Yesterday I took out the tiny silver hoop earring I’ve worn at the top of my left ear since 1991. Long time, right? But as they say, why fix what’s not broken? There’s never been a reason to change it. Until today.
Today, all metal had to come off — no earrings, no zippers, nothing that could interfere with the magnets at work in the MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) machine I was about slide into for a 20-minute process. An MRI is a special imaging machine that uses magnetic waves to create pictures of the body showing both tendons and bones. After weeks of debating about getting this test, I decided to do it and find out if I have a torn rotator cuff.
The technician had me change into a gown, then handed me a pair of earplugs and told me the MRI would be noisy. “People usually like these,” she said, with a smile I didn’t understand. I put them in, waved goodbye to her, and climbed onto the table she would push into the bright chamber of the machine. I’d already signed a paper to say I’m not claustrophobic, but I had no idea I would be pushed into something like an oven with the door left open. I decided to close my eyes the moment I lay down, turn on a song in my head, and take off somewhere easier to be.
“You okay?” I heard the technician call out.
I wagged my feet, kept my eyes shut, continued playing the song in my head.
“Lie still!”
I didn’t move a muscle.
She’d warned me the sound was like jackhammers, but she didn’t say it was like lying on the sidewalk right beside a jackhammer. Sharp vibrations shuddered through me with quick, pounding beats. I focused on humming my peaceful song through it, at one point even letting myself hum aloud, until the technician said there was some blur coming through and I needed to be more still. I stopped humming, at least outwardly.
Next, I tried to be entertained by what was going on. The banging beats came from angles that kept changing, pounded over me, under me, to one side and then the other, teased my adrenals on a very primitive level to get the heck out of there. I controlled my “fight or flight” reaction with reassurance that everything was fine, tried to keep my breathing shallow so I wouldn’t blur the image again and have to be here any longer than necessary. It was hard not to laugh remembering the tech saying people “usually” like to wear earplugs. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything that loud that close before.
Now what in the world about this could be called a treasure?
The results those slamming jackhammers turned up. Sure, I may be in pain day and night with this shoulder joint injury, I may not be able to raise my arm more than a few inches to the front and side right now, but the good news is there’s no tear in my rotator cuff. In December I reached into the back seat of my car from the front seat, picked up a full water bottle, and nearly took my shoulder out of the socket. That $5 water bottle sure got expensive.
Today, to celebrate the news that it’s not as bad as it could have been, I’m wearing a tiny amethyst stud in place of that little silver ring I wore in my ear practically since the day I spontaneously got the piercing on Telegraph Avenue back in 1991. It’s on to ice packs and Advil, chiropractor visits and patience. And when I can raise both of my arms overhead again, I’ll really celebrate and treat myself to a tiny diamond stud.
TREASURE OF THE DAY
Magnets brought me good news.
Treasures of the Day 