Hola kiddies! It’s Monday, December 13. It is 1 week until my 38th birthday.
I’m back to tell you that I survived the nasty cold I caught over Thanksgiving weekend.
I also survived the pneumonia shot I received on Monday, December 6.
You can also add to the survival list an MRI, a cat scan and an ultrasound. The dye didn’t kill me nor did the fear of being sucked into a super magnetic tube. Yay me! I had Xanax to take in case I needed it but I opted to tough it out. As it turns out it wasn’t so bad. The tube wasn’t all that long and was open on both ends so it wasn’t like being encapsulated in a big closed in tube.
I was quite nervous about having dye injected into my veins twice in one day and I was none too thrilled at the prospect of being encapsulated in a big tube while magnets scanned and created a picture of my brain. I decided against taking the Xanax before the MRI because A. I’d never taken it before and B. I read one of the possible side effects is hallucinations, which sent me worrying that I’d hallucinate while trapped in the aforementioned magnetic tube. (see i told you. i worry in detail and i have a fabulous imagination.)
I suppose it was a good thing I was awake and alert and untranquilized for this visit as I had to answer quite a few questions and sign my life away before I ever made it into the room. Now to offer you a little back story. During the operation the neurosurgeon put a titanium plate in my head. For anyone who’s never had an MRI you have to remove all your jewelry and there is to be no metal of any sort in the room. This includes things implanted in your body i.e., stents, pace makers, insulin pumps, etc. I told the girl who made my appointment that I have a titanium plate in my head. Sure, no problem. I told the girl who was checking me in that I have a titanium plate in my head. Sure, no problem. I tell the doctor who walks me back and takes my information that I had a titanium plate in my head. Problem. He gets the MRI tech and I tell her the same info I just told the him including the bit about having a titanium plate in my head. She asks me, “Does it have screws in it?” Me: ~ blink ~ ~ blink ~ ‘”Ummm … I don’t know.” I tell her that I e-mailed Elizabeth, the nurse practitioner who works alongside Dr. Bussey, my neurosurgeon and that she said the MRI that they ordered was safe for me to do because the plate was made of titanium. I also told her that said e-mail was on my iPhone, which was out in the waiting room with the hubs and asked if she’d like to read it. She did and so we made our way out to the waiting room to retrieve my iPhone and Elizabeth’s (nurse practitioner) card so the MRI technician could call Elizabeth.
A decision was made to have me to do cat scan first so they would be able to see where the plate was before doing the MRI and allow the technician time to call Elizabeth. The cat can of my head took about 5 minutes. After I was finished the MRI technician came to get me. I asked did she talk to Elizabeth and she said, “No.” She said but that was okay because the e-mail pretty much spelled it out and that “If I was confident she was confident.” ^insert me looking alarmed here^ She went on to say that since it was my neurosurgeon ordering it she figured he knew what he was talking about and so she was okay with going ahead with the test. ^insert me looking alarmed here also^
I was here for the MRI and so I took a deep breath and walked into the MRI room all the while hoping that Elizabeth and the MRI tech knew what they were talking about. All I could think of while I was in there was that my head was going to be sucked up to the top of the machine. The MRI itself took about half an hour. The first part of the test was without the dye and the second part of the test was with the dye (more anxiety). I can happily tell you the machine didn’t swallow me, I didn’t die from the claustrophobia and the dye didn’t kill. All in all a positive experience. I won’t know anything about the MRI or the cat scan until Friday when I see Elizabeth and Dr. Bussey.
Earlier in the week I’d seen that Guitar Center was having a big sale so after the MRI we took a ride over to the Guitar Center in Cherry Hill so the hubs could buy himself a guitar stand for his acoustic guitar. The sky was a pretty mix of sun and clouds in anticipation of the next day’s rain. I used my iPhone to take a few photos. (i really need to remember to take my good camera with me everywhere.) This is the best of the few shots I took.
Tomorrow I should know the results of the ultrasound and find out if the Lovenox is causing the higher liver number or if I have gallstones or a fatty liver. I’m hoping it’s nothing. Who am I kidding? I’m praying it’s nothing while trying (and not doing a great job) not to obsess or worry too much about the outcome.
I’ll be back tomorrow with more Reverb 10 posts.
Love,
~ Carol Anne