My my my...MRI

I finally went and got my MRI. My friend Leslie had told me not to wear any jewelry because the magnets were so strong they might get ripped out. In preparation, I wore yoga pants, a tee shirt, no watch, and I cut my nails, just to be extra safe.

The MRI was last Sunday, which I thought was pretty weird in the first place. When I arrived, it looked like a ghost town. I had to ring security to let me in, and when I went to the desk, there weren't any other patients waiting. I had to fill out this two-sided form that asked yes or no questions, such as:

Do you have a pacemaker? NO
Do you have internal shrapnel? NO
Do you have a penile implant? NO

I am not making this up, those were some of the questions. Then I came to:

Do you have tattoos?

YES! Finally, I got to answer yes to a question! I asked the woman why that question was asked, and she said in case there was part of a needle in you, they need to know. Oh god.

I finished the form and waited to be taken to the machine. After a few minutes, a woman came out to take me. She was a petite older woman with short hair, and she walked with a limp, as if one leg was shorter than the other. She also had an accent; almost British, but softer. I decided she was from South Africa.

She put my purse in a locker and brought me over to the machine, aided by a younger woman. I took off my shoes and lay down, with the knee being MRI-ed in a sort of brace. Older lady gave me ear plugs, because it was going to be loud. She pressed a button that made me slide forward...not quite all the way in, whew! I went in up to my chest. OL gave me a pump to squeeze in case I "didn't want to continue", and told me I could see the countdown numbers on the machine. I could also see a sign that said something about a beam, and don't stare into the beam. I decided to close my eyes to be safe. OL said I'd be in there for 20-30 minutes.

And then the fun began...