Getting ready -- becoming one of the pod people

Today was the day to have my pod made at Loma Linda Hospital. This device is designed to immobialize me while I have the protons zap me -- unless I can't and don't move, the protons will be zapping me in all sorts of unwanted parts. Given the location of my prostate, I'd just as soon the pod keeps me from moving even a hairsbreadth .....


I learned that the weight limit for patients is 250 pounds. Given my 175 pound frame, I was thankful for my eating and exercising habits. The reason for the limit is the table that supports me while being zapped is 300 pounds. The pod weighs some 20-25 pounds and hence the weight limit. It seemed to me that a larger guy wouldn't be able to fit in the slim pod.


The procedure for making the pod is quite simple. If you have ever tried insulating something with foam from a can, you will understand this process. I first drank a quart of water (more on this later). They have a white thin PVC tube about 7 feet long. Imagine a PVC pipe 7 feet long that is cut in half lengthwise. Then, a semicircle is cut to cap each end. They first have you put one of the hospital gowns on (more on this later), leaving only your socks only on. The pod is laying on a table and it has a foam cloth inside it. The foam cloth is like the material that your new laptop comes wrapped in. Gently, so as not to tear the foam cloth, I was asked to lay down in the pod with my feet touching the end of the pod. The foam cloth was under and all around me. Next, they mixed up a batch of expanding foam in a blender. Honest to God, I looked and it was a Hamilton - Beach. As I lay in the pod, they lifted up the foam cloth and poured the mixture first under my legs and then along my hips. Just like the insulating foam I have used, it expanded like crazy. It was warm and comfy.



After about 5 minutes, that was done. They then had me get out of the pod when the foam had firmly set. The four of us (two technicians, me and my pod), walked down the hall to the CT scanner. The idea now was to get a picture of my prostate in the pod so that they could figure out where to point the zapper and plan my treatment. In detail, they put the pod back on a table that would slide me through the CT scanner. It now was form-fitted to me and, having not gained or lost anything in the walk down the hall, I naturally fit quite well. They had me lean to one side and inserted a balloon in my rectum. Having had three prior biopsies, two barium exams where the blow up my entire intestine like a balloon (talk about "ouch"), two sigmoidoscopies, and one colonoscopy (think "The Alien"), this was a piece of cake. I wouldn't even call it discomfort but, perhaps. It's about as discomforting as having your teeth cleaned but doesn't take as long.



Once balloon-enhanced. they slid me through the CT scanner (the ring type -- not the claustrophobic tube type) and took 80-90 slices of my prostate in about 120 seconds. After that, it was back to the dressing room, grab my clothes, and go.



Those are the technical procedures. The people at Loma Linda were fantastic -- exceptionally nice and highly organized. I am used to moderately cold to cold technicians, to long waits, and the like. We had a slight mixup on my appointment time -- I had it down for 1:30 and they had me down for 12:30. Well, Jane and I were flying in to Ontario Airport (only 20 minutes from Loma Linda) and arriving at 12:15 and needing to rent a car. We got a call at 1:00 and found out about the mixup. We arrived at 1:10 and Ryan and Jeff came to meet me in the waiting room at 1:20 to get me started. To say that these folks are nice and interesting is an understatement. During the whole pod procedure, Ryan and I talked about visiting San Francisco and a variety of other topics. He and Jeff were extremely solicitous of my modesty -- covering me when my hospital gown would droop (I didn't bother to tell them that I am not that modest). When we left to walk down the hall, they had me put another gown on. I couldn't figure out why until I realized the second one was to cover my front while the original one covered my backside. Never had that kind of consideration in a hospital. They both accompanied me everywhere -- no sending me here or there, giving directions to some location I couldn't find.



I have come away from this setup of my treatment with great relief. I know now what the drill will be like when I go down in 2 weeks for the first zapping. The water ingestion will be a ritual everytime -- its purpose is to fill my bladder so that it moves my prostate away slightly from the rectal wall (go figure the anatomy, I can't) -- thereby making the prostate out there on its own to be zapped without having other things close by.



We were back at the airport by 3:30 and hoped to catch the 4:30 flight. After hearing the change fees, no way -- waited til 6:30. But, the procedure at LL was quick and easy.



I'll post future posts on what led up to this and how we go to Loma Linda. I'll also post more about the treatment as I go through it. I'll also post about my decision-making process about getting this kind of treatment.