Head first into the big, big magnet

Yesterday, in the context of India, I blogged about how crowds can be intimidating. It's time to flip the coin and ramble on for a bit about how solitude can be intimidating. Am I never free of intimidation? I begin to wonder....

Anyway, this involves things medical, with apologies to anyone getting tired of reading about my health difficulties. Though I'm not blogging about having a stinking cold right now. (D'oh! ... just go and look up the word 'apophasis', right?) In fact, the context is magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Even with Vivaldi's The Four Seasons piped into earphones, spending 25 minutes lying still and alone in what seems like a big metal coffin, while bits of machinery chug and vibrate around your head, is not the most pleasant of experiences. The first time around I was mentally in control and almost fell asleep while they scanned my left shoulder. But the pre-scan injection put my right shoulder into spasm, so my second insertion into the tube was of a more disturbing order, as I was unable to either stretch or relax. Instead, I spent my time worrying about how I was going to get out of the box without straining my two aching shoulders.

At least that's over now. I will get my own CD-ROM of the results, for those long winter evenings when I want to examine the scarred inner mechanism of my own joints. Meanwhile, it's back to the specialist for the verdict.