No problem I thought.....never even looked on the net to research what to expect. Who me, nervous, nope....not for a second.
Forms, insurance, down the hall after a half hour wait. Told to go into a closet and take off my clothing from waist up and put on the ever trendy blue no closing hospital gown....
Entering the MRI room felt like entering the Bat Cave with all the lights on.
BIG machine and not friendly looking at all, sterile and scary. On the left side of the room are rows of large white boxes each holding plastic harnesses and neck enhancing tools.
I was instructed to lay down on a padded table, then instructed to lift my legs while the attendant added an incline pillow under them, "for comfort", she added. No problem...I think......
...um..really big machine in back of me.... The attendant mentions that the "head and neck scans are the worse"...great bed side manner.....fear starts to grow....all of a sudden the table is moving and I see what feels and looks like is 2 tons of heavy machinery sliding to entomb me....I turn my head to the side thinking that will help and hear, "you won't be able to turn your head due to your test, so I just want you to look straight up"...
HOLY SHIT.......inches...centimeters...NO, it's millimeters away from my nose.....it has to be...and it's moving entombing my entire being....NO, stop, I can't do it....FEAR grabs me and stops my heart as I think she won't be able to get me out of here.....OPEN MRI...my ass.....there is nothing OPEN about this shit....
I'm shaking like a 5 year old....she has to help me sit up on the table...she shows me the neck "harness" I will have to wear to have a better image result....I feel like a coward, she tells me, "your my fifth patient today and only 2 of them were able to do it with a Valium." "Your doctor might want to prescribe you a Valium or something".
I let her know I can't do it, she let's me go and I walk out and change back in the closet. As I walk out I see the next patient waiting, some 30ish high profile master of the universe who proceeds to give me a look of disgust as I walk by still shaking.
I get to the car and can't move. I've never had this happen before, I handle EVERYTHING... Sometimes not well, but I still handle it....
Pain is back and rising....I call and leave message with doctor's assistant saying I couldn't do scan...
