MRI Experience

I had my first MRI last week and it was awful.. I mean, I survived and I'm still alive but, I had a major come to Jesus moment in that capsule.. I am already with Jesus but, we were re-enacting the Footprints poem! For Reals!! If you have never been, let me tell you about MY experience.. (please note: I do tend towards the dramatic side)

You go in there sans metal or bra in my case and there are two ladies, one who helps you..and one that is grumpy and sit behind the windowed wall.. Now that I think about it.. They stay behind the windowed wall while the machine is ON and I am on a table attracting magnets to me with no protection.. Weird. Anyways, so she asks if I have tattoos and I say yes, on my arm she says well it may heat up a bit.. WTH?.. Okaay? So I lay on a padded board after I put on my fancy hairnet and earplugs then she straps my head down with a belt and starts to pull this helmet down over my head which covers my whole head to about my shoulders. When this happens I abruptly say " Oh my God!" So she replies " Is that a good 'oh my god' or bad?" "Bad!bad!" I say.. Seriously?! So she asks if she should take it off? And of course immediately I say "yes! That would be great!" well obviously that is not an actual option because she tells me it is needed to take the images of my brain so I either need to buck up or reschedule and get some Valium before I come back. At this point I kinda knew it might be awful so I planned ahead and took a mild dose of anti anxiety medicine.. Obviously not helping so I took a deep breath like i was going to plunge into deep water, I summoned the strength of Jesus and okay, let's try it! I did not want to reschedule.. As I was anxious enough for results and answers and I wasn't gonna be the baby that walked out..

So they put the helmet on and gave me a button to push if I freaked out.. Then they rolled me into a tube and it covered me from my head to my waist. So I closed my eyes and breathed and prayed the whole time.. Meditate might be a better word but it helped!! I knew I could do this for 15-20 mins.. I did feel my tattoo heat up and I did get really thirsty.. Not sure if that's from the magnets or not but, it part of the story.. So, they rolled me out and scolded me on wiggling my feet then I asked if I could have a drink of water and she said no, you have to remain exactly as you are and gave me a shit to do the contrast images.. Of course I have the smallest most elusive veins.
They dug around my arms and let me mention I still had this iron man helmet on my head and I remember thinking.. This is my version of hell! I have had that thought one other time and it was on a canoe trip in the middle of a thunderstorm in a metal canoe and I was freezing and the canoe tipped and I got sucked into the current.. Yes, they are both hell like experiences for me!

I made it out of there with no button pressing and now I get to wait a week for results.. Argh! But I know that if I have this tumor I will have to go back in and do this again and again..

If you are one of the people who asked me how the MRI was and I answered Awful or horrible.. That is why! Not because my results were bad just cause I'm a claustrophobic lady!