Yes, abnormal service has been resumed.
After last week’s excellent guest post by Tina, my ever-amazing wifey, today see’s your friendly, neighbourhood seated person back in the writing seat.
But how to follow that?
Well, one thing does spring to mind, not that it was particularly pleasant.
The Week That Was
The week was going really well. Positive strides (pardon the pun), had been made with a couple of long-standing tasks, and we’d even found time for a nice half hour walk (followed, on my part by a fry-up, but we won’t mention that bit).
Yeah, I think it’s fair that we got to Saturday of last week feeling pretty darned accomplished. But, of course, it was Saturday which held the one appointment I really wasn’t looking forward to.
An MRI.
Anyone who’s had the dubious pleasure of undergoing such a procedure will probably understand why I was anticipating it with slightly less than keen excitement, especially as this wasn’t my first ride.
Ear Drum
2017 was the year I was first introduced to the bang-bang machine. This was the year of my Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis relapse, the episode of wonky vision that drove me to hospital and from there, into the narrow tube with the loud, percussive soundtrack.
Now, there was quite a bit going on at the time. There were the magically displaced items in my field of vision, waves of incapacitating fatigue, and the odd dizzy spell. These were not fun times.
I do still remember that first scan, however, even through the mists of time. I remember how bare and exposed the machine looked, nothing at all like the ones I’d seen on House. I also remember the noise. The pounding irregular beat, the intermittent groans and wheezes, as if some forgetful, asthmatic drummer was holding a practice session while moving around and along me.
But my, what I’d forgotten.
Saturday’s MRI was necessary because of another relapse. On that had, once again affected my vision but, this time, had thrown in a word tingly numbness in my right hand and, potentially, my right foot, too (This is in no way definite due to me have little in the way of sensation in my feet, but it felt a little spongy), and this time was at a different hospital (Dewsbury And District Hospital rather than Pinderfields).
I can’t say I was expecting much of a difference, especially as Dewsbury hospital, although closer, is smaller and somewhat more humble than the more celebrated, new-fangled Pinderfields. I was wrong.
The staff, as with pretty much all NHS staff (Just pay them, Rishi!) were lovely. Very considerate and understanding, and the machine was much more as you might expect from the telly, with no odd sticky-out bits visible, just a smooth lined tube of white plastic (it was still smaller than you see on the box, but then they do say the camera adds pounds).
To Sleep, To Dream
The noise was no less noisy, even with the ear protectors, but what struck me most this second time was the way the magnetic field raised the hairs on my arms, and pulled at the depths of me. Not heavily, you understand, but in quite a subtle way that was still unnerving.
The process was longer than I remembered, too, taking over 45 minutes. The effort of lying still (you know what I mean) was enough to send my hands asleep, and, with the lack of stimulus other than the whirring, pounding beat, almost send the whole of me to sleep (twice).
After that? Well I’m not sure. My meds can’t really be changed due to low lymphocytes (told you) so we’ll just have to see what the future holds
Until next time.
***
Hey, folks! If you would care to take a look at some of my more creative writing, then the links below will transport you to the magical worlds of a few anthologies my short (and in two cases, very short) stories have been included in. Feel free to check ’em out!
New Tales Of Old: Volume 2
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09TMVTX9H/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Death Ship
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/9198684140/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_TWEMTA3KWK7T89QEZPF6?fbclid=IwAR322Fx5nfgVUQAA62ZZ6CUsNnBm8pbSxPanzz6Qkjg3vAv4ESipq7iKKhs
https://www.waterstones.com/book/death-ship/david-green/s-o-green/9789198684148?fbclid=IwAR2gP4CXHSG7wTccO39wOqXFtI81k0259Ep8DUM48Ki6kTUdlKoF3yafojA
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/9198684140/ref=ewc_pr_img_1?smid=A2XZ7JICGUQ1CX&psc=1&fbclid=IwAR2Wa6sGxb82_VCsC7l1CGXwHjsSwTheqba6jDX_G8EDsywZoGpC93nXr2w
Reaperman
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reaperman-Drabbles-3-Legends-Night-ebook/dp/B099NNPTQ1A
Pestilence
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pestilence-Revelations-Black-Ink-Fiction/dp/B09MDLZGHY/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2VP38WZDWJVAF&keywords=black+ink+fiction&qid=1654090896&sprefix=black+ink+fiction%2Caps%2C218&sr=8-1
The Musketeers Vs Cthulhu
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Musketeers-Cthulhu-Court-King-Louis-ebook/dp/B09YQKQQB7/ref=sr_1_18?crid=2VP38WZDWJVAF&keywords=black+ink+fiction&qid=1654091002&sprefix=black+ink+fiction%2Caps%2C218&sr=8-18
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