Claustrophia

     I knew today was going to be long when I got to my doctor's appt and they asked me if I had any metal plates in my body or if I was claustrophobic. If you don't know what those two things mean, let me show you with this cartoon I found. I had two MRI's done today on my hip/pelvic joints and lower back.
     The nurses first strips me of any metal, gave me a sexy/drafty paper gown (that went perfectly with my snowman socks), got me to lay like broccoli on a plastic bed with my head between two foam blocks. The nice nurse then handed me two hunter's orange foam ear plugs AND ear muffs (both of which are a foreshadowing to something that can't be good) and tells me that I cannot move for the next 15 minutes. Then proceeds to slide my plastic bed into a hole hardly big enough for my body. It can only be described as being in a coffin with the lid shut. The bed was at my back, my arms were brushing up against each side, and the top, with its track lights running the length of it, was mere inches from my sweet little nose. I thought to myself, "deep breaths, sing a few songs, I can do this, pssht..no big deal." Then...The Road Construction Crew Symphony begin playing in surround sound and I knew I was doomed.
The noise of the MRI machine started out as a soothing, albeit loud, hum with occasional thumping. Then it blended into a combination of electronic beeps that made me feel like we were making some kind of contact with Mars, followed by what can only be described as Heavy Metal mixed with a collection of power tools. There were horns, jackhammers, alarms, wailing guitars, sci-fi blips, and industrial percussion, all swallowed up by a jet engine. In order to keep my sanity and not make a fool out of myself in my paper prom dress, I started making up words to go with the rhythmic noises. There was the obligatory, "Luke, I am your father.", "I'll be back.", "E.T., Phone home." and then I sang some songs, but I'm not a singer and so several of my favorite hymns got merged into one (I'm just glad that Kesha song that has been in my head for weeks managed to stay out of the MRI! I hate that song). This test lasted for 15 minutes, but honestly felt like an eternity in that small hole.
     On a serious note, it did give me the chance to pray for a sweet family I know that is dealing with a really hard time. Their baby was born 5 weeks early due to complications and has diminished brain activity. He is a couple of months old now and his brain is basically dying. He cannot suck or swallow. The doctor's say it's only a matter of time now. They baptized him in the hospital yesterday. So, it was easy to pass the time when I was thinking about all of the things that this family is having to process right now. If you get the chance, please say a prayer for baby Baker and his family.
     The second MRI seemed to go a lot faster than the first, and just like that I was done! They are going to send the results to my doctor's office and hopefully we will have them read to us tomorrow when we go for my Rheumatologist appt. This is a new guy, I like my old Rheumy dr., but I need to get a second opinion, plus if this guy speaks better english than the old one, it will be like Christmas! (haha) My dad and I sat down tonight and made a list of my complaints & issues. Boy, was that list too long! Not acceptable. :) We gotta start knocking some stuff off. Obviously, my main issue is the constant leg pain, weakness & fatigue. Those are the things that are keeping me couch bound. Hopefully, he will have an AHA! moment (sorry to quote Oprah on that one) and immediately see a way that he could make it better. Wouldn't that be awesome!
     So tomorrow is a big day, and I have to wake up early :( anyway. More posts to come...
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