Nuclear, on Test
20. Apr 2026,
“No Nukes!” was the battle cry on the streets. “No Nuclear Power” was — and still is — meant seriously. Nuclear force, whether as weapons or energy supplier, is a half-baked solution. In medicine, things look different. Today I’m heading to Southlake Hospital for a Nuclear Test.
Pardon?
Have I betrayed my principles?
Am I cosying up to the nuclear lobby?
Oh no — the nuclear test — or text — merely makes parts of the body more visible.
That’s all.
Because all those dear Uncles-Who-Are-Doctors caught a brief flicker during my most recent examination of the rather heart-felt neighbourhood of my body.
What kind of flicker?
No facts.
Just a hunch.
So today I’ll rendezvous in active radio — I do love radio — and I’ll have the radioactive isotopes along as photographers.
Because these fellows carry massive quantities of gamma rays in their luggage, which they’ll send, fresh and active, right through my body. And precisely that radiation is to be captured by a special camera.
To bring that brief flicker from a few weeks ago into focus.
Now, I am somewhat curious about how this atomic stuff is supposed to get into my body — and what happens after.
Meanwhile, I’m briefly switching my “No Nukes” sign to “Welcome” — but only today.
The doctor mentioned, rather matter-of-factly, that this hyper-radio-active pharmaceutical is introduced either orally, by inhalation, or — in my case — intra-nervously.
What?
No, the medicine itself is not being introduced for the first time — it’s been on the market for ages.
But how the thing gets introduced into my body, and how it introduces itself once inside — that is the whole procedure.
Later in this six-hour procedure I’ll be introduced to scintigraphy.
At least that’s my assumption.
Because scintigraphy is responsible for ensuring that the images of my organs appear crystal-clear, detailed and finely rendered on the screen. So the doctor can form an image of my warm-heartedness and its surrounding territory.
Nervous?
No.
Because the doctors know what they’re doing.
And risks pave the daily path of every living creature anyway.
But I do like the history of this procedure.
Because it, too, was born from a mixture of curiosity, the joy of discovery, and the desire to solve a problem.
My plan after the nuclear test? I’ll immediately set the radio — active and alive — to 107.5, and happily tune into Q107 Toronto.
