The Day of my MRA... Closed MRI with Contrast...

Greg & I left around 12:30 for my long & painful 1:45 Injection appointment at the Hershey Medical Hospital. Greg has always been so kind & loving towards me & today was no different. He dropped me off at the main entrance & then parked the car in the garage & walked the whole way back to me, at the hospital… We walked down the hall past the lion statue, turned right & went down another hall to another set of Elevators; we took an elevator down to the ground level, got out and asked the lady at the desk, where to go. She told us to walk down another hall to an exit sign, turn left & go down yet another hall – to yet another desk, where they told us to wait in the waiting room. (For a little over an hour) Greg got up & grabbed me a cup of water so I could take my bedtime pills, which we thought would be good, considering I’m so claustrophobic.

After two episodes of “Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader?” which was playing in the waiting-room, I was called to get my injections. As we walked down yet another hall, the lady asked me if I had any metal in or on my body… I told her I was dressed for the event & all I had to take off were my glasses & my head band. The nurse asked me all sorts of questions and then introduced me to the 2 doctors who would be putting the contrast material into my shoulder via injections. They asked me to take off my shirt partway, so they could get to my Left Shoulder, which the nurse helped me to do. Then they had me lay down on a cold table (or should I say a cold slab of metal?). They took a couple of x-ray shots and marked on my shoulder where they were going to inject the dye. They then proceeded to prepare my shoulder & then started the procedure, (even though my mouth was so dry, my tongue stuck to the top of my mouth!).

After about half way through with the injections (2 of 4), I asked ever so nicely: “Can I ask why you’re doing this all to my left shoulder? It’s supposed to be my right shoulder!” Oh you could have heard a pin drop! The Two Doctors & the nurse all got real quiet & then one doctor spoke up and said: “Uh, umm, what did you say?” - - - (I actually thought about waiting until they were completely done, but I decided to ask half way, which was great!) - - - I giggled quietly (mostly because my mouth was so dry!) & said: “No, you’re right it’s my Left Shoulder!” Oh at that point everyone was laughing and they kept saying: “That was a good one!” & “You got us good on that one!” Afterwards, when the injections were done, the one doctor actually got on the phone & told someone else what I had done! They both had a good laugh over it & so did the rest of us! I’m sure they’ll be telling many other coworkers, just like I’m telling you now…

Greg & I went up the elevator together, but we parted ways when we go to the cafeteria. I went in to grab some ice-cream for me & snacks for Greg, while Greg walked to the parking garage to get the car. When I was done paying for the stuff I got, I walked to the front entrance & sat outside, right next to the valet people… (OMG - The hospital has Valet parking!) Greg was there within moments of me sitting down and we headed to Hope Drive. But because we had to wait to get my injections, I was a little late getting to 30 Hope Drive, for my MRA. At first the lady at the desk couldn’t find my information, but once she found it, I was called right in and the female radiologist took good care of me! We talked on our way back to ‘her’ room about how my day has gone so far & by the time we reached ‘her’ room, she asked what kind of music I liked. I told her anything that would help me fall asleep! (Which she determined was spa music.) She knew I was claustrophobic and told me she had a towel for my eyes, then asked me to lie down on this VERY - VERY – VERY – VERY – VERY NARROW table & that I had to make sure my left shoulder went into this very tiny corner compartment so-to-speak. It was hard to do, but when she helped, it wasn’t as painful. Next, I had to try to stay on the table without falling off! I crossed my legs, but the radiologist asked me to uncross them. She then came over with a nice size ‘ramp’ pillow for under my knees & then strapped my legs down to the table, which actually helped me feel more supported, unlike my right arm – which was hanging off the side of the table!! As the radiologist put the towel over my eyes & put a set of ear-phones on my head, which also held the towel in place, another lady came in & took my right arm bent it up over my head & then I slowly drifted back into the MRI Machine!

Although I could not see or feel where I was inside this massive machine, I knew I was inside. How? Well, the radiologist was talking to me right inside my earphones! As the music played, she would tell me when & how long each photo would take. After the first couple she asked if I was okay. I told her that I was fine, but if she could turn up the music and not to tell me about the photos, because I was just gonna try to sleep… Which I did… Because next thing I knew, she was telling me, “Christina, this is the last batch of photos, it’ll take about 6 minutes and then you’re done!” Oh I was so grateful for that information, because by the time it was done, my right arm (which was above my head) was sore & my mouth was so dry, my tongue stuck to the top of my mouth! My body drifted out of the massive machine and the radiologist was there to help me slowly get up and on my feet. She had my glasses & metal head-band and informed me that my surgeon would get the results & images in the next few days. As she walked me back to the waiting room, the receptionist told me that my husband had gone outside; because his phone kept saying: “An Idiot is calling!” I told her that was my husband’s ringtone for our middle son! We both laughed… (Just to let you know our middle son is in no-way an idiot, in fact none of our sons are, but we all get a kick out of the silly ring-tones!) Like usual, Greg had gone to get the car.

Greg & I then went to our Favorite Pizza Shop: Tonino’s Pizza (on Jonestown Road in Colonial Park) & bought some pizza for just us, because as far as we knew, both of the boys went to work. Then we went to GIANT® Food Stores (also on Jonestown Road in Colonial Park) & he bought himself some chocolate milk & me some juice. When we got home, David came out & asked how everything went & told us that when he’s got a cold, he can’t work at the Olive Garden©. Then when we went inside we found Greggy lying down in the kitchen, in front of the Wood stove, with his head inside! My Mom went on to explain that she kept hearing knocking noises and that Greggy found a small squirrel in the metal pipe, going up the chimney; which Greggy was trying to catch! I said “Wow! I wonder if it’s related to that big squirrel you saw in the kitchen, in November?” with that she got up & went into her office. I then told her that I was tired & was going up to take a nap. (No response) Greg & I headed upstairs to our bedroom and enjoyed our pizza, while we both played online games on our computers. (I played Mahjong Garden on Pogo© trying to get another badge & Greg played Star Wars Galaxies™ Trading Card Game®) After I was done eating & playing 50 games of Mahjong Gardens, I took a 2 hour nap to let my extra bedtime pills go through my system. When I got up from my nap, I felt refreshed but still really sore. Oh I really hope & pray my new Orthopedic surgeon can fix me all up!

I'll keep you posted with updates later! God Bless!