Coping with the MRI

I think I mentioned I saw Dr Adriaan van Huyssteen in January and that I could only have the ops done late in the year once the new sick leave cycle kicked in.  Originally was going to have the ops done in October but then moved it on to December due to work commitments.

In the interim I worked out in a coolish pool at Planet Fitness Aurora with biokineticist Simon Maskell - and in this time also learnt to swim properly ... amazing the unforeseen benefits of an operation!

When I originally saw the Doctor he injected cortisone into the the most painful knee. The injection was not as painful as I expected and the improvement was almost immediate.  However, this did not stop me stumbling about like an ancient arthritic pug!  I learnt that you can only have limited number of cortisone injections in the knees so decided to hold out as long as I could.  Unfortunately, when I went to see him late September it was too close to op time so no more injections.  Keep that in mind if you're doing pre-op pain management. 

Because we were using the Smith & Nephew Visionnaire system, early in October I had to have new x-rays as well as MRI scans on both knees (these are e-mailed to to the USA where custom blocks are cut and sent to SA - prosthetics custom-made for your body - apparently extremely beneficial - see on page).

If you have not had an MRI before be aware - its very very noise and I found it quite claustrophobic. They put on headphones with classical music but ithe sound level was just too soft.  I had to keep telling myself that the fear was totally unfounded - I think my main concern was that I could not just get myself out of the tunnel.  It's small, I'm big and my legs weren't working too well.  Initially the thing that kept me there was the thought that, if I stopped the process, we would have to start all over again!! Second knee I had it all figured: 

1. the MRI sounds are like a very loud hum interspersed with a grindy sound - or may be the other way around.  Well, I reckoned there should be about 8 grindy sounds so concentrated on that - naturally lost count and then just started all over again;
2. more importantly - I am a Laughter Facilitator!  I teach Laughter Yoga and I know how awesome the power of laughter is, even if you don't feel like it.  Laughter drastically reduces the stress hormones - so I started laughing.

Hope this helps you with your next MRI scan - laugh and you'll confuse everyone!

Approximately two weeks before the op I had to go for blood tests.  The same day I decided to buy new pajamas - a necessity as its not something I usually wear!

Lunchtime - chat later!