Original Posting: 09/19/2015

“Your echocardiogram and the ultrasounds of your arteries all came back normal. You do not have any plaque in your arteries. Does anyone know what is happening with you yet?” “The first MRI showed white matter lesions consistent with MS. My follow up for the second MRI with contrast is next Monday.” “Scary.” “Not really. Heart trouble, that’s scary. My paternal grandparents both had heart trouble, and on my dad’s side, he and his mother both died of a stroke. It’s not that either. So, yeah. I’m not scared. I’ll be fine.” “Well, come back and see me when you are 50.” On the way out, I told the scheduling assistant that I would see him in eight years. Last Thursday, after three weeks of waiting for my insurance to authorize a lumbar puncture, I finally called and just scheduled the MRI with contrast, or rather the MRIs. My neurologist, being the wonderful man that he is, ordered an MRI of my brain, neck, and spine which roughly translated into an hour and a half in the tube. Did I mention that I have FOUR sons? Three of whom are a year apart? I was sure 1.5 hours wouldn’t be a problem. And it wasn’t. I had never been to that hospital before, and the staff were all very friendly. The radiology tech put A Tribe Called Quest on Pandora through some massive headphones and covered me up with a blanky. As I shook, rattled, and rolled in the tube, I couldn’t help but smile. I was finally another step closer to a diagnosis. And today, as I ruled out yet another possible cause of that fateful August 1 incident that started everything rolling, I am smiling once more. I am not scared that I will receive an MS diagnosis next week. I am scared that I won’t.

#mri #headaches #ms #cardiologist