Andrea's account of the SCAD survivors' trip to Pisa:
We arrived at the hospital all together at 9am and met the lovely professor Bruno
Then went to a part of the hospital where she explained everything that was going to happen
Then we all got separated and started doing the various tests with her colleagues
So the tests where
3 x blood pressure measurements in each arm
Ultrasound of the neck on both sides and artery on each arm (can’t remember the name of the artery)
Ultrasound of artery on groins, both sides
Then to another room she put in a cuff and inflated it for I think 5 minutes or so while looking at another ultrasound
Then she dropped something under my tongue and did the same thing again to compare how the elasticity of the artery works in both situations
Then went upstairs to do the high frequency ultrasound where her colleague checked the artery on my middle finger, arm and neck, everything on left and right
Not sure if we all had the same
We were finished just before 1pm
Than prof Bruno bought us some lunch and we ate with the whole team
They are genuinely great people
The highlight for me was to spend some time with Sam, Sarah, Liz and their hubbies
The city is amazingly beautiful, everything is within walking distance of what we wanted to do
Traffic is mad, don’t expect vehicles to stop when you are on a zebra crossing or even on a green pedestrian light, so be extra cautious
Apart from that I have nothing negative to say
We had delicious foods too
This was my best hospital trip ever
What else can you wish for?