In the never-ending saga of trying to figure out what is wrong with my feet/legs, last night I was scheduled for an MRI. Of course I tried my best to sneak some photos along the way...
I got a great parking spot--right in front of the Imaging Department entrance. However, it was late and the doors were locked. I had to walk all of the way down to the main entrance on the east side of the hospital.
I had brought my badge with me, so getting in was not a problem. I just flashed my ID to the security guy and went in. But then, I had to go to a back hall to get through as the way through the front end of the hospital was all blocked off. Grr.
I was done with the reception lady by 9:45 or so, and took a seat in the waiting area until it was my turn.
After sitting way too long and playing endless games of the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory slot machine on my phone, I was finally called back. I was taken to the changing room just after 11 p.m.
I didn't get a shot of the actual MRI machine or even the room it is in. I did get a shot of the MRI control room, where my MRI tech, Karen, orchestrated the whole procedure.
When I went back in the changing room to get dressed I discovered that, jeepers! It was after midnight.
Off I went to find my car. It was cold, late...and I still needed to get gas on my way home. Ha! I didn't get to bed until well past one in the morning. I had to get up by 8 for a dental appointment this morning. Oh well.
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| From the internet. This is NOT my head. |
For insurance reasons, even though the hospital I work for is a children's hospital (Valley Children's), all employees must use our hospital's resources for labs, X-Rays, MRI's, etc. Because one of the hospital's MRI machines is down, the staff is scrambling to schedule all inpatient and outpatient MRIs as best they can. Mine was scheduled for 10 p.m. REALLY! I was told to be there no later than 9:30 p.m. though (because there was paperwork to fill out and because the front doors close at 10 p.m.). So, off I went at 9 with plenty of time to get there --- or so I thought. When i got to the freeway 41 on-ramp at Herndon, it was closed. Argh! I sped down Blackstone to the on-ramp at Friant Avenue. It was closed as well. Drat! I did notice that the on-ramp for the opposite side of the street was open, so I went down the road a bit, made a U-turn and got on the freeway finally. I called the hospital and explained I was going to be a little late. No problem, I was told. Swell.
I got a great parking spot--right in front of the Imaging Department entrance. However, it was late and the doors were locked. I had to walk all of the way down to the main entrance on the east side of the hospital.
I had brought my badge with me, so getting in was not a problem. I just flashed my ID to the security guy and went in. But then, I had to go to a back hall to get through as the way through the front end of the hospital was all blocked off. Grr.
In the Imaging department lobby area, a nice woman (with an unfortunate permanent frown) helped me get registered and took my $50 (OUCH!) co-pay.
I was done with the reception lady by 9:45 or so, and took a seat in the waiting area until it was my turn.
I had on my official wrist band. All I needed was to be called back. I waited... and waited... and waited. "Shawn?" I looked up. It wasn't my turn, but instead it was the husband (Alvin) of one of my co-workers (Christina). Alvin works in the ICU and does transport. He was walking through from the rear (Imaging is near the Emergency Department, where he was coming from). He asked why I was there so late. I told him I was getting an MRI. He had been on transport and their vehicle had broken down at Casa De Fruita, in Pacheco Pass about 90 minutes or so from the hospital. They had cleared a parking lot there to have a helicopter come and move the patient they were driving to Stanford...and to fly them back to the hospital afterwards. I'm glad he got home safely...just wondering how the gossip mill will be churning when word spreads I was getting a late-night MRI. Ha!
After sitting way too long and playing endless games of the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory slot machine on my phone, I was finally called back. I was taken to the changing room just after 11 p.m.
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Snapping photos was even more difficult from here on out, but here is the hall next to the MRI room as I was lead in...
Because it is a children's hospital and kids are smaller than adults, they had to remove the small cushion under my head to put this helmet-like doodad on me so it would fit down over my nose. The helmet was to keep me from moving my head during the exam, which wasn't a problem.
The tech started an IV on me. Once the first long (and LOUD) battery of tests were done, she injected me with contrast dye and submitted me to even more tests---all while crammed into this small, very confining and tight, claustrophobia-inducing tube. I just kept my eyes closed and tried (unsuccessfully) to sleep.
Once it was all over and the IV was removed, the first thing I grabbed was my phone. I had it on video mode somehow and even though the phone was dangling from my arm, I caught an up-the-nose shot of me in my stunning hospital gown.
Here is Karen, the MRI tech, giving me instructions as we leave the MRI room.
When I went back in the changing room to get dressed I discovered that, jeepers! It was after midnight.
Because all of the main doors were closed because it was long past visiting hours, I headed out the side exit. There were boxes piled in the hallway for the repair of the MRI machine that is down.
One of the hospital's transport vehicles was parked just outside of the ED where I emerged to get to the parking lot.
Off I went to find my car. It was cold, late...and I still needed to get gas on my way home. Ha! I didn't get to bed until well past one in the morning. I had to get up by 8 for a dental appointment this morning. Oh well.
Karen didn't say if she saw anything in the imaging or not. But then, as a tech, she isn't allowed to say anything. A doctor will have read them this morning sometime and then sent the information on to Dr. Wolf's office. Once the office gets the results they'll then call me and schedule an appointment to go over them. It's all so annoying. I COULD look up the results myself at work---but even though I am the patient, it could get me fired. Crazy, huh? So, I just have to wait.
I'll let you know if they find anything--a tumor, a lesion, or nothing at all (which would explain soooo much. No brain? DUH!).
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