A Little Peace and Quiet (in the MRI Machine)

I FINALLY went to the doctor about my calf injury--only took me 10 weeks! I saw an orthopedic doc who came highly recommended on Thursday. He took my history and had me do two things-- squat down and then lift up on my toes while he watched my calves. Then he placed his thumb right in the sore spot. Ouch. He said I possibly have a tear or a hernia in the gastroc muscle of my calf and I needed an MRI to be sure.

I had the MRI appointment on Friday morning. It was my first MRI. The big kids were at school and my mom kept my 4-year old since I was pretty sure I couldn't take her with me. It was nice to have a little time to myself--despite the circumstances!

The lower half of my body was all that was in the machine. The tough thing about an MRI is you have to remain completely still-- especially the parts inside the machine, but really ALL your parts. The minute you hear the clanging noise, you know it's taking films. Just before the machine starts, the technician buzzes in and tells you how long each portion will take. At first it was 30 seconds, then one minute, then all the way up to 6 minutes. The funny part is that the moment a long one starts, something inevitably ITCHES. For me, it was my left knee--itching like crazy. But I didn't dare move. I had to pay $350 for my portion before insurance! So for 6 minutes, I tried to think about anything BUT the itch. It's really hard to will yourself not to scratch! I just tried to get my body deeply relaxed-- at one point about 50 minutes in, I almost fell asleep. It kind of felt like that end part of a yoga class (I don't remember what it's called) when you breathe and are just still.

The peace and quiet (other than the clanging) was kind of nice.

I get my results on Tuesday.....

In the meantime, I Googled "calf hernia." I don't think this is what the doctor meant:

Poor little fella!