it is so obvious - the term fitting should be for wedding gowns or any other article of clothing being custom made. Then again, what else could they call this? Custom framing?