Into the Tube

August 14, 2008;

Now, I've never thought that getting an MRI would be a big deal. It's just like getting an x-ray except they put you in a big tube. Right? That's what I thought it was going to be, and that's what I keep telling myself it was. It's been about 5 hours since I got it done and I still don't really feel "right". Maybe it's because I'm crazy?

Here's the deal. I took the day off of working, so my body wouldn't hate me even more. Got there and filled out the paper work. Everything was fine. Got in to the first exam room. I'm still doing fine. The technician explains what's going to happen. I had done some research, so I was fine there. Finally the doctor comes in. Here's where it gets tricky.

I want to place this disclaimer that I really just pretend to be tough all the time. I don't like it when I'm not in control of a situation. I don't like needles and I don't like when my shoulder pops out of socket. I'm no Jen Conlin or Melanie. Okay? The doctor walks me through the process. First a dot on the shoulder, then iodine to clean the skin, then three injections of medicine to numb the area. This is supposed to be like the novacain shot you get at the dentist. The difference is that the first shot just numbs the top layers of skin. The second shot goes into your muscle. The final shot actually goes into your tendon. This does NOT feel good. Once they have numbed your arm, they inject a blue dye in so they can read your scan better.

My doctor must do Crossfit or something, because he says to me, "We're going to do this as a team." I'm thinking to myself.. "shit, I can never fail my team." So I get my A-game face on. I'm ready. I'll catch what ever. I'll jump where ever. Doc, just tell me what you want to do and I'll do it. Then he says to me, "I'm going to inject the dye. I know how much I want to put into your shoulder, but you tell me when you can't take any more." This is the part I have a hard time with. I can't find it in myself to say stop. I know there's an amount that he wants me to take, and I should take it. Right???! By the third injection of the dye he says he's gotten in all that he needs. Thank G-d. I couldn't take one for the team any more.

Now that he's done, he tells me I'm okay to move, but I'm afraid to because my shoulder feels like it's going to pop out of socket. I'm all shaky and I feel like a total wuss. The tech gets me some water, and I'm ready for the second round.. take me to the tube.

I get on the bed and they slide me in. I had already decided that I'd keep my eyes shut the whole time. You're so closed in that it's easy to freak out. Thankfully, I don't mind being in closed spaces, so I was fine with that. Two things to note about being in the big MRI tube. You can't move and it's loud. The noise is actually pretty interesting. It goes from sounding like that old DOS game Pong, to a lawn mower, to "the most annoying sound ever" from the movie Dumb and Dumber. Except the most annoying sound can be really brief and repetitive or it can last for minutes at a time. All very fun things to hear when you're already tense. Also, my shoulder is really uncomfortable when I'm lying flat on my back. The entire 30 minutes that I was in there I was fighting the sensation that my shoulder was slipping out of socket.

Some distraction techniques I used:

-Visualizing Melanie, Mike Mann and Jerry. They are all hard asses, who have gone through the same thing. I knew they wouldn't be pansies, so therefore I couldn't be a pansy.

-Going through the alphabet while visualizing the numbers

-Stressing about my job

-Stressing about school

-Coming up with various Crossfit workouts

-Going through conversations I need to have with various people

-Doing burpees

-Matt Komar doing burpees (don't ask why, but it was relazing)

The whole thing took about an hour and a half. My shoulder is still a little sore and strange feeling. The doctors said I should be able to come in and workout like usual. We'll see how I feel, but I'm expecting to be in tomorrow for an AMRAP version of Elizabeth!

Oh, I should know the results in about a week or so.