Tube Time Fun

I had another MRI yesterday. Whoopee! This one was for my spine. We’re still trying to find the root cause of the, now only occasional, interior numbness and swelling within my left foot, ankle, and calf. YES, it could totally be related to the vibrant tumor farm along my neuro system. Ya know, this being due to my fun, FUN, and relatively rare disease, neurofibromatosis type 2. Act now kids and NO you more than likely won’t get a case of your very own. NF2 only favors one lucky individual out of a sea of 40,000 people. Yeah, I'm BIG special.

July’s brain scan established that my up top tumors, particularly those camping out on me old motor cortex, are chilled out and not involved in my calf/ankle/foot antics. YEA! Hopefully, the xenomorph wrapped around my thoracic spine hasn’t gained any mass and is still sleeping. The MRI tech’s report drops in two days so, of bloody course, I’ll read it ahead of my October 9th follow up meeting with the good Doc Plotkin. I like to be prepared, have an inkling of what I can mebbe expect.

Considering the ankle swelling happens only occasionally now AND I’ve been able to work back up to doing 25 minutes at a time on my recumbent elliptical, I’m absolutely ready to class this calf/ankle/foot hullabaloo as just one of those funky-ass consequences of getting older. e.g., I rolled over in bed funny and strained my ankle (or I could have inadvertently stepped on a dove?). Then I walked on it too much and made it worse.

Welcome to life after 65 where just taking a breath in an out of the ordinary manner can put you in a neck brace for a month. Not that I’ve done this…yet.

I don’t know if this, sleeping on my ankle/foot funny, is the case here. The root cause may still be in this ratbastard disease that I’m rocking. Maybe it’s a combo of aging and NF2. With Michie’s death still fresh in my heart (and not knowing the specific cause or the path she rode during her last few month) I wonder. A LOT.

The other worrisome bit – the techs told me I’d be in the tube for 40-45 minutes. It was an hour and 40 minutes! What the schwannomatic fuck? I mean, I know that my thoracic monster is, well, monstrous, but…sheesh. This is disturbing and I seriously deserved a cookie after that scan.

I did manage, this time around, to get my MRI calm-me-down meds right. You may recall the last time when I maybe shouldn’t have mixed so many gummies with my lorazepam? Yeah, I went on THE most mind-bending psychedelic journey whilst tube riding. Oopsie! 

Nothing like being a disabled woman in her late 60s, coming out of an hour long MRI scan, announcing “I’m trippin’ my balls off here. I don’t actually have balls but I guess you know that. I gotta pee now.” I *think* I just said that to Jen but, ya know, the techs may’ve overheard.

In general, I was much more dignified yesterday. Possibly. This is good...I guess.