Meet Cletus!
I’m doing something a little different this Friday.
Let me introduce you to Cletus, my tumor. You can see him fairly clearly there on the left side of the picture. (If you want a bigger picture, click on the thumbnail.) Now, don’t be fooled. Cletus is in my right lung. This image was taken as if you were looking at me straight on. Notice, too, how my collarbone is a little funny on that side? Well, that’s because I broke it in the seventh grade in wrestling class.
Now, notice how the second x-ray looks almost exactlly the same as the first? That’s what got me sent back for a CT scan and a biopsy. That’s no little pneumonia there! So, this is what’s inside me. Growing like a malevolent presence. Making it hard to breathe and hard to sleep. Not pretty, is it? Well, that’s Cletus for you. Not all that pretty and a whole lot of uncomfortable.
The cool thing is, I have this all on CD. Yeah, isn’t that wild? I got this and my initial CT scan on a disk and I exported these pictures from it. A great thing, that technology. Sadly, yesterday, I had to get actual films and couldn’t get the latest scans on CD. Oh, and the reason I chose to use x-rays instead of CT scans is that they showed up better. The films of the CT scans, though, are spectacular! Hmm, maybe I’ll frame them…
Oh, and just in case someone out there is a stickler for a Friday Fun Link? Here’s a link to a story on Boing Boing about Medical Curiosity Clip Art. Wee! Go have fun!
And enjoy your weekend!
Just checking in. Those photos are frightening. I hope you’re doing well.
Comment by Alison — 4/3/2007 @ 10:57 am
Cletus bites! Hopefully, it is not long for this world. But, can you imagine… A scene from The Thing or Alien… An otherworldly organism erupts from your being… You exclaim, “Cletus! It’s you!! Gimme $10 and get out of town!”
Comment by Ethel — 4/4/2007 @ 10:54 pm