Torture Chamber :/

One of the tests I have to have before getting permission to go back to work is a cardiac MRI. It took over 4 weeks to schedule it, and yesterday was finally the day. I went in at 4pm, they took me right back, and I was pretty nervous. I had to get an IV in my arm, and as usual, it didn't work, so they had to do it again. The IV was for the dye they put in to highlight the organs, or whatever else they need to look at. After I got my IV, I changed into a gown and walked into the MRI room. It was so noisy. They gave me earplugs, but they barely helped. I got more nervous when I saw the machine. It was so narrow!! The tech asked if I was claustrophobic, and I didn't think I was, but...

So I had to lie down on this narrow table, and I couldn't rest my arms at my side bc of how narrow it was. She put some leads on me to hook up a heart monitor, and gave me a bulb shaped thing that I could press if I needed them during the scan. I clutched that thing for dear life while I was in there. When I started moving into the machine, I had half a mind to scream, "I quit, let me out of here", but I refrained for the time being. That thing was so narrow, I wouldn't have been able to reach up to scratch my nose if I needed to-which is kind of the point, bc you are not supposed to move at all while in there. I was finding out that maybe I was a teeny bit claustrophobic, after all. There were a variety of horrible noises that the machine made the entire hour and a half I was in there. I'd have a voice come on that would ask me to breathe in, breathe out, and hold the breath, or to breathe in, hold, then relax. This happened a lot, I lost count of how many times I was expected to hold my breath, but I probably could have been a candidate for the Navy, haha...ok, no, it wasn't that hard, I'd never make it into the Navy, especially based on holding my breath. Continuously, I felt like screaming for them to get me out of there, but the only thing that made me stay and try to be calm was the fact that if I quit, I'd have to start over, bc I still needed the MRI. The MRI is supposed to be my Get Out Of Jail Free card, I'm ready to go back to work. (PS, I don't mean being home is jail, it's just an expression, don't call me a cold-hearted B)...it's birthdays and Christmas time and I want my babies to have good ones, so I need to help out by going back to work. So, instead of verbally freaking out, I sucked it up, bc there was no way I was going to go through this again.

So a couple of people wanted to know the difference between an MRI and a CT scan. Here is a link that may be helpful:

X-ray vs MRI vs CT scans

Here is another informative link:

MRI of the heart

I had to get in this thing...who wouldn't go crazy in one of these?!?!

photo courtesy of diseasepictures.com

"Looks cozy, right?" said NO ONE EVER!

I feel as though I have indeed survived the torture chamber, and now I have to go take care of my sick girl. Poor thing has a fever, a barking cough, and needs to cuddle with her mama.