I went for a mammogram this morning (first since I was diagnosed last year) and when I was there I did a bit of a stupid thing. I left the mammogram room via the wrong door and ended up in the wrong changing room! I was in a wee bit of a flap before I left because the radiographer came back in and said they needed another picture of the right breast, of course that made me concerned there might have been something wrong (btw, my surgeon told me last year I have virtually no chance of getting it in the right breast).
Thing is, when I went out through the wrong changing room door, there was a lady waiting in there who was next to go in, I felt so flustered that I had been so stupid as I then had to wait for the radiographer to come back. I got chatting to the lady and said I hated mammograms and she told me if it was any consolation so did she, but it she had been clear of BC for 8 years. She told me not to worry, as the radiographer would be there in a minute.
I went for coffee afterwards with my OH, but I’ve felt really stupid since this happened today. Keep thinking that if I couldn’t exit through the right door, what am I going to be like when I start my new job next week, especially as I don’t get the mammo results from my surgeon until 2 days after I start. I said to my OH I thought it was bad karma, but he just said “oh don’t be daft, it’s one of those silly things you always do on account of having no sense of direction” which is quite true (I get lost in car parks, department stores and all sorts!). I guess I was just a bit flustered being the first mammo after diagnosis, and I know it’s silly but it just kind of unsettled me.
Roll on getting the results, the waiting is the worst bit.
My OH also said if he had just dropped me off at the hospital and left me on my own, I had the potential to go missing in the corridors for about 3 days…I once went for a job working for an MP at the House of Commons; as soon as he told me there are 25 miles of corridor there I decided I didn’t want the job!
Hi Cherub - I seem to spend my time not remembering which door I came in through, or which direction I came from, nothing new though - being doing it for years!! Sounds like the lady you met was more than happy to chat with you, and whatever you do don’t give this another thought! I am sure you will be brilliant in your new job and do hope it goes really well for you. Don’t forget you’ll feel pretty lost at times those first few days and that is totally natural, normal, to be expected and no reflection on you at all - good luck in your future encounters. Love Sarah
Hi Cherub,
Seabird is right - there will be many times when you feel lost - it’s a perfectly natural reaction to a major shock.
Just try to stay positive and remember -
If you had not taken the wrong door
you would not have met the other patient
who gave you support
that you would not have received
if you had taken the correct door !
Last Dec I was having radiotherapy and all my apps were for 830 am ( my choice). One freezing cold dark morning, I was dropping my husband at work first and waltzed out of the house at 730am into what I thought was our car with hubbie at wheel. When I got in, there was a bag of money on the seat and no husband. Turned out I was sitting in the milk man’s car who was collecting money from next door. He thought I was trying to steal his money and shouted at me… I was still trying to figure out where my husband was and why our car seats were the wrong colour…until he drove around the corner several minutes later. Our garage is at the back of our house and it had taken him a bit longer to get car out. I still blush when I think of it. I also walked the full length of a hospital maternity corridor once in a nightie and dressing gown with a breast hanging until a midwife told me which was v careless of me…lol
Hi Cherub -
bet the lady you spoke with was glad you took the wrong door - funny how coincidences can be just whats needed - so maybe you were just what she needed - a friendly (even though confused hee hee) soul going through the same as her - maybe you were the only person she had to share that with all day?
don’t worry about hospital doors and directions - have you noticed how hospitals and clinics are like mazes and every door and wall is painted the same colour?.. even a bat would get lost :)) All the signs just confuse me - it reminds me of Alice in Wonderland…an arrow doesn’t always point to where you should go…
the waiting is the hard part - its limbo land. Hope you hear soon… let us know how you get on…