I spy another MRI

This morning, at 7.15, I was back at City Hospital, Peterborough, for another MRI scan, my second in a month and my fourth in total.

Early morning seems to be a good time for a hospital appointment. Saturdays are even better because there’s no rush hour traffic. The car park was reasonably empty so I didn’t have to drive around searching for a parking space, and the hospital was in waking up mode - that is, quiet and peaceful.

It also gave me the advantage of being seen quite promptly, avoiding any delays that, later in the day, can run to one or two hours.

I’ve described an MRI scan before so I won’t repeat myself other than to say it’s very noisy (lots of electronic clicks and whistles), for which they give you headphones with the option of music. This morning they also gave me ear plugs which further reduced the electronic cacophony but made it hard to hear the music. In other words, swings and roundabouts.

Prior to an MRI scan they may insert a cannula into a vein in order to inject dye into your bloodstream. (I believe this provides a clearer image.) The only problem is that I am now restricted to drinking water (2-3 litres) for the next 24 hours to flush out the dye. (Alcohol, which dehydrates the system, is not encouraged.)

Curiously, despite multiple scans in recent years, I have yet to be diagnosed with anything serious. There’s always a first time, of course, but so far the results have largely been age appropriate or, more recently, “indeterminate” (that is, neither good nor bad).

It reminds me of VAR in football. Officials review footage and keep looking until they find something, however small. To be clear, I’m not ungrateful because I suspect that, sooner or later, I may have reason to thank the NHS for their perseverance.

In the meantime here’s a photo I took at the hospital this morning. It’s not as bad it looks because two hours later, after driving myself home, I was eating a full English breakfast at a local restaurant!