an open mind

i had a delightful nap today! i was wrapped in a heated blanket with music piped in through snug headphones, my eyes closed and completely relaxed... oh, and i was in an MRI machine. yes, that scary, overbearing machine that straps you down to a board, shoves you into a tunnel, and takes obnoxiously loud pictures of your insides. my last MRI was done at geisinger in danville, but this time my internist was okay with doing the scan closer to home. so i went to tristan, a privately run imaging/radiological center on the northern end of town. i threw on my favorite, very well worn, redskins sweatshirt over some leggings and prepared myself for the usual test tube experience.

standard MRI machine

now, i'm not claustrophobic (thank god- can you imagine how horrific & traumatic that would be?!)but i don't think anyone particularly enjoys being trapped in a metal tube for an hour or so. nevertheless, i have a standard game plan- i just close my eyes and pretend i'm somewhere far, far away. little did i know that i was in for a surprising twist when technician # 1, bill, led me into the testing room. the trademark tunnel was nowhere to be found! instead a large, inviting, OPEN MRI table was illuminated in the middle of the room. (cue the "Hallelujah" singing choir) there were no enclosed spaces anywhere on the machine! i was stunned. i have to say, i am a seasoned professional at these tests. i mean, my brain & i have been around- we must have hit every major hospital in the dc metro area at some point in the last 4 years. and never once did we have the pleasure of an open scanner. but now, in the middle of nowhere central PA, this technological superstar from the future is laid out before me. as i stared in awe, the technician shrugged and said, "we have a lot of meat & potatoes people around here." i didn't quite understand this explanation- i can only assume he was alluding to the, ah, "large" size of many residents. (i must admit, i always wondered how they would fit in such tight tunnels!)

open MRI machine (the smiley nurse must have been off today)

the image on the left is an example of lesions an MRI scan might show in a patient with MS- the pink and blue arrows point to clusters of plaque, which are bundles of diseased nerves. (note: these are not scans of my brain!) since today's MRI order was only of my brain, i was in for an approximate 30 minute test from start to finish. i had a nice little nap going on when suddenly, the fun & games were all over! i wouldn't have minded staying in longer- hahah. but while i was waiting in the lobby for the CD of scans (don't get all excited, they are worthless to me- without super doctor powers i can't distinguish any new lesions from old ones.) technician #2, joe, came towards me. he put a small object in the palm of my hand and said quietly, "i think you need this more than me." after he walked away, i opened my hand to see a guardian angel etched into a silver coin, with the word "strength" on the back. it was cold and smooth, and my fingers easily glided back and forth over the engravings. the sensation was actually quite comforting. (later i quipped to mom "i hope he didn't do that because he saw massive amounts of white spots all over my scans!" i was kinda joking...)

i was really touched by the gesture... makes you think about the little things you may or may not do, and how it becomes a part of complete strangers. i'm a big believer of karma and positive energy... pay it forward, pay it forward.

remember, you can view these postings directly on kit kat chat's blog

http://meggerv2.blogspot.com/