BAD THINGS TO MAKE GOOD THINGS HAPPEN

You know the expressions like "it's always darkest right before the dawn" (well, like DUH, it's still NIGHT, you idiot) - and "Get back on the horse" (that one I do happen to agree with).

So why not go ahead and inject a radiographic tracer in a person who already has finicky heart and lung conditions?

Normally radiation is not what you want. Radiation does occur in nature (did you know there is more 'natural' radiation in Colorado than any other state?), but can be lethal when it is over 1,000 REM (which stands for the röntgen equivalent in man/mammal, the product of the absorbed dose and a weighting factor, W_R, for the effectiveness of the radiation to cause biological damage)...

Okay, is anyone out there besides me scared by now?

Wait, it gets worse.

Following this isotope injection, the technician hands me a paper which (and I quote) says:

"Due to heightened security measures instituted by the federal government after September 11, 2001, the small amount of radioactive material that remains in my body may trigger monitoring devices used to detect persons carryng radioactive material . I agree to carry my copy of this form with me FOR UP TO THIRTY DAYS after the SPECT in order to be able to advise authorities of my exposure to material used for this test."

In other words, I am a security danger and a glow-in-the-dark figurine for the next month.

Wanna see?