MRI on tap
for the afternoon. Not my favorite way
to pass the time.
My last
encounter with the giant magnet was at Bay Pines when they were looking at
possible treatments for my C-spine injuries.
Today’s study is slated by the neurology department. I had the wrong time on my calendar, Gloria,
who took the time change by phone, had the correct time. I called to verify the appointment time. Gloria was correct, of course.
The drive
into Mountain Home was pleasant, little traffic, great scenery. There is still a bridge repair ongoing that
forces traffic from a narrow state highway onto an even narrower county road
for about 25% of the trip. I really
dislike the county road.
The procedure
began about 25 minutes behind schedule. I
answered all the screening questions and crawled onto the patient
carriage. I’m dealing with allergies and
those generate a lot of post-nasal drainage that makes lying on my back with my
head in reverse-Trendelenburg rather unpleasant. With
my head restrained side-to-side, when they placed the cage restraint over my
face, I was reminded of “The Man in the Iron Mask.” Surprisingly, the cage alleviated some of the
incipient claustrophobia. I’ve undergone
4-5 MRI exams. I’ve never had an overt
claustrophobic episode, but I’m never quite comfortable with my head confined and
restrained. The thought hit me today
that the crewmen’s berths in the U.S.S. Nautilus probably had little more if
any space for the torpedo men, who shared living space with their explosive
little pets.
The left side
of the patient carriage was positioned against the edge of my left scapula,
sending echoes of pain down my left arm.
Unable to reposition, that kept me from objecting to the noise in the
scanner. I’m curious now as to what the
various sounds indicate.
I was home by
1600. The scan will probably be signed
out tomorrow. I, most likely won’t hear
anything until my follow up neurology appointment on 29 Oct. One of the horrible things about being just a
patient now is the lack of access to data that I know is ready to report. I hate being out of the loop.
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